Run Away, by Harlen Coben

. RSS

Harlan Coben is well known for his writing style of misdirection and for catching readers off guard; his new book, “Run Away,” is a masterpiece bringing unexpected twists to this mystery.

Simon Greene is a successful Wall Street executive, and his wife Ingrid is a successful pediatrician. They have three kids, but the oldest, Paige, recently quit college and disappeared. Simon saw his daughter, now a drug addict playing the guitar and panhandling in Central Park.  She runs. Simon chases her but is confronted by her boyfriend, who is also an addict named Aaron.  Both Aaron and Paige getaway.  The confrontation is captured on video, goes viral, and Simon looks terrible. It isn’t long before Aaron is found beaten to death, and Simon is a suspect. Both Simon and his wife, Ingrid, focus on finding Paige.

Several storylines are also unfolding. One has to do with a Chicago-based private investigator named Elena Ramirez, who is searching for another missing person, and several other cases are taking place in Boston and New Jersey.  It becomes clear that the issues are connected, but it is a surprise when it all becomes clear.

Harlan is the creator and executive producer for the Netflix television drama THE STRANGER, based on his novel- see that review.

Quotes

“There are virtually no major life decisions you make that are not in some way based on your finances.” “Terrific," Simon said.

 “Terrific," Simon said. "The psychos are on my side.” 

“This is for Jersey, the good dog, who would be happy to share this bench with you.”

 “And bad stays. Bad doesn't go away. You bury bad; it digs itself out. You throw bad in the middle of the ocean; it comes back at you like a tidal wave.”

 “Love your parents - while we are busy growing up, they are growing old.”

 “Truth is truth. By definition. Anything else is a lie.” 

The Stranger, by Harlan Coben

“The stranger didn’t shatter Adam’s world all at once. That was what Adam Price would tell himself later, but that was a lie. Right from the very first sentence, Adam somehow knew right away that the life he had known as a content suburban married father of two was forever gone.”

“We’re living the dream,” Tripp Evans tells Adam Price at their sons’ sixth-grade lacrosse all-star team draft. But it had already started to slip when a stranger approached Adam minutes before and told him a dark secret about his wife, Corinne, adding, “you didn’t have to stay with her.” It appears that the stranger had no motive for telling Adam this.

When he confronts Corinne she doesn’t know, but now she is leaving a text message saying, “YOU TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS. DON’T TRY TO CONTACT ME. IT WILL BE OKAY.”

Corinne refuses to answer Adams’s question, saying, “there is more to this story.” Well, that is precisely right, and it is a well-written story that you won’t want to put down.

More about Harlan Coben on the Favorite Author Page

Harlan Coben has a reported net worth of 25 million and is also credited with the comment that only bad writers think they are good. He is indeed a good writer, and his books are ones you can’t put down. For more on this author, see the Favorite Author Page for him.

Quotes

“but every home is its island with its secrets.” 

“the cardinal rule: You never have to take back words you don’t say.” 

“We get mad at someone for cutting us off in traffic, taking too long to order at Starbucks, or not responding exactly as we see fit, and we have no idea that behind their facade, they may be dealing with some industrial-strength shit. Their lives may be in pieces. They may be amid incalculable tragedy and turmoil, and they may be hanging on to their sanity by a thread.”

“I said everyone looks happy. That was kind of my point. If you judge the world by Facebook, you wonder why so many people take Prozac.”