Coben’s Search for Runaway Daughter Exposes Dark World

Run Away by Harlan Coben

It was the businessman’s eldest daughter, Paige, who he hadn’t seen in six months. He approaches her and begs her to come home, but she runs.

That’s how New York Times bestselling thriller master Harlan Coben sets up his latest novel, Run Away (Grand Central Publishing). The story follows Simon as he searches for his daughter and is plunged into a dark and dangerous world he never knew existed of crime and murder.

Simon collides head-on with ripped-from-the-headlines obstacles, from opioid addiction and senseless gun violence to campus assaults, shocking DNA revelations and mind-altering cults.

Fans of Coben – and there are many – will not be disappointed : He has more than 70 million books in print and has written more than 30 novels. Like his other work, Run Away is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller with many twists and turns.

The book also forces readers to put themselves in the shoes of Simon and his wife Ingrid and ask tough questions like “how could this be happening to us?” But perhaps even more difficult:  “What would I have done?”

As it turns out, Paige is addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she has made it clear she doesn’t want to be found.

Once again, Coben creates seemingly ordinary characters coming from solid backgrounds and puts them in situations that spiral out of control and threaten the foundation of their lives.

Even though Simon has assured Ingrid that he won’t go chasing Paige down anymore, a new lead prompts him to resume his search – in his eyes, it’s the only thing a parent can do.

As he follows her and gains clues into her life and how it reached this point, he finds that both his family and his own life are on the line. In order to protect his daughter – whom he reminisces about from earlier, safer days – he must face the evils of her new world head-on.

And if the ending surprises you, well, welcome to the club.

Run Away will be available March 19, 2019.