This was good but another always looking over your shoulder because of your stupid choices book. Jill Bailey, a CIA analyst, receives a call saying saying we have your son. He won't be harmed if you approve the Falcon. She does and then moves her family when her husband gets a new job offer. a news journalist, Alex Charles, gets what he's been waiting for, the hot tip, and starts working with Jill to solve the Falcon mystery..
Karen Cleveland writes a good book but I get very frustrated with the many decisions and choices made that are totally unbelievable and could never happen. The writing was good and the characters were good but the plot was a little hard to swallow for me.
Thank you Netgalley and Balentine Books for an ARC of this book.

I was up late reading this book. I wanted to know what was going to happen. Karen Cleaveland has done it again. Just as in her first Novel "Need to Know" and it's sequel, "Keep You Close", "You Can Run" is about a CIA analyst and how far she will go to protect her family and the secrets she must keep. This gripping thriller will have you turning page after page and keep you up reading until the last page. I would recommend this book and all of Karen Cleveland's books to any thriller fan.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

"Losing everything changes you."

Jill Bailey, married to Drew, mother of two young children, is a CIA analyst who is responsible for vetting new intel sources. The new recruit, Falcon, is set to become a prize catch for the agency as he has information about Syria's plan to use anthrax as a bio weapon. Before she can do her due diligence and pass him up the chain, she gets a phone call at work. Someone has kidnapped her son and they are asking her to betray her country by doing just this one "small" thing. She's desperate and she does it.

Alex Charles is a reporter for the Washington Post and gets an anonymous tip that she can use to catapult her career with a Pulitzer if she can run it down. Her search leads her to Jill and they begin to investigate the claims and find the truth. NO SPOILERS.

This was another fast-paced espionage thriller from an author whose previous books thoroughly hooked me. Karen Cleveland writes about what she knows as she spent 8 years working for the CIA and it shows. Told in alternating points of view between Jill and Alex, the characters come alive and this becomes more than a spy story. Two determined women who have a lot to lose but who love their country and feel a deep responsibility to find those responsible for this conspiracy. Another great conclusion leaves the door open for another book, perhaps a sequel. This, however, is a standalone and you don't need to have read the other two books.

All three of these novels beg to be adapted into miniseries and I am still waiting for Need to Know to go into production. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

You Can Run starts with a wave of tension that doesn't ebb you until you've read the final word. Jill Bailey is an analyst for the CIA who receives a call on her lunch break that turns her world upside down and poses the question, "How far will you go to protect your family?" Alex Charles is a journalist who is always looking for the next big story in hopes of winning a Pulitzer, and she thinks she's found it in Jill's past. Will she come out on top after her investigation puts her at risk?

This book is told through both Jill's and Alex's POV, which is a great way to see the story from both characters' eyes. As I said the tension builds from the first page. Cleveland, a former employee of the CIA, has given us a realistic spy thriller with heart. If this is your thing, you'll definitely enjoy this book!

Thank you to Random House, Ballantine Books, author Karen Cleveland, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Karen Cleveland’s experience work in the CIA helps her create an authentic character in Jill Bailey. Jill is put into an impossible situation when she has to choose between the safety of her infant son and the country’s security. She knows it cannot end well and will drag on. And she is right. Edge of your seat suspense as she faces every mother’s nightmare.

Jill was forced to make the choice between her family and country when she worked as a CIA analyst. Years later, the past is coming back to haunt her in this fast paced thriller in the form of journalist Alex Charles.

This is my second Karen Cleveland book and I have loved both. You Can run was compelling and fast paced. I found the characters incredibly interesting, and could understand Jill's rationale. Not to mention, I love a good spy story!

I really enjoyed this espionage thriller! It was a slow start, but once it picked up, I flew through it.
Very fast paced, great characters and lots of behind the scenes spy action!
Great summer read and thankful for the ARC!

You Ca Run had a similar vibe as Cleveland's other books, but that isn't a bad thing. If you have a formula that works, why not? The book was fast paced and cleverly plotted and kept me guessing until the end!

What would you do if your child was kidnapped and the only thing that would bring your child back to you would be approving a new hire? Oh wait, you work for the CIA and this new hire would be a spy. What would you do?

Beginning with this premise, Ms. Cleveland has crafted a book that brings the worst thing a parent fears and makes it a reality. Then, lulling the reader into complacency, with a gap of time when everything is fine, the author then brings out the big guns and the nightmare begins again!

With lightning speed, the threat is back. This time you can't run. With the prompting of a journalist looking for the elusive Pulitzer, and the long ago approved spy seemingly sending clues, you decide this time to stand your ground and fight.

Enemies are closer than you think, and the last paragraph of the book will send chills up your spine. A great thriller.

Thank you Net Galley and Kensington for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. The review is my own.

This was such an action packed and fast-paced thriller! Cleveland has written some of the few (if not only) espionage, FBI/CIA related thrillers I have read and I always really enjoy them. I love that they are different from most other crime fiction, domestic thrillers, and police procedural books. If I had the time, I definitely could have devoured this one in a day!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a spy thriller. A vast conspiracy, what is truth? Whose truth? What would I have done if my child was threatened in this manner? Jill Bailey a CIA analyst makes a split second choice and then teams up with Alex a journalist. Interesting premise...freaky ending. 3.5 stars

Jill Bailey, CIA analyst, has to make the toughest decision of her life. Her son, Owen, has been kidnapped. She must approve a Syrian source, Falcon, in order to keep her son safe. So begins this exciting new novel from Karen Cleveland. Jill's action to save her son causes her to leave the CIA and relocate to Flordia.

Years later a tenacious reporter, Alex Charles, looking for a Pulitzer worthy story, gets a tip about Falcon that leads her to investigate and talk to Jill. If Alex can find Jill, so can the people who took Owen before. To keep her family safe, Jill now has a daughter also, she works with Alex to get at the truth, There is also Natasha, a Russian spy, who plants tips on the dark web.

The book starts a little slow, but picks up the pace quickly and then rewards the reader with a knockout ending I did not see coming. Cleveland knows the spy world quite well. I enjoyed this book more than her previous, Keep You Close, but not as much as her first, Need to Know.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. This review is my own.

Wow! What a twisted thriller of a ride! Karen Cleveland brings you right into the inner most workings of the US intelligence agencies . This is her third book and the best so far! Loved every pulse-pounding page!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC!

Karen Cleveland delivers another sensational book with You Can Run. A CIA agent who is in charge of vetting a covert communication agent has to make a rash decision when her child is abducted. Approve the agent or your child dies! This book grips you from the very beginning and just when you think all is settled the past comes back to the present. You will not see the ending coming and I was amazed at how the author ties it all together. Amazing book, highly recommend to all espionage fans!!!

I've read Karen Cleveland's two previous books and this is another one filled with intrigue, twists, and surprises. The characters are believable and Cleveland's background with the CIA in real life lends authenticity to the story.

I can't say much about the story itself - I don't want to give spoilers - but the book is very well-written and won't disappoint mystery lovers.

Shocking and unexpected ending!!

You Can Run is a fast paced, action packed CIA thrill ride that you will likely tear through as fast as I did. CIA analyst Jill Bailey gets a call that her son has been kidnapped. She is faced with a decision - save her son or betray her country. The story takes off very quickly and Jill does whatever she must to protect her family. I found You Can Run very entertaining and it was the perfect book for me to read during my vacation. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for the early release copy in exchange for my honest opinion. You Can Run will be available on 8/31/21.

Former CIA counter-terrorism analyst Karen Cleveland returns with her third book called You Can Run. The author takes a shot at her former employer in a book that once again dives into the world of spies, betrayal, twists and turns,and an unbelievable ending. Jill Bailey who was a CIA case officer now working the Damascus desk. When a cable comes in asking her to approve an alleged Syrian Defense official code name Falcon, she has no idea that her world will be turned on its head. Jill isn't one who takes the easy way out. She verifies before trusting.

