Run Away by Harlan Coben | @HarlanCoben @PenguinUKBooks

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

You’ve lost your daughter.

She’s addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be found.

Then, quite by chance, you see her busking in New York’s Central Park.

But she’s not the girl you remember. This woman is wasted, frightened and clearly in trouble.

You don’t stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home.

She runs.

And you follow her into a dark and dangerous world you never knew existed. Where criminal gangs rule, where drugs are the main currency, and murder is commonplace.

Now it’s your life on the line. And nowhere and no one is safe.

| MY THOUGHTS |

Harlan Coben is one of those authors who slipped off my radar for a couple of years but I’ve been trying to correct that mistake the last few weeks by reading “The Stranger” (soon to be a Netflix series), by watching “Safe” (currently on Netflix and it’s brilliant!), by buying some of his older books and by getting my hands on his latest release, Run Away. (sprayed edges! 😍)

Simon’s eldest daughter is a drug addict and has gone missing. Until one day, Simon spots her busking in Central Park. When he approaches her and begs her to come home, she runs off. Simon’s daughter is nothing like he remembered her. Drugs have wreaked havoc on her body and she’s quite obviously in trouble so what’s a parent to do? Simon will not rest until his daughter is safe but he soon finds himself in a dark and dangerous world. And that’s all I’m saying because it’s really all you need to know and also, I can’t possibly begin to explain.

It’s safe to say this story went in a completely different direction than I was expecting. Alongside the thread that follows Simon, there’s another one whose purpose I couldn’t figure out at all. When the pieces of the puzzle finally started to fit, I was in awe of how masterfully this entire plot came together.

Run Away grabbed me by the throat so fiercely from the very first chapter that I was immediately kicking myself for losing track of Harlan Coben’s work. I’m hard pressed to think of any other author out there who writes this kind of suspenseful thriller, taking a realistic scenario and then completely turning it onto its head. Simon is just your regular parent, not some kind of action hero and I’m sure anyone with children can relate to his situation. Is there anything he could have done differently? Is he to blame for the downward spiral his daughter has found herself in? Is there ever a time when you completely give up on them?

There’s something quite cinematic about the way Harlan Coben writes, in that way that you can see scenes play out right in front of your eyes as if you’re watching them on a screen, and if that doesn’t make for an incredibly immersive reading experience, I don’t know what will. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if this too finds its way onto Netflix some time soon.

Run Away is full of twists and turns, lies and deceit and few things or characters are what they seem. This well paced and cleverly plotted story makes for one addictive page-turner. There is just no way to stop reading once you’ve started. Let that be a warning to you! Above all, it has put Harlan Coben firmly back onto my radar and I will not lose sight of him again.

Run Away is available to buy!

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