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Confirmed: Harlan Coben’s Run Away is the most fun you can have on New Year’s Day without leaving your sofa. In truth, it wouldn’t be a festive veg-out session if a new Harlan Coben mystery wasn’t waiting for us, with Fool Me Once taking Netflix by storm in 2024. I’m no psychic, but I predict the same happening with Run Away.
Why? We’re returning to the tried-and-tested formula of book adaptations after Prime Video‘s Harlan Coben’s Lazarus in October. That’s both a plus and a disadvantage depending on how you look at it, but when it comes to Coben’s signature craft, we’re in safe hands.
Harlan Coben’s Run Away turns belligerent teen drama into a criminal rollercoaster you can’t tear your eyes away from
Coben is getting to the stage where his fictional lore rivals that of the MCU or Lord of the Rings, and Run Away is no exception. If you watch all eight episodes in one go, not only will your brain break in half (like mine did), but you might also need a police whiteboard just to keep up with the explosive secret and inscrutable subplots.
It’s this sense of immersion that’s always made Coben’s work the cream of the crop, and partnering his style of writing with a stellar cast not afraid of getting their hands dirty means you’ve got streamable magic. James Nesbitt was born to play an aloof yet naive father in a British crime drama, with Minnie Driver getting the slightly easier job of mostly lying in a hospital bed.
It’s Ruth Jones as Elena Ravenscroft that’s the most pleasing addition here (though her character sounds like a Harry Potter extra). The UK has particularly been hellbent on pigeonholing Jones as nothing more than Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, rarely taking notice of her varied existing body of work.
She might be a Queen of comedy, but Jones injects some light-hearted relief into Run Away that perfectly offsets Nesbitt’s erratic chaos.
“Sexy prick” DS Fagbenle (Alfred Enoch) is another intriguing layer of the puzzle. In his work, he’s incredibly standoffish, but the personal relationship he’s cultivating in secret makes you want to step inside his mind and unravel the man we’re not properly getting to see. Even when we’re getting answers to the big questions, it’s nice that something is kept back from us, especially when we don’t need it spelled out.
How much are you willing to suspend belief for a whodunnit mystery?
The biggest problem with a mind-boggling mystery is when it starts to veer into ridiculous territory. For the first half of Run Away, the drama feels grounded in reality. It’s incredibly possible for a teenage girl to lose her way in life thanks to an abusive partner, with her family being broken apart as a result.
But when you start tying in seemingly unconnected murders and cult behavior, things get a little more far-fetched. I know that fictional drama doesn’t have to stay true to life, but shows like this also aren’t soap operas. Between episodes 5-8, I can picture families across the globe saying to each other, “For God’s sake, that’s enough now.”
For the most part, I think Coben gets away with it… right up until the astonishing final twist. Not only does the reveal feel incredibly unnecessary, but it also changes the entire tone of the story in the last few minutes. It’s the secret that tips Run Away over the edge into genuinely unbelievable, and perhaps a case of ‘less is more’ would have made for a more effective ending.
On the other hand, the narrative beats of the overarching story fit snugly into the Coben formula, and that’s either stoic and dependable or more of the same. It’s probably important to remember that Run Away is slotting into an existing collection of mysteries, so some level of uniformity is needed. We’re dealing with signature Coben drama here, and while that might put some viewers off, I think enough people will find comfort in knowing what to expect – in the broadest sense.
Where Lazarus faltered, Run Away shines. I definitely believe the book-to-screen adaptation is a huge strength for Coben, mining a level of satisfaction we were missing earlier in the year. I was giddy the entire way through watching it, and it’s safe to say that I’ve never enjoyed following a grisly murder more.
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