However, when she receives a phone call telling her that they have her son Owen, she has 3 minutes to verify the information. Falcon appears to be a Syrian Defense Official with access to bio-weapons. If she approves the request without due diligence, there's a good chance Falcon could be a double agent. What would any mother do? She approves the request, and then she resigns her job and runs. Even though she and her husband Drew move to Florida to escape, Jill once again finds that she's wrong when she receives another message telling her she can run, but she can't hide.

Meanwhile, investigative journalist Alex Charles is working on a story about the Syrian bio-warfare program and the source of U.S. intelligence information. Alex received an encrypted message telling her there is a story worth reporting. They tell Alex that people deserve to know the truth about Falcon. After diving into her sources at various agencies, Alex learns that Jill Bailey, now Smith, resigned from the CIA and moved away. She also learns that a case officer allegedly committed suicide 4 years ago that may or may not be linked to what's happening.

4 years later, Jill Smith is still keeping a secret about Owen's kidnapping from Drew, and she has a new daughter to worry about now. She's taken a new job teaching, and things seem normal albeit boring. However, when journalist Alex Charles contacts Jill for some answers about what she’s discovered, Jill once again faces a hard choice. Tell Drew and fear losing him. Keep quiet, and hope it all goes away. Or, come clean about what she did and face possible jail time for breaking protocol.

The choice is made for her when Alex refuses to back down, and refuses to give up on a story that could be her key to a Pulitzer. Jill and Alex find themselves working together to uncover a traitor, an extremely dangerous individual who could bring catastrophe in his wake. What is apparent is that someone either within the CIA, or Russia, or China, is pushing the US into war with Syria. The action really ramps up now as Alex and Jill work together to uncover the traitor and the truth and save her children and maybe prevent a war.

I think one of the worst things about this story is the ending. As with the authors previous book called Need to Know, the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. If you are a reader following along in this book, it is pretty apparent that things are going to go one way or the other. The author once again chooses to leave readers stunned and angry. What is also apparent after reading two out of three books is that the author apparently has an axe to grind with her former employer. She's not the only one if you are paying attention to current world events. If you don't believe, me, start by reading Need to Know, and then pick up this book and tell me I'm wrong. I'll be waiting.

Wow, this is a page-turner. Loved this fast paced thrill ride of a novel.

Jill works for the CIA, her job is to vet new sources. Jill receives a call that her son Owen has been kidnapped. The only way to save him is to approve a unknown source-the FALCON.

Jill partners with a journalist Alex in an exciting story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The plot is full of unexpected twist and turners and totally unpredictable.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

This was a fast-paced and entertaining story about a CIA analyst who's son is kidnapped as a way of blackmailing her into approving a secret informant. Shaken by the entire thing, she quits her job and moves to another state. But then she's tracked down by a journalist who's determined to get to the truth.

I don't really a lot of political thrillers, but do enjoy them from time to time. This was definitely a plot-driven book and I'd have preferred a little more world-building (i.e. more details on Syria and its role in world events) and more character development. But I loved the female-forward aspect of this one and enjoyed watching these two women working together: Jill, the former CIA agent who'd given up her career to try to keep her son safe, and Alex, the intrepid reporter who will stop at nothing to get her story.

I love Karen Cleveland books. They drop you smack dab into the action and keep you guessing. Jill Bailey’s a CIA analyst that’s asked to approve a source so those that kidnapped her son won’t kill him. How’s that for a book opening? She does, feels guilty, quits her job and moves on with her life. Now you know it can’t be that easy, right? The past has a way of showing up when you least expect it.

I love in this book that I suspect everyone because anything could be a misdirection. It moved right along and kept me guessing. And let me throw out there that I never guess the ending of her books and this one was no exception.

It feels like it could happen and I connected with the characters. Lately I’ve run into thrillers that I really don’t care what happens, but this book kept me wanting more. And I also really like how she throws in those teaser sentences at the end of the chapter just daring you to stop reading now.