You Can Run

A Novel

By: Karen Cleveland

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari, Mia Ellis

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

A CIA analyst makes a split-second decision that endangers her country but saves her son - and now she must team up with an investigative journalist she’s not sure she can trust in this electrifying thriller from the New York Times best-selling author of Need to Know.

“[A] turbo-charged thriller [with] a final mind-blowing twist.” (People)

We have your son. It’s the call that’s every parent’s nightmare. And for CIA analyst Jill Bailey, it’s the call that changes everything.

It’s Jill’s job to vet new CIA sources. Like Falcon, who’s been on the recruitment fast track. But before she can get to work, Jill gets the call. Her son has been taken. And to get him back, Jill does something she thought she’d never do.

Alex Charles, a hard-hitting journalist, begins to investigate an anonymous tip: an explosive claim about the CIA’s hottest new source. This is the story that Alex has been waiting for. The tip - and a fierce determination to find the truth - leads Alex to Jill, who would rather remain hidden.

As the two begin to work together, they uncover a vast conspiracy that will force them to confront their loyalties to family and country. An edge-of-your-seat thriller, You Can Run will have you asking: What would you do to save the ones you love?

©2021 Karen Cleveland (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"Kidnappers will kill her son if the CIA’s Jill Bailey doesn’t rubber-stamp an unvetted Syrian source. A Pulitzer-chasing journalist joins the action in this turbo-charged thriller, and the pair grapple with motherhood, ambition, and bad guys — before a final mind-blowing twist.” (People)

“Two strong, resilient women working together to save the world? Yes please.” (Kirkus Reviews) 

“Fast-paced, tense, and downright scary.... There’s a lot to like here: the characters are robust, the story is well constructed, the dialogue zings along, and there is that strong sense of verisimilitude that you often find when an expert writes passionately about his or her own field.” (Booklist)

Good story, horrible narrator

Of all of Karen Cleveland’s novels, I think this story is the least detailed and suspenseful, but still excellent. I wish I’d read the book and not listened to it because the narrator for Alex was hard to listen to. It sounded like she was reading individual words and not a story. Her voice is beautiful but the way she read really put me off. I almost gave up listening more than a handful of times.

Thumbs down on narration

I enjoy Karen Cleveland’s books. The narration on this one is dreadful. The narrator for “Jill” was incredibly annoying. Overdramatizing every thought and word. She struck me as someone who figured this was their only shot at stardom and was going to overdramatize to show her range. It was like listening to William Shatner read Shakespeare.

The narrator for “Alex” has a beautiful voice and did a good job, although there were some awkward pauses between words, as if she was reading from the book for the first time and didn’t know where the story was going to go.

This is the only time I’ve ever written a critical review. In fact, it’s the only time I’ve felt compelled to write a review at all. The narration is that poor. But the story is good - if you can get past the narration.

Entertaining!

Fantastic story. