Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for the ARC of Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Ruth has committed a cybercrime of jaw-dropping proportions, and now she’s on the run. But who is she on the run from, and who is the true criminal? These were the questions I asked myself repeatedly as I rapidly turned the pages of this new tech thriller meets road trip novel. Most of my questions were left unanswered by the end of the book, but it was still a fun read. My favorite character was the dog, and I wish he’d entered the narrative earlier in the story.

Ruth Run was entertaining, but for me to have a complete reading experience I needed more character building and backstory. I feel like I was plopped down within the middle of a story that someone was telling, and missed out on the important early details needed to understand the somewhat intricate plot. The ending left me with just as many questions as when I started, and made me wonder if Ruth Run will be the first in a new series.

Ruth Run, is a short read which can be completed in just a few sittings. Fans of contemporary cyber and tech thrillers, especially with a smart female protagonist, might enjoy traveling along with Ruth in Elizabeth Kaufman’s new novel Ruth Run.

Ruth Run releases on April 15, 2025.

This was an odd book. I really enjoyed the first half of this title. I felt like Ruth and Mike were going to be two interesting characters, one running and one chasing. Yet about halfway through the book I just stopped being engaged by the story. What Ruth was doing was really muddled. Was she a good guy or a bad guy just was never truly clear. What was clear was that Ruth is exceedingly smart, and she finally was trying to get back some power for herself in this crazy situation.
Thank you to Penguin Group The Penguin Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

My first Elizabeth Kaufman novel but definitely not my last. Fresh new take on cyber criminals. Totally great characters that hooked me early on and did not let go until acknowledgments. Really fun thrill ride. Enjoyed it.
Thank you NetGalley, Elizabeth Kaufman and Penguin Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman is a highly recommended cross-country pursuit following a cybercriminal on the run and the government agency looking for her.

Ruth, 26, designed a hacked firewall microchip that is used in many banking systems that allows her to skim money from the banks. She has amassed more than $250 million when an alarm goes off one night alerting her that someone has accessed part of her system. She goes on the run with a bag full of cash as Mike along with others, all agents with an unnamed government agency, chase her. Along the way she meets an eccentric cast of characters.

The narrative is presented from two points-of-view, Ruth and Mike. Ruth is an interesting character. Obviously she's intelligent, but she also grew up poor and will do whatever it takes to get by, including forgoing any gratification right now for future benefits. She is obsessed with good food and fantasizes about what she will be able to enjoy in the future. Never having money, not really knowing how much she would need, and now on the run, she reflects that perhaps she should have been satisfied with less money and left her life of crime earlier.

Mike thinks he has a connection with Ruth. He has been stalking her for seven years, but there are others who are also obsessed with her. Her pursuers from the agency are all of dubious integrity.

Ruth Run moves at a fast-paced throughout. It is a compelling and sometimes humorous novel with an interesting plot. I was engrossed right to the end and cheering Ruth on as she eluded capture. The actual ending, however, was a problem for me. No spoilers, but it involves a bad choice that almost knocked two stars off my rating.

Thanks to Penguin for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Another day, another ARC. This one is called "Ruth Run" by Elizabeth Kaufman and is set to be released on the 29th of April.

This ones genre is general fiction, it's also labeled as mystery / thriller but I didn't really find it mysterious or thrilling.

The story is about Ruth, who designed a micro chip that is implanted in a lot of government organisations. Over the years she skimmed a lot of money from bank accounts, not investigative worthy amounts but petty cash from huuuuge accounts. But now, trouble begins.

Her old workplace wants to know how to access those chips, why? She doesn't really know. But she doesn't want to give it to them. That's why Ruth has to run.

There are some obstacles along the way, which keeps the read interesting.

It wasn't really a story I loved, that's why it's getting 3 stars from me.

Ruth Run, yes....run far!! Ruth is obviously a criminal but when she is so much more likeable than the government folks chasing her, I was rooting for Ruth. Ruth created a chip with a backdoor that allowed her to skim multi millions from banks and then into government computers. I really don't understand all the techie parts, or how believable they are, but I understood enough to get that she was set up from a young age and that Mike, who thought he was grooming her, was a sleezeball.

