Cover of Run Away by Harlan Coben, featuring the text Run Away by Harlan Coben.

Run Away By Harlan Coben Book Review

Run Away is a 2019 thriller novel by American author Harlan Coben, who is known for his twist. Now, here’s my Honest review of the book.

 

Plot

Simon Green’s life was perfect, with a happy family with a loved one, three children, a luxurious apartment in New York, and fame in the profession. But suddenly, his world was turned upside down. His teenage daughter Paige fell into the clutches of her abusive boyfriend and became addicted to drugs. Despite repeated attempts, Simon could not get rid of his daughter’s drug addiction. After some time, Paige left the house.

 

Simon got desperate for his daughter. After six months of tireless searching, he finally finds Paige in Central Park. She was drinking, singing, and begging in the park. But when her father went to take her back home, she ran away.

 

But Simon does not care; He swears that he will return his daughter from this fragile world. In a dark tunnel, his endless journey into the dangerous world of drugs begins. He began to venture into this unknown world, endangering his family’s life where gangsters rule, drugs are money, and murder is a daily occurrence.

 

Simon then meets private investigator Elena Ramirez. Elena was investigating the mystery of a young man’s disappearance. Together, they found a cult, Truth Heaven. Unpleasant truths began to emerge one after another.

 

Will Simon ever see his daughter alive again? Can he unmask the hypocrite cult leader? Can he find out why his daughter became addicted to drugs?

 

My Review

Harlan Coben means twist—one twist after another. There was not so much of the traditional past and present play here as in his other books, but the family drama part was there. This book is all about family bonds and values.

 

From the very first page, the reader will be hooked like a magnet. But the story isn’t just about father Simon Green’s quest to bring his daughter home. The author has introduced new characters and events, adding one layer after another to the story. Until then, the story continues to move at a fast pace. In the middle part of the book, it slows down for a while but picks up again towards the end.

 

In addition to finding Simon Green’s daughter, the story follows the adventures of private detective Elena Ramirez and two murderers, Ash and Diddy. Throughout the first part of the story, the reader is fed with one mystery after another. Why are those people killed? Where did the daughter go? Why was the shooting aimed at Simon? What is the connection of the cult named Truth Heaven with all this? The story proceeds with these questions. Then, as usual, one mystery after another is revealed. Because I had been reading thrillers for a long time, I was able to imagine the answers to some questions by myself. However, there was still no shortage of surprises.

 

Simon’s thoughts in the book are proof of how a father feels guilty about the smallest things when his daughter has left the house. Throughout the story, Simon’s thoughts touched my heart. We all want to do everything for the people we love. But how much can we do? This realization that the author has brought out has hit me in the chest.

 

Toward the end, the writer keeps giving one twist after another. The twist at the very end was completely unimaginable. After reading this book, I got another proof of why Harlan Coben is called the twist master. 

 

Price

Kindle – $9.99

 

Hardcover – $28.99

 

Paperback – $9.34.

 

Personal Rating

8/10. The number of twists in this book is relatively less than in other books by Harlan Coben. But the ones that were there had a much greater impact, especially the twist at the end. The beginning of the story was a bit slow. The reason for that is character development. One of the most difficult aspects of a thriller plot is character development, which Harlan Coben applied brilliantly in this story. I enjoyed the book a lot.

 

Similar Books

  1. Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben.
  2. Gone For Good by Harlan Coben.
  3. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben.
  4. Tell No One by Harlan Coben.