Run away by Harlan Coben

Cornerstone, 2019. ISBN: 9781784751173.
(Age: 16+) Recommended for lovers of thrillers. Themes: Mystery, Drug addiction, Fathers. An exciting stand-alone thriller, Run away grabs the reader right from the first page and with many twists and hooks, keeps up the momentum until the unexpected end. Simon Greene's daughter Paige has disappeared. A drug addict, she has an abusive partner. Simon continually searches for her and one day he believes that he has spotted her in Central Park. She runs and following her trail leads Simon to danger and things that he could not have imagined.
Harlan Coben is a master at hooking the reader in and keeping the suspense and tension going until the dramatic conclusion. Coben's portrayal of the father who just can't give up on his daughter, even after her abusive boyfriend is found dead, is very effective. Simon's steps to find Paige and to find out who is the murderer, are vividly described and make it very difficult to put the book down. The dark side of the drug world is a dangerous place for him to venture into and this background makes the story even more thrilling.
Run away kept me guessing until the end and although all the clues are there when you know what has happened, they weren't obvious to me while reading. Verdict: An exciting thriller that was hard to put down and easy to read as it was a stand-alone.
Pat Pledger