Ruth's view of the world is very different from someone who grew up middle class. She was poor and needed to survive, that fact made her very difficult to find. She is cagey and VERY smart, the way she works situations to her advantage was really fun to read and picture in my mind. There were also cringe moments, but being out West with nothing in site for miles is very different from being in the middle of a city where you can easily got lost in a crowd.

I really enjoyed the book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Ruth is a lady on the run as she has a program (?) that has allowed her to steal multi millions of dollars from banks. At least I think that is what the deal was. It was a little hard for me to follow what she actually did and it seems like the feds were after her for that program that was reportedly in numerous of the federal programs but hadn't actually done anything in regard to that?? I didn't really feel attached to any of the characters but the plot did keep me engaged enough to want to see it to the end.

Ruth is ready to cash in. She has been stashing money she has spirited out of banks and into hidden offshore accounts, exploiting a flaw in a microchip used in bank computers and code written by a collaborator. But things go badly wrong and she has to run for it.

On her tail is Mike, an agent who has been watching Ruth, unseen, for years. He's persuaded himself he is her protector, and he's not being upfront with the others who are after her, with more federal agencies involved as Ruth hitches a ride with a trucker who is a deeply Christian man who is collecting sacks of suspicious fertilizer from various remote places. That ride goes badly wrong, too.

The events are told from two perspectives, Ruth's and Mike's. Ruth is flawed but appealing; Mike is a sad sack who doesn't have a clue about how deeply creepy he is. The trucker is a wild invention, and there are other characters who pepper the short chapters with vignettes that are often funny. There's something about the plot that feels as unplanned and improvisational as Ruth's picaresque flight, but it's pacy and original enough to keep the pages turning. There's a twist at the end that was a bit of an emotional "huh?" moment for me, but Ruth is nothing if not unpredictable.

Ruth Run takes you through the story from the perspectives of Ruth and Mike. I don’t always love a dual POV, but the character’s voices were different enough that I didn’t mind. The plot is fast-paced already, and the short chapters keep you hooked. Heist stories aren’t new by any means, but the cyber crime focus and threads of tech brought fresh elements to this thriller. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Press for the e-ARC!

The short chapters and the fast pace feel made it a quick read. The dual POVs were interesting and kept it engaging. However, I felt the middle was slow and unnecessary to the plot. Overall, not a bad book for a cyber criminal twist.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group-The Penguin Press for the digital ARC.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. Ruth is complex, funny, smart and fascinating. It was fun to read of her adventures while she was on the run. I didn't really find Mike that compelling at all. I found the middle of the book a real slog to get through. I wish that Mike had pursuing Ruth more on the ground instead of from afar. The ending wasn't bad.

Ruth Run is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that flips the usual heist narrative on its head. Instead of focusing on the crime itself, the story follows Ruth, a brilliant but flawed cybercriminal, as she scrambles to stay ahead of the authorities once her crime is discovered. The dual perspectives—switching between Ruth and Mike, the government agent tracking her—add tension and nuance, making it hard to decide who to root for.

The novel keeps the adrenaline high with its suspenseful twists, unpredictable turns, and sharp dialogue. It also taps into the eerie reality of modern surveillance, showing just how difficult it is to truly disappear. While some of the tech details went over my head, the storytelling was compelling enough to keep me hooked. The ending felt a bit abrupt, but I can’t help but hope for a sequel. If you love thrillers packed with high-stakes chases, smart writing, and morally complex characters, this one is well worth the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**4-Star Review for *Ruth Run* by Elizabeth Kaufman**

*Ruth Run* by Elizabeth Kaufman is a thrilling rollercoaster ride from start to finish. The fast-paced plot kept me on the edge of my seat, providing an adrenaline rush that lasted throughout. Kaufman masterfully weaves a web of twists and turns that constantly kept me guessing. This is exactly what I look for in a thriller – suspense, surprises, and non-stop action. The pacing was spot-on, and the length was just right; it didn’t overstay its welcome but also gave enough time to build up the tension. I couldn’t put it down! Definitely a must-read for fans of the genre.

fun thriller with some good vibes and interesting characters. would definitely recommend the one. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Cybercriminal Ruth has created (and duly exploited) a hack in microchips that allows her to rob banks undetected--or so she thinks, until she's alerted one day to authorities starting to investigate her activities. She immediately goes on the run, but finds that escaping may be more perilous,
and more difficult, than she anticipated.

