In this story, 4 half-siblings go in search of their long-gone father and reflect on how he and his absence changed their lives. The book has Wilson’s trademark eccentricity combined with a refreshing earnestness; this combination is what makes him one of my favorite authors. While the book was slow in spots—I took a break at about 40% done—ultimately I picked it up and read the last 60% over the course of two days because it did what I have come to expect from Wilson’s books. I cared deeply about the characters and needed to resolve their storylines. All in all, a solid read!

Oh how I love the forward motion of a road trip novel, and yet, this is one story that, despite the journey, closes full circle. Kevin Wilson has crafted yet another quirky and delicious gem of a novel, as we follow the unexpected quest of 2 siblings who set out to find their absentee father in a PT Cruiser. While the story is told predominantly in Mad’s POV, we are treated to the unique perspectives and experiences of her siblings as the story unfolds. While this is not a story without conflict, I found myself joyfully sinking into the “found family” trope wrought by this heartwarming, yet dysfunctional bunch. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my gifted ARC.

Heartwarming and frustrating wrapped in one quirky punch! This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster.

A brother finds his sister who together find their other sister who then team up to find their brother to track down their father. A snowball effect that will bring both smiles and frowns while riding in a PT Cruiser. That’s as much of synopsis as I’d like to give you.

To Charles/ Chuck/ Chip/ Carl, I really highly dislike you and your reasoning for what you did was AWFUL. I really expected a better excuse, but nope. Just an idiot guy. Thank god he was able to leave behind fabulous children. And thank god they were able to find each other because they absolutely deserved that and I totally wish them the best.

Pub. Date: May 13, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for my early copy!

Since her dad left when she was 9, Mad has been working on their Tennessee farm with her mom, slowly building a following for their organic crops and free-range eggs. Then one Saturday a man rolls up in a PT Cruiser, claiming to be her half-brother, Rube. His dad left him when he was a kid, and as an adult, Rube hired a private investigator to see what became of his absent father. As it turns out, his father, insurance salesman and mystery author Charles Hill, moved to Tennessee to become an organic farmer, then reinvented himself in Oklahoma, Utah, and finally California, each time leaving a wife and child behind. Before she knows what's happening, Mad is on a cross-country road trip with Rube, following the trail of their father, meeting siblings, and preparing to face the man that left them all behind.

I loved Wilson's dysfunctional-family novel "Nothing to See Here," and I had high hopes for this one too. It's not bad, and really focuses on the bonds of siblings, rather than a multigenerational family. It's not entirely believable, if only because I'd find it really hard to hop into a car with someone I just met, even if he is my half-brother, though the story is a fun one. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to the spontaneously combusting children of "Nothing to See Here."

4 1/2 stars
A car pulls up to Mad's house and in it is a man who claims to be her half brother. He is on a roadtrip to find their other half siblings and invites her to come along on the quest. Of course she says yes. Mad and Rube pick up the other two that they know of and continue on to California. A wild roadtrip full of discovering who they are together, who they were with their father and who they can be now that they know of each other. Sweet and funny just how we love Kevin Wilson stories but also full of deep soul searching and poignant moments. This will make you want to call your siblings and catch up! Readers who want deep characters and family drama but with a giggle along the way will love this.
My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

4.5--Buckle up for a memorable road trip between four siblings who discover the bonds of family as they head across the country to confront the father who left each of them as he continued to reinvent himself. I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin Wilson's latest and all of the characters: Rube, Mad, Pep, and little Tom each wove their way into my heart as they not only discovered each other, but became their own family in the process. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC.

A literal found family - four half-siblings discover each other when the oldest begins searching for their mutual father, who abandoned them each over the last 40 years, head out together to find and confront the man who left them behind. As their bonds tighten and their conversations about the man they're seeking delve into the differences and similarities in their respective families, the traverse the country and end up discovering a fifth half brother, a mere toddler. Sweet and endearing, it's both a road trip novel and a character study about the affects of a father's absence, and the years spent together. Quick read for fans of Wilson and also for fans of authors like Fredrick Backman or Maria Semple.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

What's one impromptu road trip with siblings you didn't know existed until they drive into your life in a P.T. Cruiser?
🐔🚗
Mad lives on a successful working farm with her mother after her father walked out on them twenty years ago without a word. She's accepted her lot in life, mostly. When a guy pulls up to their home and introduces himself as Rube her half-brother who their father also walked out on before she was born it opens a door for an adventure Mad never could've imagined. Rube tells her that through the work of a P.I. he has tracked their father's movements and discovered half siblings scattered across the country. He invites her to join him on his quest to meet the string of abandoned siblings their father left in his wake. He also has a lead on their dad's whereabouts and wants to track him down as well. The siblings soon realize that their dad reinvented himself in both name and profession with each new family.

What was their father looking for in creating all these families he ultimately turned his back on?

