This was a fantastic thriller. Perfect creepy vibes. This is a great book for those who also love film. There were some twists and turns but the atmosphere was my favorite part! A must read!

I previously read The Nothing Man, I was excited to run into this one. I'm not sure which I liked more or less.
I am a little iffy about isolation settings but I was surprise to not be turned off by it in Run Time.
There were multiple parts I found a little to easy or convenient, but I tried not to over analyze. Other parts were confusing but I pushed through.
I'm not sure I would read this again. It was kind of just there for me.

This book had a fun premise, but the writing style didn't work for me. I kept finding myself getting distracted while trying to read it

This book was not my favorite by Catherine Ryan Howard but it was still one of the best and most atmospheric books I have read in a while. I felt like i was Adele (the Irish actor who is a soap opera star and has landed a new role and hopes it will be her big break). I loved that this was a screen play intertwined throughout the book, and it was done in a way that I felt was easy to keep the two separate, which says a lot about CRH's writing abilities. This is not a book I would read at night, I felt like someone was watching me the entire time, which made it so incredibly fun! Definitely recommend if you love loved 56 days, this one will be another on your must read list!

RUN TIME review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

🎬Happy Thriller Thursday! I read 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard last fall and enjoyed it so I knew I wanted to check out her latest thriller! The premise of this one sounded so interesting, I’d never read a thriller that takes place on the set of a movie. But I had a biiiit of trouble getting into this one. Once I was invested, I flew through the back half of this one!

🎬Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Adele is a struggling actress who is cast in a last horror minute movie. She gets the call to play the lead role, and the very next day she’s flying across the world to start filming. But even before she gets on set, she has a feeling that something isn’t quite right. Adele is determined to push that feeling away to star in the role of a lifetime. But Adele has no idea what real life horrors await her…

🎬This book gave me major Inception vibes. It’s a story within a story within a story. At the beginning it was hard for me to follow which characters were in which storylines. Once I was able to straighten them out in my brain I enjoyed the book! I didn’t see the ending coming at all! I enjoyed 56 Days more than Run Time, but I definitely plan to read more of her books in the future!

This is book you will read about an actress who is reading a screenplay about a writer who is reading a book about a woman who get scared shitless in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Have I lost you yet? Don't worry - it's not as complicated as it sounds. It's also probably not really a horror (although they address that in the book too).

I can see why this has received so many low ratings - it's very meta in its form - but I had a good time. I liked how the book (author) poked fun itself and the genre - almost like a 4th wall wink to the camera. Some people may call it pretentious and oh so blasé, but honestly I am not that clever - I kinda liked the story within the story within the.... well, you get what I mean.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Run Time
I LOVE Catherine Ryan Howard!

Out now!

“When real life on set starts to somehow mirror the sinister events portrayed in the script, Adele fears the real horror lies off the page. Isolated and unsure who in the crew she can trust, is there anywhere or any time left to run?”

This was a new kind of plot and I kept wondering if I was imagining things. The format was unique as well - a script mixed in with the story of Adele. This one was a great read but I’m still always chasing the high of reading The Nothing Man for the first time! So happy I still have her backlist to work through!

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for my E-ARC!

Run Time
Catherine Ryan Howard
Blackstone Publishing
August 16, 2022

Adele Rafferty had a lengthy run on a soap opera called These are the Days. She thinks her biggest career mistake was leaving the show. She got fired from her last job for having a psychotic break on set. Unemployed for almost a year, she agrees to act in a horror film set in the deep woods. She has only 24 hours notice and she has to travel trans-Atlantic to the set. The last actress has bowed out and the director only has two weeks to shoot the movie. Adele thinks this could be her brilliant comeback as an actor.

Little did she know that she was walking into the nightmare of Final Draft: The Film set in the isolated, deep, dark woods. And then strange things start happening starting with an eerie text from an unknown caller.

This book is downright scary. Howard’s writing keeps the tension going and going and going! It kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. The book goes from the screenplay text to the book it’s based on, to reality. It works really well. There are clever reveals and a wonderful cast of characters.

I recommend this book to those of us who enjoy psychological thrillers. It’s a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to #Netgalley and #BlackstonePublishing for the arc. The opinions are my own.

Another hit by Catherine Ryan Howard! Fans of her books will not be disappointed in her newest one! The story keeps you engaged and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you put it down. Highly recommend!

Adele was once a famous soap star whose career has taken a hiatus, so when the opportunity to step into a leading role in a psychological horror flick presents itself, she jumps at the chance hoping it can help propel her back into the industry. It’s a last minute switch as the previous actress has left the project, so she probably doesn’t ask enough questions, and is quickly whisked away to a remote cottage in the woods of West Cork, Ireland. What can possibly go wrong? 

📖 I loved the story within a story, but it was a little hard to follow at times because you’re not sure what’s real and what isn’t.  The remote location lent to creepy vibes throughout, and it kept me on the edge of my seat seeing how it would unravel. I thought it was fun and entertaining but it wasn’t my favorite thriller, however I will be excited to look for more from this author.

What a thrilling book. So gripping I was able to listen to it while rocking both nephews to sleep, while cleaning, moving around the house, preparing dinner, everything. The narrator was amazing, with such a compelling and enchanting voice I lost myself to the novel for whole hours at a time. It was such a thrill to listen to, and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone. The book itself was such a neat and thrilling twist on the typical meta story(and could it get more meta outside of being a Wes Craven film?). I love Catherine Ryan Howard and am finding that she is one of my favorite authors now. I love reading her books and listening to them as well. She's completely engrossing no matter the form.

Adele is struggling to re-start her acting career so when she is offered an opportunity to take a leading role in an independent horror movie, she barely hesitates. She only begins to question her decision when she arrives on set and discovers that it is in a remote location with a minimal, all-male crew, and the filming is being done only at night.

