This is the second book I've read of Catherine Ryan Howard so I came in with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed! I absolutely loved this book! It had elements of horror, mystery and thriller and a very capable and intelligent protagonist. No hiding behind the chain saws for her. I highly recommend this title and I can't wait to read her next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

What a visceral experience! Reading Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard should count as your daily cardio workout, thanks to the rapid page turning and pulse-pounding fear.

Unless you’re soothed by heavily wooded isolation, banshees and the threat of grievous bodily harm, that is. If so, consider this a bucolic romp in the Irish forest.

Everyone else should strap in for a tension-filled stay in the cold, dark, wet woods of West Cork, where actress-cum-motel receptionist Adele Rafferty has gone to film a low-budget, indie horror film. The conditions aren’t ideal, but beggars can’t be choosers. And professionally speaking? Adele is clearly in the beggars category. Even the warning texts she receives from an anonymous source can’t dissuade her from trying to jump-start her career with this starring role in Steven Dade’s new film.

Things quickly take a turn for the ominous when she finds herself the only female on the remote set, populated with a male crew who are, at best, ineffectual and at worst? Well, the worst could be very bad, indeed. Because scenes from the script are starting to play out in real life, which could be coincidental. Or an attempt at cinema verite. Or something much more sinister.

The author really excels at naturalistic dialogue and has created an imperfect but believable and sympathetic main character in Adele. The atmosphere is suitably claustrophobic and spooky. The plot moves forward steadily, interspersed with pages from the script that keep momentum flowing. For film fans, the details of life on a movie set add another layer of interest.

Grab this title if:
- you wonder about the things that go “bump” in the night
- you’re a cinemaphile who likes a peek behind the scenes
- you enjoy a good slasher flick and still wonder if Blair Witch might have been real
- you like a heroine that’s flawed but fierce

⭐️: 4/5

Former soap opera star Adele, now living in LA and struggling to find work and make ends meet, agrees to a last minute role in a low budget horror movie after the original actress drops out. The movie, Final Draft, centers around a couple staying in a remote cabin who find a book in the cabin that seems to foreshadow the events that happen to them. When strange things start happening on set that coincide with both the events in the film and book within the film, Adele realized all is not what it seems.

This was a wild ride of a book. It somehow works as a psychological thriller while also poking fun at the “meta”-ness of the book within a screenplay within a book, and the derivative nature of the themes and plot overall. The reveals toward the end of the book started to get confusing, but ultimately the conclusion was satisfying. Adele didn’t fall into too many of the annoying “final girl” characteristics, most notably making nonsensically bad decisions, which I appreciated, but I’m still not sure how much I actually liked her as a character. Additionally, the descriptions of scenery and location were a little overboard, and I found myself skimming whole pages devoted to painting a picture of the darkness of the trees. Overall, I enjoyed this read and will certainly be reading some of the author’s previous books now.

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for this eARC for review!

When I finished Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard, I felt like I was in a psychological thriller. The book was twisty and made me question what had happened in the book for better or for worse.

The plot surrounding a movie hooked me and the idea that the book that was in the movie paralleled the events affecting the shoot was fascinating but I feel like Run Time sometimes feels like it is leaning too hard on that idea and doesn’t give genuine fright or scares throughout.

I felt that the main character was great but the surrounding characters felt basic archetypes that never seemed like actual people.

Overall Run Time is a fun fast thriller to enjoy and finish quickly but doesn’t stay long after finished

I so enjoyed this book! Extremely clever and downright chilling at times, I reveled in solving the mystery of everything happening! Thank you!

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing.

I had high hopes for this one as I am a fan of Howard's writing. It started off great, but then I struggled with keeping up with it. Not the book for me, but I could see why others may other like it!

Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for the eARC of Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard. This is y first book I've read by this author and I will add her to my auto buy author list. At over 500 pages, this is a quick atmospheric thriller that I quickly read. I didn't want to put it down and that in my opinion is the touchstone of a good thriller!

Adele is an actress who is looking to reignite her career. She gets offered a job in a secluded setting on the set of a horror set. The movie is actually based on a book (this whole story is like a book within a book).......wild but clever for sure. But soon, things start happening to Adele in real life that mirrors the screenplay. What the heck is going on!

I can't tell you....you're gonna have to read to find out!

I quite liked this book and thought the plot was very well executed. It's like nothing I've ever read before.

Mark your calendars. This one will be published on August 16, 2022

Former actress Adele Rafferty is about to give up on her acting career when she suddenly receives an opportunity of a lifetime. Or so she believes. Adele is offered a leading role in a horror movie called Final Draft due to the original actress being unavailable. Believing this may be her next big break, she jumps at the opportunity for this second chance. However, Adele soon discovers that the real horrors lie off the page.

We follow Adele throughout this story and while I don’t expect characters in a horror setting to be perfect, there were just too many alarming instances that were ignored and swept under the rug time and time again. I loved the idea and concept for the book but felt that the story was overly descriptive and the characters weren’t well developed nor likeable. It seemed as though situations and settings were better described and developed than the characters were.

When it came to big reveals, not only were some of them predictable (and the author does poke fun at this) but the dialogue felt very unnatural. It was again, way too descriptive and drawn out. Nonetheless, I’d still recommend this book for horror fans because the script within the book made it worth while. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing.

4 stars--I really liked it.

This book is fun, with a twisty plot and a smart heroine. I love books about horror movies, and this one combines a novel, a screenplay, and live action into a meta narrative. The book is quick to read, and even though our heroine Adele is being manipulated and gaslit, she never falls prey to "too stupid to live" plotting and catches on to what's going on along with the reader. A nice break from often-oblivious narrators!

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

This one just didn't quite get there for me.