This study of a quirky family was written in an accessible manner. It was so easy to picture everything as I read. I love the feeling of novels that a reader can sink right into, and Wilson's prose was just the ticket. There's a lot to unpack here. The plot being a simple one worked to the novel's advantage because the grand characterization was at the forefront. These characters popped off the page with authentic voices. Looking for connection by collecting scattered pieces of their father's dysfunctional story to form a picture of their untraditional family is an eye-opening journey. From experience I know how much of an impact a parent walking out has on a person. I kept hoping this little group would find closure or stronger self-identities.

Will these siblings find the answers they set out to discover?

The pages flew by without a lull in sight. I'm so glad I went along for this ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for providing an Advance Reading Copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Kevin Wilson is one of the funniest authors out there! The circumstances in his books are just wackadoo enough that they work, and his characters are so rich and drive the story forward!

This entertaining read by Kevin Wilson brings together newly discovered siblings who share a father and embark on a cross-country road trip to find him. The characters are unique and likeable, and while the storyline is a little outlandish, the reader won’t mind because they are already drawn into what’s happening. This is a feel-good read, but not simple in plot or feelings.

I had no idea what the plot of this book was, which I think is the correct way to read this book. I'm shocked by how much I liked it. Also, the Salt Lake parts were clearly well researched, which makes me think the other locations were as well.

I was looking forward to this book since I have read others from this author before. I was intrigued by the siblings finding each other and the mystery of why they were all abandoned by their father . I was not satisfied with the ending-too many loose ends and not enough answers for me. The journey that the newfound siblings take was interesting and at times funny but that was not enough for me to rate it much higher.
Thank you to NeGalley and Ecco for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Run for the Hills is the story of 4 half siblings making their way across the country to visit their common dad (they all have different mothers) who left each of them at a critical point in their childhoods.
Having read two of Wilson’s previous books, I was expecting a touch of magical realism, but this one had a different feel. The first third was everything I had hoped for, with Wilson’s signature humor shining through.Unfortunately it lost its way over the course of the novel. What started as fun became a slow and laborious crawl to the finish.

Family roadtrip to find a missing father?! Sign me up. This was so dysfunctional but definitely captures the family dynamic element that one would expect.

I have such a soft spot for Kevin Wilson’s stories about messy, complex families. He’s able to pack in so much character development and unique plot points into relatively short books. In "Run For the Hills" Mad Hill is surprised by the appearance of Ruben Hill, a man saying he’s her half-brother and that they have more half-siblings across the country. Their father was a different man with each family before leaving them behind. Now they’re going to team up to track him down and get some answers.

It was so interesting getting the perspectives of the different characters and seeing how their relationship with their father impacted them growing up before being left behind. I also loved seeing how the siblings so quickly began to care for one another and look out for each other. Even though they are biologically family, the way they came together had the feeling of a found family dynamic since they were choosing their connection.

I enjoyed how the conclusion of the book didn’t feel like everything was being wrapped up neatly with a bow. It’s still complicated and messy, but in a way that made it feel real instead of contrived. Definitely add this book to your TBR if you’re a fan of Kevin Wilson or just stories about complicated familial relationships and forging new connections.

I’m such a fan of Kevin Wilson’s delightfully dark fiction that I jumped at the chance to grab this new novel—a story about a group of half-siblings grappling with the unfolding mystery of the whereabouts of their deadbeat dad while getting to know each other on their first-ever family road trip—despite my own history with my own suddenly disappeared dad in my teenage years. Wilson consistently delivers the most loveable, offbeat characters, and I was confident that this plot, in his hands, would avoid the traps of more broadly written fiction. (Truly, I would have paused a beat before picking up this book if it had any other name in the by line.)

This novel isn’t filled with the same level of surreal plot points as his others (no cult panics or children spontaneously bursting into flames), but it captures the same delightfully manic energy. Wilson again delivers us a heartfelt story about flawed people finding their place with a likewise community of fellow travelers. Any other author could have written this too seriously, too focused on the loneliness of being abandoned by a parent. But Wilson finds the truth of how the folks who stay are the real story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for this honest review. I cannot wait for this to be fully out in the world.

A road trip that begins as a search for a long lost father, unites four half siblings in this heartfelt journey. Upon finding their father, they realize that what they have really found is a connection and a family with each other. Full of Wilson's trademark humor, it's a reflection on belonging and memories and knowing what you searched for might not be what you dreamed of.

I've enjoyed several of author Kevin Wilson's books - I really dig his irrelevant humor and sense of the absurd! Very happy to have gotten my hands on his latest, "Run for the Hills", which is a zany and big-hearted U.S. road trip about a group of half-siblings of very different ages in search of their long-lost and deadbeat Dad. I also liked that it was set in the pre-iPhone days of 2007 when paper maps were still in use & a PT Cruiser was still a cool car. (I could also live w/o the basketball, but ok). Overall a good look at what makes a family and I really appreciated that this was a shorter novel and the way all the storylines wrapped up. My sincere thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance readers copy - a true pleasure to review it!

Really enjoyed this read. The siblings involved in the story showed a love for one another that you don't find much these days, but it is very believable. Their quest to find answers so that they may be made whole in their adult life showed a lot of bravery and forgiveness. This is the second book I've read from this author, and this by far was the better.