Let me just say the audiobook of this is a+! Great Irish accents and a male reads the movie scenes while a female reads the pov so it’s easy to tell movie script plot from book plot.

Catherine Ryan Howard is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller authors. Run Time may start off a touch slow but once we make it to the set of the horror movie things pick up and it’s a perfect blend of real horror and psychological horror. Full of twists and turns this is a book that once it gets going you don't want to put down (or quit listening to, I definitely brought headphones with me to the store so I could keep listening lol)

3.5/5 ⭐️

I appreciate what this book was trying to do. I liked the meta quality. It kept my interest, but not in the way that incites that “need” to keep reading. I ended up putting it down and reading a couple other books before I picked it back up and finished it. I didn’t feel much of a connection with the protagonist, but the way it was written was smart and I had a good time generally. I would recommend it, but it’s not a new all time favorite.

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.

I listened to this on audio, to be honest it did take it a bit to grab my attention. However, once it picked up it didn't slow back down and kept me entertained the rest of the way through. The ending was a bit out there for me, but not enough for it to make this a bad story. The whole premise of the book of life imitating art is what really drew me in initially. I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook.

3.5 stars

This unsettling novel will have you questioning everything, right alongside Adele.

Adele left Ireland after a messy ending to her film career. In LA, she worked at a hotel, hoping that no one would recognize her, and waiting for her next big break. Unexpectedly, she received a call from a director begging her to star in a horror film that was under wraps. Without knowing much about the role, Adele returned to Ireland for the most unusual gig she had ever had.

Run Time could be described in one word: meta. The film that Adele starred in was called “Final Draft.” The movie closely paralleled a book called “First Draft,” a story in which a young woman was being terrorized in rural Ireland. The author heightened the mystery behind the unusual crew by deploying multiple red herrings. It was effective because both the reader and Adele couldn’t prove that the strange happenings weren’t in Adele’s head. When Howard ultimately revealed the truth, I was puzzled. On one hand, it wasn’t something I had considered, but it also didn’t land for me. Despite that, I enjoyed the parallels between “First Draft” and “Final Draft.”

Run Time boasts a full cast..and I did not know that until just now. Alana Kerr Collins, Alan Smyth, Gary Furlong, Gerard Doyle, Siobhan Waring, and Alison McKenna starred in this audiobook and I would have never guessed that there were 6 narrators. Maybe it’s a testament to how engaging the story was.

Run Time is the perfect spooky season read. Jump on this one if you’re looking for an unsettling story that will keep you guessing.

Amber Elise

Adelle is so excited when she is offered the lead in a new film called “Final Draft,” because she sees it as a way to get her acting career back. After falling from grace when she had a breakdown on set, Adelle doesn’t even look into the part much before signing a NDA and heading off to location. This proves to be a mistake when Adele realizes that making this film may be scarier than the horror movie itself!

At over 500 pages, this is a long read, but I was never bored. I had the audio book of this story and at times found the jump from script pages to the regular chapters a bit jarring. I think I would personally choose to read the physical copy of this book if I could start over. (I did really love the narrator though!)

I found Adelle’s character quite root-able, but will acknowledge I wished for a bigger twist at the end. I do understand the author’s whole point is that the mundane is usually what we really happens, but I wanted more!

Overall, it was fun to be in Adelle’s head for a few hours, but I do like Catherine’s other books better. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC is exchange for an honest review!

Catherine Ryan Howard does such a great job of writing the "book within a book" concept, or in this case, "book within a movie within a book." The chapters in this book are mixed with pages of movie script, and within the movie script are chapters from a book the movie's main character is reading. Is your head spinning yet?

What I did like was the isolated setting (if you don't know this about me, you should. I am a sucker for an isolated setting thriller), I loved the creepy vibes in the book, and I loved the narrators' Irish accents (everything I read for about a week after this was read with an Irish accent in my head 😂). I also really appreciated that there were multiple narrators. There were some really good twists near the end as well.

Some of the plot points I found to be a little too convenient, and I did find myself getting a bit confused with the three different stories, like whether each scene was "real life," the movie or the book. I know it's spelled out, but when I was listening to the audio I kept mixing up the characters.

Overall, I did think it was a fun and enjoyable book and would recommend the audiobook! Many thanks to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the early audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an atmospheric thriller that goes back and forth between actors performing according to a script for a movie and then similar circumstances happening real life. It's creepy and brings that anxious feeling that I enjoy with a good mystery. The audiobook has a great cast and I enjoyed this one.

I admit, this book made my skin crawl at times-- in a good way. I love how Catherine Ryan Howard's booksmanage to both close in on themselves and expand the definition of thriller at the same same. Run Time, set on location in a scary claustrophobic Irish woods during the production of an indie film is great example of Howard's skills. The main character, an actress with a complicated history that makes her unreliable 9 or is she???)( and our only guide through the story. Is she trapped on this film set? Is someone gaslighting her or is she gaslighting someone else? Or making the whole thing up? We don't know until the end, but that' okay because we're on board. Side characters include the too-good-to-be-true BFF and creepy film directors. Details of the filmmaking process are spot on. Who knew tress could be so scary. Well performed by narrators Alana Kerr Collins, Alan Smyth, Gary Furlong, Gerard Doyle, Siobhan Waring, Alison McKenna. A compelling audiobook but I wouldn't recommend listening while walking through the woods! Recommended as Listen of the Week in Pep Talk, the Satellite Sisters newsletter.