This was such a fun, fast-paced read! The book is told from two points of view, switching back and forth between Ruth and Mike, the government agent who has been tracking her activities. It was interesting to see how they both viewed the same events very differently, and while it can be hard to root for a criminal, Mike makes it very hard to want to root for the side of the law in this case. So, excellent character work on the author's part. She also does a good job of keeping the tension ratcheted up throughout the story, which is less a heist story and more a high speed chase. Plenty of humor and witty turns of phrase to keep the writing interesting as well.

The nuts and bolts of the technology that Ruth uses to actually do her hacking and stealing sounded a little implausible to me (with the caveat that I'm not a techie person) but if you can just roll with that and not question it too much, you'll find yourself on a very wild and enjoyable cat-and-mouse chase.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique book. Unlike many heist stories, the crime had already been done at the beginning of the book, and the story was really about how Ruth reacted when she realized her crime had been discovered. I liked that the "heroine" was a flawed character who makes one mistake after another, despite her brilliant mind. The book highlights how much information Big Brother has accumulated if someone knows where to look. It has become very challenging to avoid being tracked, and the author did a great job building suspense as Ruth cleverly tried to evade those who wanted to capture her. The story had some very creepy and disturbed characters, and it was fascinating to see how Ruth dealt with them. Although I didn't understand all the technical parts of the book, I was able to stay engrossed in the story. I'm hoping that the somewhat abrupt ending of the book means that there will be a sequel. I would enjoy reading more about Ruth and what happens in her life. Very entertaining with lots of twists and turns- highly recommended!

Ruth has been quietly robbing banks with a computer code of her own design helped by a couple of accomplices. She has been careful and amassed millions offshore but the jig is up and she takes to the road. There are a few people looking for her but Mike is obsessed with finding her. Keeping low in towns and places she thinks they won't look for her Ruth tries to stay one step ahead. Can Ruth outwit her pursuers and stay out of prison? The hunt is on and they are close. Dual POV alternating between Ruth and Mike this is a high speed chase that moves quickly and keeps readers fully engaged. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Ruth is a brilliant computer scientist with a specialty in microchips. While she could have worked for years in the industry, when she sees a way to hack a microchip in order to siphon money from banks and become a millionaire, she jumps on it (reminiscent of Office Space without the red stapler). After five years of her scheme working seamlessly, a hidden alarm in the system is triggered, forcing her to go on the run. While she planned for this eventuality, nothing seems to go to plan. Ruth is being tracked by the FBI as well as another computer expert. No one is a good guy here, but you will be hoping that Ruth gets away and finds happiness. If you like thrillers, tales of escape, or the workings of computer science, you will like this one!

I found the beginning of the story too jargon-y and the protagonist hard to relate to, I put the book aside as ‘not for me’, but then decided to give it another chance and am so glad I did, for the story picked up considerably once Ruth was on the road, in flight from her tormentors. The book was very hard to put down at this point, and I began pulling for the previously unlikable heroine, as she became better known to me. In the end the book was enterprising, energizing, and witty.

In Ruth Run, Elizabeth Kaufman delivers a gripping and fast-paced thriller that plunges readers into the world of cybercrime and deception. The story follows twenty-six-year-old Ruth, a brilliant microchip designer who opts for a life of crime, using her expertise to rob banks and siphon over $250 million from the banking system with a hacked firewall chip that only she can access.
However, when an alarm signals her discovery, Ruth's carefully constructed operation begins to crumble. Suddenly on the run, she finds herself pursued across California and the West by government agents who view her as both a high-level national security threat and a potential intelligence asset. As they chase her, they become obsessed with understanding the woman they are hunting, convinced they know her motives and psyche.
Armed with her sharp wit and accompanied by a reluctant dog, Ruth cleverly maneuvers to stay one step ahead of her pursuers, turning the hunt into a thrilling game of cat and mouse. Kaufman's writing combines humor with suspense, making Ruth Run an exhilarating read that not only highlights the perils of the digital age but also introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine. This nonstop oddball thriller is a must-read for fans of contemporary fiction, offering a fresh voice and a unique perspective on the intricacies of cybercrime and survival.