A tremendous thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for my ARC of Run by Blake Crouch! This book is available October 22, 2024!

The Story

A gripping apocalyptic thriller about a man and his family running for their lives in an America gone mad—from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion

No time to think. No time to ask why. Only time to run.

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began.

Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation.

Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold.

Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize.

One day ago, the power went out.

And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Jack Colclough is listening over the battery-powered radio on his kitchen table in Albuquerque, and he just heard his name. People are coming to his house to kill him, his wife, his daughter, and his son.

He has no idea what’s happening, or why, but the time for questions is long past. 

His only chance is to run.

Following an ordinary family on a desperate race through an America that’s destroying itself, Run is a terrifying, brutally stripped-down thriller from master storyteller Blake Crouch.

My Thoughts

So I have tried to do my research on this book because I did not realize Blake Crouch was coming out with a new book (and I am OBSESSED with everything he writes). Turns out, Run was the first novel that Crouch self-published back in 2011. However, I can no longer find wherever I read that little tidbit, so don’t hold me to it. This makes sense though because he’s become a big-time author with a TV show and so many successful books that why not reissue a book he wrote 13 years ago?

Now that we’re past that, let me tell you something. My mind does not turn off. Also, I am HEAVILY influenced by whatever I “consume” before I go to bed. When I was watching Orange is the New Black, I had prison dreams. After reading Run, I had such stressful nightmares.

Now, I am not much of a horror reader. Apparently Hidden Pictures was labeled as horror. I think Run is more than a thriller, but might not yet be horror. It was gory in places, so proceed with caution. However, it was STRESSFUL. I mean, pure terror from the very beginning.

The book was structured differently than most others. There weren’t traditional chapters. It was broken down into four parts, I believe, and then there were essentially chunks of content that mimicked chapters. However, there was no “building” of anything. But it wasn’t in a bad way! As a reader, you were given precisely the amount of information needed to convey the story. Honestly, it was so refreshing!

There was even a little conspiracy theory thrown in there in the end that BLEW MY MIND. I don’t think Blake Crouch can do anything wrong.

I would definitely recommend Run by Blake Crouch if you’re looking for a unique read that will pull you straight through the story. I stayed up way too late multiple nights in a row working to finish it, and could not wait to get back to it the next night. That’s high praise.

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