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!

In Run Time, we are introduced to Adele, who is a down on her luck actress who gets a call about a leading role in a new horror film that no one knows about. Once she travels from LA to Ireland where the filming is going to take place odd things start to happen. While she is staying at this remote and secluded set in the middle of the forest she starts to realize that the same creepy things that are happening to the character she's playing is also happening to her on set.

This story had such a unique and fresh take on the usual thrillers that read like a true horror film. I really liked the main character Adele who was what I think of when I think of a true final girl who is intelligent, quick thinking and not afraid to fight back. The author did a great job showing the problems women in the filming industry have to deal with while working with men and that sometimes women have to save themselves because no one else will. I think this would actually make a great film or tv adaption and I would be one of the first to watch it. This story was fast paced, extremely atmospheric and very intense. I think my favorite part besides the main character would have to be the ominously spooky vibes that the isolated setting gave off. Thank you to Netgalley for sending the digital audiobook copy of Run Time and I have to say I loved listening to the audiobook and would totally recommend it along with the physical if you can because the narrator's Irish accents were perfect and made the experience that was already amazing so much better. If you love slasher movies, extremely clever psychological thrillers, nail biting writing and a book within a movie storyline then I think you'll love this book.

This is a fun thriller with a movie theme! The cover was engaging and the writing was enjoyable. Pacing wasn’t perfect but it was still a great read!

Thank you so much to the publisher and the author for this review copy.

I've been on such a thriller kick of late and I'm always looking for one with that little bit extra. This definitely hit the spot.

I really enjoyed that there was quite a few different things going on because I was often trying to work out how they were all related.

My only complaint was with the middle, something was a little off. The tension and fear was certainly there, but then the resolution felt a bit strange.

I loved who was behind it all because it was obvious after the fact but I definitely didn't pick up on it while I was reading.

The very ending was a little confusing as I think the author went a bit too meta? Like, saying that there should be one final big twist at the end but then not really following through? I was confused.

Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook and listened to it in practically one sitting.

2.5 but rounding up.

Let me start off by saying I LOVED the concept/format. A book within a book within a movie. Very clever. Catherine Ryan Howard has greatly impressed me with her unique book concepts so I was excited to dive in. The execution unfortunately didn’t work for me. The first 70% was very very slow and had very little action aside from what was going on in the screenplay. There were some cool creepy vibes that I liked though. As a reader, one thing I didn’t like was the extreme amount of gaslighting throughout the whole book. It just got old, repetitive, and somewhat irritating. While the last 30% was filled with action, twists, and big reveals, they were all fairly predictable and nothing revealed came as much of a shock. For me, this just didn’t land.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Catherine Ryan Howard for my advance readers audiobook copy.

This was a fun, quickly-paced thriller.It was a little hard to figure out at first on audio because of all the different POVs/time jumps but once I caught on, it was smooth sailing. 3.5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

• story-within-a-screenplay thriller
• creepy, claustrophobic setting
• questionable characters

CRH's super engaging writing style kept me glued to this story! The ending left me feeling a little meh. I highly recommend the audiobook... the narration (those accents though 🤩) was excellent! Looking for your next book by this author? Check out The Nothing Man.

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted audiobook! All opinions are honest and my own.

This book was super fun as an audiobook! It was such an interesting plot. I did figure out the ending pretty early on but it still held my attention and had me listening any chance I could to see what would happen. I still had some questions at the end, but overall I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a thriller with an interesting premise.

Twisting story. Some interesting characters. Who can you trust if you can't trust your best friend?

Adele Rafferty is a washed up actress hiding from her past failures working in a motel. When the opportunity to work again falls on her lap, via a last minute call and an NDA, she jumps on the next plane to Ireland to begin shooting immediately.

It doesn’t take long for things to start feeling eerie. There’s a bare bones cast and crew, and events off the screen begin echoing the shooting script. What is real and what is art? How long do you wait to find out?

Howard does an excellent job setting the tone for the movie, the set, the book within the script. The layers are great and the outcome was surprising. An engrossing and satisfying read! The audiobook was excellent.

This is like reading every one of your nightmares come to life. Adele is a former soap star on the brink of throwing the towel in when she gets the perfect job starring in a horror film in her home of Ireland. She instantly heads to the set which is located in the woods of Cork. Adele finds the remoteness and quiet ideal until things begin to make her question everything.

There are definitely some heart pounding scenes in this thriller. At one point in the book, Adele is alone in the woods cut off with no means of transportation and communication. The trees are everywhere and the sky is pitch black. And she's pretty sure someone is chasing her and she's hearing noises. The hairs on my neck tingled as I kept turning around to look behind me while reading. Howard does a great job of building the suspense and painting that perfect picture of a truly frightened protagonist. There are several layers to this book but it was overall easy enough to follow and made you question Adele's sanity as she does herself. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the audio presentation of the book and found that the narrators did a great job of reading all scenes, including those where the book was written as a movie script.

I had not read a book by this author before but will definitely be looking at her backlist as this one had thrills, mystery and true suspense throughout. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a good psychological thriller.