3.75
Really good typical thriller! Lots of twists and turns. Easy to read and hard to put down. I’ll certainly read more by this author.

Mystery and intrigue...love and romance...what will happen next? Why? Who did it? Red herrings...a main character who is intriguing but flawed...other characters who are not so likable...this story is unusual in that it is difficult to discern what will happen next. This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review electronically. The story does move slowly at times, but it comes to a satisfactory conclusion.

RUN TIME
BY: CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD

About 2.5 Stars

I discovered this author, Catherine Ryan Howard, when I by random chance I read and reviewed an early Advanced Readers Copy of her fabulous and unique novel which I loved, called "Distress Signals". That was her first book and it was fascinating and Unforgettable. I will insert a link to my review at the bottom, for those of you who may be interested. It has within it a link making her book all too real and quite terrifying. That one remains my favorite books of all time, but I wonder if it still would remain so highly esteemed so I am going to read it again after finishing this one. My second favorite of hers is called, "Rewind". I have read every single book that she has written, except for "56 days," having to do with the Pandemic, I believe, but escaped my radar.

This latest novel called, "Run Time," started out what I won't lie a bit hard to get into, but had some pretty well written horror scenes that scared me to death in the best sort of ways. Don't we all want to be terrified while reading a thriller?

Then the momentum was lost for me and it didn't quite work for me. One reason was the story within this story which was the movie script was annoying because it really only hinted at the main theme. It started to be a major distraction from the main plot where it started out to seem relevant but the more that I read I think that it just frustrated me to meander elsewhere. It just didn't seem like it belonged after a certain point. It wasn't important anymore at about three quarters towards the ending.

Catherine Ryan Howard is a gifted author and this had so much promise until explanations grew more outlandish. The script within this novel deviated from what it first presented itself to be to the point that it was underwhelming at best. At first I saw the similarity to the plot and by the end it seemed like it deviated from its original intention.

Adele travels from Los Angeles to revive her floundering acting to take a part without much notice and she travels to an isolated location in Cork County, Ireland. Some wonderful scary moments chilled me when she is left alone with the rest of the small male movie crew disappear without any clue to both Adele and at least this reader. The total isolation, loss of electricity and no cell service mixed in with the frigid temperature and the rain made for the creep factor. Especially when I got the sense that she might not be alone made for some great atmospheric chills.

When Adele made the harrowing journey out to the tar road and she didn't engage the police to take her seriously and when her fellow member of the film crew showed up with not being totally truthful is when I thought this was very unrealistic. It fell apart for me from the point he went up in the attic and was gone for so long is when I felt this book began to fall apart for me. Every scene after that strained credibility. I feel badly that I didn't love this but my rating is 2.5 stars. My review for "Distress Signals," can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Publication Date: August 16, 2022

I want to thank Net Galley, Catherine Ryan Howard and Blackstone Publishing for generously sharing an early review copy with me. I was excited to receive it and wish this author and Blackstone all of my best wishes. All opinions are my own.

#RunTime #CatherineRyanHoward #BlackstonePublishing #NetGalley

I am fully aware that someone may try to rob me knowing I have a copy of this book, and let me tell you, I would not blame them. It was THAT good.

I will be completely transparent, I requested this book based on the cover. It was eye catching and really got my attention. Little did I know the book would supersede all expectations.

Typically, I shy away from books that are over 500 pages as I feel they can be long and drag a bit. This is not the case for this book. I was not bored for even a second. This book instantly captivated my attention and put me on a wild ride I was in no hurry to get off of.

I completed this book over the course of two days and I call that a pretty fabulous weekend.

This is a character driven novel with a very detailed plot that will have you second guessing everything you think is happening. Catherine Ryan Howard, is a force to be reckoned with and this book deserves all of the hype surrounding it.

I will be recommending this book for years to come.

This is a book you do not want to miss, pre-order, and start your count down!

This wasn't my favorite Catherine Ryan Howard book, but it was really fun and fast-paced. I loved the interesting format and reading from the point of view of the main character Adele was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

I hate to have to say this about a Catherine Ryan Howard novel, but this left me underwhelmed.

Adele is an actress who used to be on a famous Irish soap opera. Her star has plummeted to the ground in recent years, and she’s just about made the decision to quit following her dream...until an offer she can’t refuse presents itself.

The project is a horror movie called Final Draft (terrible title, which the book also acknowledges), and it will be shooting in Ireland. The director is desperate to have her after the previous actress left the project. The film will be shooting in the woods in a house that’s far from any main road or town.

What could possibly go wrong? A lot.

I am a HUGE fan of Howard’s books, and was quite sure this would be a winner…but it wasn’t. I saw where this was heading from a mile away, and even though there was one revelation towards the end that I didn’t know was coming, it was so OTT and unrealistic, and it just didn’t feel legit to me.

There’s also a lot of repetition, as this features a “script within a book”. We read excerpts of the script for Final Draft, and then something very similar happens to Adele while on location. It’s a bit gimmicky and didn’t really work for me.

The ending didn’t blow me away or really redeem itself. As one of the characters even states, “The explanation is actually…Well, it’s pretty mundane, don’t you think?” You got that right!

I will say that this is a super quick read, and despite the repetition, I was never really bored. It also has some great atmosphere, as I’m sure you can imagine when it involves a lone house in the middle of the forest. I probably wouldn’t have been so disappointed if my expectations weren’t sky high, but this was just a decent (not great) thriller to me. That being said, I’ll still be first in line for Howard’s next book, as I genuinely enjoy her writing style. I hope other readers love this one.

2.5 stars

Note to those reading the ARC: There seems to be at least partial sentences missing throughout the book. I don’t think it was enough to have difficulty following the story, but I found it interesting that it would go out to reviewers in such an unfinished state regardless of it being an ARC.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 8/16/22.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

Another winner from Catherine Ryan Howard. Every twist and turn was surprising but came together to make a wonderful book.

An amazing thriller! I seriously enjoyed this book which kept me up all night reading. It’s a great face paced story that makes you want to keep reading. Highly enjoyed!

Adele Rafferty is hoping that the movie Final Draft, will be her big break. A soap opera star, Adele wants to be taken seriously in the industry and when the lead actress on the film bows out at the 11th hour, Adele sees this as her chance. The creepy story is being filmed at a house deep in the woods, but it soon becomes apparent that the script isn’t the only place where odd things are happening. A slow burn suspense story with a setting that only increases the tension