⭐⭐⭐

Run Time is a "horror lite" thriller about a young actress who spontaneously takes a role in a new film, "Final Draft", only to realize the small, all-male production crew may have other intentions with their final production.

I picked this up because who wouldn't want to read about the production of a horror movie. And I enjoyed it. But I didn't LOVE it for one main reason. It really teased me with the horror themes. We got a little flair of paranormal, slasher, and home invasion, but it never had the guts to really "go there" in any of those directions. Instead, it sort of just fizzled in the third act.

The feminist themes are very heavy-handed, but that's one of the things I liked about it! I also loved the screenplay within the story and the parallels that Howard played around with.

But the rest of it I thought was unfortunately really predictable and lukewarm. If you set your expectations right, I think you'll enjoy this a bit more than I did. But I enjoyed it enough that I would not dissuade anyone from reading it if the premise sounds interesting.

Now I can’t even go off to the woods!!

Last year when I read Catherine Ryan Howard’s 56 DAYS, I very clearly stated I was never dating again - that I would be going off to the woods to die old and alone…where it was safe.

WELL I think Catherine Ryan Howard and I need to have a word, because after reading her upcoming novel I can’t even do that!!

In the soon to be released RUN TIME, Adele is an out of work actress trying to put the past behind her. Just as she is about to hit her breaking point and call it a wrap on trying to rebuild her career, she is offered what seems to be the role of her dreams - to star as the lead in a psychological horror movie set deep in the woods of West Cork. It is only when she makes it to the secluded cabin where filming is to take place, that things start to feel off. Real life starts to mimic the terrors in the book, and it leaves Adele wondering if she will make it out of this living nightmare alive.

So as I was saying, clearly I can’t even go off to the woods now! Sheesh!

But seriously - If you are looking for an edge of your seat thriller that will have you wanting to leave the light on while reading it, this is the book!

Run, don’t walk, to stores on August 16th when RUN TIME hits shelves!

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

This was one of the scariest thrillers I have read in a while! I absolutely loved The Nothing Man by this author, so I was really excited to get my hands on her latest thriller. I think she does a fabulous job at the story-within-a-story format, and this book is no exception. All the thriller classics are here: we've got an unreliable narrator, a creepy setting, and a secret from the past! But these elements come together in a way that doesn't feel cliche or overdone. I will say that I guessed one of the twists (although I didn't guess it completely), but that in no way diminished my enjoyment of the book. A solid 4-star book and I am already looking forward to seeing what unique format CRH comes up with next!

This is my first book by this author, and I enjoyed it immensely. Really loved immersing myself in the film world with our main character and found the plot intriguing and mysterious. Some legitimately super creepy moments as well. Fun, fast-paced—-a great summer read. I look forward to more books by this author! Would definitely recommend for thriller and horror fans.

I've enjoyed reading C R Howard's books since her exceptional "The Nothing Man", so was very excited to sit down with her newest "Run Time". Both of these titles feature the "book with a book" trope, however, in "Run Time's" case it is a movie script. Set in the world of film making (Author has familial industry ties), we have the story of L.A. actress Adele, now on the set of "Final Draft", an Irish-set horror film - and what could go wrong, LOL? Enjoyed the "meta" feel of this as it unfolded, and even though this is a long novel, it rarely bogged down & was not easy to put down. It's suspenseful and atmospheric with it's locked location and has well-written characters on a very twisty journey. While it may not be as brilliantly done as "Nothing Man", I found it engrossing and quite entertaining & highly recommend it. My sincere thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary DRC, the exchange of which did not affect my review.

This is a must read if you enjoy thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I had the hardest time putting it down because there were constantly new twists & turns. I haven’t read a book like this before, reading the main story as well as a movie script being used in the movie. I gave it a solid 4 stars because although the first 1/3 of the book was a little bit slower, the rest made up for it.

Howard has a way with coming up with catchy hooks that reel you in quickly and keep you dangling on the line for a wild ride.
This novel features a book within a film within another book within another film…or something like that.
It’s a fast-paced and highly entertaining read. The story is a bit predictable, but you’d be missing the point of the story if all you wanted was the have your mind blown.
While not every aspect works, my overall reaction was of satisfaction and enjoyment.

I'm a huge lover of horror movies! When I saw the synopsis for Run Time, I knew I had to read it! This book started off strong. I was intrigued and couldn't put it down. A story within a story, within a story! This book definitely brought the creepy factor but I do feel like it could have been a bit shorter. This book definitely kept me guessing and overall I felt like it was a good solid thriller.

Expertly written that you feel like you're in the woods alongside the characters. This author magically interweave two stories and grabs ahold of the reader until the very last page.

I was a big fan of Catherine Ryan Howard’s previous novel 56 Days, so I was delighted to receive an advanced copy of her upcoming novel Run Time (many thanks to Blackstone for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this review). Run Time felt very different than 56 Days and I loved being surprised by an author’s unpredictability - Run Time reads more like a horror movie - not surprising as the plot itself revolves around a struggling actress returning to set in a low-budge horror movie - whereas 56 Days was a pandemic-set mystery built around a suspicious romance. Run Time was a page turner and the layers (we have a book within a screenplay within a book here) were expertly executed by the author. I’m so excited for this book to be released into the world, I haven’t read anything like it before. Cheers to Catherine Ryan Howard on another slam dunk.

I’ve really come to love Catherine Ryan Howard. Each of her books has a different premise, a different setting, a different set of characters. As someone who doesn’t love formulaic series, I appreciate Howard for always thinking up something new.

I really enjoyed “Run Time.” It was fast paced which meant it was quick to read. I really liked Adele’s grit and thought she was a solid lead. I’m also a sucker for anything meta and film related. Can’t wait to suggest this one when it’s published.