Catherine Ryan Howard’s latest book, Run Time, has a spooky and intriguing premise. The author has produced a unique plot that includes a book within a book within a movie. Or something like that. In any case, there are events that take place in the story, the book in the story, and the movie (screenplay). They are all similar and as Adele tries to sort it all out she begins to realize that her comeback role could be her last.

Ms Ryan is a talented and creative author and I’ve enjoyed her other books. But, Run Time was a bit of a struggle for me. Even though there’s a lot going on, there were times that the story seemed to drag and Adele’s paranoia became a bit wearing. Because it is complex and fairly lengthy, and it jumped between the three scenarios, it is a book that will be most appreciated if it is read on a fairly continuing basis (like a long train ride). While this isn’t one of my favorite books by this author, I’m looking forward to her next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Adele is an actress living in LA who has been struggling to find work. When a production company in Ireland offers her a lead role in a horror film, she takes the next flight back to her home country. Filming takes place in a cabin in the woods, and odd things quickly start happening on set. Adele does not know who she can trust, and soon feels like she is living in a real life horror movie.

For starters, I loved the setting of this book! I found the setting to be what drew me in and kept me reading. This one gets bonus points for making you feel like you are being watched. I also enjoyed that the movie script was added in! With that being said, I do feel as if the pace of this book was pretty slow, and I did not find myself connecting with any of the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the plot of this one but wish it was more fast-paced.

This book gave me the creepies and in a good way it definitely set the tone. I loved the premise of this book. It was very unique and I was hooked. I love Catherine Ryan Howard’s books. I will read anything she writes. I did find that so much happened in the end it was a little hard to keep up with but overall this was a thriller that did not disappoint!

Wow! I think I might have found a new must read author. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I was invested the entire book. I loved the whole story, within a story, within a story that was so fun. i have never read anything quite like it. The imagery that this book created for me was terrifying I felt like I was right there with Adele in her nightmare experience. I will say I did have the plot figured out a little more than halfway through but I still had to know how the whole story tied together. Was the ending kind of unbelievable and wrapped up a little too neatly? Maybe, but I still enjoyed every second if this crazy ride. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to be creeped out in the middle of the night thinking about Mothmen and Ghostly banshees hiding in the woods you are lost in. Lastly thank you #netgalley for the opportunity to read and give my honest review to this book. Until next time Happy Reading!

This was another solid story from Catherine Ryan Howard. I like her thrillers, but I do think her pacing is a bit slow for me. I found that again, I struggled to really get into this story. Once everything really started to get moving, I enjoyed this quite a bit. The ending was a bit off, but overall, I would recommend this to thriller lovers!

Adele is a struggling actress living in L.A. waiting desperately for her big break. One day she receives a phone call proposing to her a last-minute role of a lifetime. She is a little hesitant at first but realizing this is just too good to pass up, she accepts and takes the first flight to Ireland. Once on set for the thriller horror movie “Final Draft” that has been laced with much secrecy, she notices strange things happening on set that coincide with events that take place in the script. As she receives ominous text messages and just can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched, Adele must get to the bottom of things before it’s too late.

•

I really love the idea behind this story and I enjoyed how the book flipped from the present to the actual script of the movie. However, I had a lot of hopes in this being more of a horror story, there was plenty of potential and opportunities but it just fell a little flat for me. There was some suspense that kept me on edge as you try to navigate through Adele’s POV what is going on, I just wish there was some more action. I also was not the biggest fan of the reasoning behind everything, it was a little underwhelming and did not make every much sense to me. I do love the author’s writing style and really enjoyed her previous book 56 days, however I just could not really connect with this one. I do recommend this for any movie fans out there, it was very interesting to read of the filming progress and the secrets within the movie business. Thank you toNetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This title is available now for purchase!

When semi- has been actress Adele gets offered a feature role in an indie film last minute, she thinks it may be her last chance to get back into the game of movie making. The film is set in a remote location, with minimal staff and the atmosphere definitely instills a sense of isolation.

I enjoyed that the movie itself (called Final Draft) was primarily about a woman reading a book called First Draft. Weird coincidences between the movie character, the book character and our actress start occurring and then it becomes a race to figure out if Adele is in real danger or if her mind is just playing tricks on her. At times this one was a bit heavy on the gaslighting/unreliable narrator trope.

Run Time was my second Catherine Ryan Howard book and I'll likely pick up whatever she writes next despite not rating this one higher.


Special thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for a copy for review.

If you've read a thriller from Catherine Ryan Howard before it's very similar to her others with the format which I enjoy. If not, she commonly writes a story within a story. For Run Time, this time for her story within the story it's a movie script that takes place within the action on a psychological horror movie set. The action in the movie script eerily mirrors what is going on for Adele Rafferty, our leading lady, on the set.

If the word horror scares you, do not fret. Although the movie is set to be a psychological horror, I'd say we as readers only get to the psychological thriller aspects of the script and story. I thought the first half of the story was well done, but sadly the last half started to run out of steam. I found the ending underwhelming. It was an exciting premise, but for me it didn't work out.

If you've enjoyed her previous works or enjoy psychological thrillers that are more character driven, pick up Run Time.

(PSA – My rating should NOT be looked at – unfortunately you can’t leave a review without a star rating)

I was SO excited to read this after loving 56 Days! The premise sounded very intriguing. Upon diving in - I started with the netgalley, but also had a library book hard copy. I kept struggling with trying to read a screen play inside of a book. It reminded me a lot of "The Appeal" - also a screen play inside a book, which I struggled heavily with. Unfortunately, this format just does not work for me, despite my interest!

Thank you, netgalley & the publisher,!