A phenomenal book to read. This kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I didn't want to put it down for anything.

There's been a murder and a twelve year old boy is missing. Did he kill the victim or is he the true victim?

Read one of the best books I've ever read to find out. Every page takes you deeper and deeper into the situation and you'll find yourself rooting for the underdog, hard.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this one down. It was a cross between the Fugitive and Sleepless in Seattle.



How can a 12 year old kill a man in cold blood? Is he the ruthless killer that prosecuter Petrelli has made him out to be. Nathan Bailey was sent to juvenile detention center for stealing his uncle's car and now he is on the run for killing a guard. Nathan not only has Petrelli after him, the whole country is now watching after he calls into Radio Personality "The Bitch" aka Denise stating what really happened.

You can't help but be on Nathan's side but the story is what really got him in trouble in the first place. In his run to freedom, he breaks into several houses and is apologetic to the homeowners and the word gets out. The country becomes divided on who Nathan really is. A cold blooded killer that needs to be put away or victim of the system. Will leave you at the edge of your seat.

A Special Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

John Gilstrap is one of my must-read authors so when I saw Nathan's Run on NetGalley I was surprised because I knew this book was one of his first.

But MAN OH MAN did I forget how utterly spine-tingling this story is. Fast paced, a signature of Gilstrap's writing, whip smart with great characters, Nathan's Run is the perfect book to invite you into his world.

Fabulous! I can't recommend it highly enough.
Thanks for letting me read and review.

Nathan’s Run by John Gilstrap is a thriller that was originally published in 1996 and is now being republished. With the main character of the story only being twelve Nathan’s Run was considered a young adult thriller however the content was very much adult and mature so that has landed the book on many a ban list in the last twenty years. This new publication of the novel has cleaned up the content a bit making it more young adult friendly but the story is still one for a more mature audience.

Police are called in to investigate a savage killing at a juvenile detention center in Virginia and upon first inspection the suspect in the killing is twelve year old Nathan Bailey. After the guard had been found murdered it was found that Nathan was also missing from the facility leading to a hunt to find him.

Nathan had ran but the situation wasn’t as simple as the police seemed to think it had been. Instead Nathan had only defended himself and ran away scared but now with everyone looking for him and no one believing he was innocent of the crimes he was originally accused of Nathan doesn’t know who to trust and turns to a call in radio show to hear his side of the story.

Having read a few books by John Gilstrap before I came into this with certain expectations and immediately found them true, the story was once again a high octane thriller that begins immediately and keeps the fast pace throughout the book. Even with a twelve year old lead the book should appeal to adults as the content is still an intense thrill ride with mature content. Definitely another intense, edge of your seat read from this author that has me looking forward to picking up more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

John Gilstrap is one of my favorite authors. When I see his name on a book I know I am in for a thrilling ride, and he never lets me down. I gave a glowing review to his most recent Jonathan Grave book, “Total Mayhem” earlier this year. “Nathan’s Run,” not part of the Grave series, was Gilstrap’s first published thriller, and it is great. A reader would not pick it as a debut novel.

Nathan is a twelve-year-old boy in a juvenile prison for stealing his uncle’s car. He kills a guard under mysterious circumstances and escapes. He is of course pursued by the authorities. As someone who is the mother of a person who used to be a twelve-year-old boy my heart was in my throat, and all of my sympathies were for this poor child, however bright and resourceful he was. I do not like spoilers, so I will say no more about the plot, but this is an exciting book, very hard to put down.

Gilstrap changed a few details in this reissue, mostly of language. Otherwise, this is a twenty year old book which does not seem dated. Full of suspense, this thrill ride kept me up past my bedtime. I recommend it highly, and urge readers unfamiliar with Gilstrap to also give the Jonathan Grave series a try.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions are my own.

John Gilstrap's Nathan's Run (Pinnacle Books 2011) follows a twelve-year-old boy who ends up in juvie for a crime he didn't commit. By a crazy fluke of luck (well, if killing a guard in self-defense is luck), he escapes. Now, all he can think to do is run from the police who think he's a murderer and the system who put him in jail when he didn't deserve it.

It starts when Nathan's mother dies, and then his father, which puts him in the care of a violent, drunken, law-breaking Uncle who sees Nathan as nothing more than a meal ticket. Nathan has been raised to be honest, moral, and believe in the goodness of people, none of which helps him. Without the Mean Gene to protect himself against hardened teen criminals, he is beat up, abused, and targeted by everyone. When one of the guards decides to kill him, Nathan tries to defend himself and ends up killing the man. Now, the entire state sees him as a cop killer. Nathan doesn't know what to do but knows he is never going back to the hellhole he escaped from, even if he must die. So he runs.

This was a riveting story from first page to the last. My only objection is the plethora of new characters, even toward the end of the book. This is more a preference of mine than a negative and you can see I didn't deduct points. Just pointing it out.

Overall, this is highly recommended to anyone who loves to root for the underdog, see good fight evil, and get high out of a happy ending. 

--to be review on my blog, WordDreams 1/2020

Good mystery with interesting characters.
Some parts of the story were far fetched and a touch of overkill...literally!
I liked the book however, the ending was a bit abrupt.

This is a rerelease of John Gilstrap's first novel, Nathan's Run. I first read this back in the late 90s when it was published. And it's still a great novel.
"After losing his mother and father, Nathan is sent to live with his uncle - who does not like Nathan at all. Things get so bad that 12-year-old Nathan takes his uncle's car and runs. He ends up in Ju-ve. When a guard is killed, Nathan escapes and is now on the run. Nobody believes his story until he calls into a radio show. But the police are still out for blood..."
Great story from Gilstrap. You can't help but pull for Nathan, especially when so many people are out to hurt him and even take his life.There is lots of action. There are a few caricatures of rural law enforcement, but Gilstrap makes it work.
In the author notes, Gilstrap talks about updating this book, but you will still need to know what a pager does and that people have newspapers delivered to the house.
Very fast reread of this debut novel. One you should definitely add to your list

This book originally came out in 1996, so there are lots of helpful reviews already. So I'll just recommend it to thriller fans. This is from an experienced author who know how to tell a good tale.

I really appreciate the copy for review!

First read this book in 2011, Upon reading it again, discovered why I enjoy Gilstrap’s books so much. Great mix of characters, action and plot. If bad things are going to happen, they seem to happen to Nathan. Working his way out of the maze of events surrounding him is the beauty of the novel.