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A review by paulabrandon
Run Away by Harlan Coben
3.0
While not an absolute ripper, this feels like a bit more of a return to form for Harlan Coben, as the last couple I read by him were not very good. This one was fast paced and delivered some good twists, and wasn't predicated entirely on characters knowing the truth and simply not saying anything (although there was still a lot of that going on.)
The protagonist is Simon Greene, who is still haunted by the fact he couldn't save his eldest daughter, Paige, from her drug addiction. But one day he sees her busking in the park, and when he tries to talk with her, she takes off again, and he ends up assaulting Aaron, the guy who got her hooked on drugs. Simon vows to find Paige, and of course, discovers much more than he bargained for.
This certainly kept me hooked, like the good Harlan Coben books of old. I wanted to find out how all the story threads would weave together. Although there is still too much of his characters knowing what was going on and refusing to divulge the information, at least they all had good reasons for it, as opposed to it just being a way to keep the truth at bay a little bit longer.
The other issue was I could feel the padding. This was mainly by way of a character arranging to meet somebody and the book would spend three or more pages describing what was done to get there. Seriously, I don't need that detail. I suppose it's to up the word count to an acceptable level, but it was annoying. When you can skim something and not miss anything, it doesn't need to be there!
All in all, a mostly exciting and suspenseful thriller from an author who delivers the goods more than he doesn't!
The protagonist is Simon Greene, who is still haunted by the fact he couldn't save his eldest daughter, Paige, from her drug addiction. But one day he sees her busking in the park, and when he tries to talk with her, she takes off again, and he ends up assaulting Aaron, the guy who got her hooked on drugs. Simon vows to find Paige, and of course, discovers much more than he bargained for.
This certainly kept me hooked, like the good Harlan Coben books of old. I wanted to find out how all the story threads would weave together. Although there is still too much of his characters knowing what was going on and refusing to divulge the information, at least they all had good reasons for it, as opposed to it just being a way to keep the truth at bay a little bit longer.
The other issue was I could feel the padding. This was mainly by way of a character arranging to meet somebody and the book would spend three or more pages describing what was done to get there. Seriously, I don't need that detail. I suppose it's to up the word count to an acceptable level, but it was annoying. When you can skim something and not miss anything, it doesn't need to be there!
All in all, a mostly exciting and suspenseful thriller from an author who delivers the goods more than he doesn't!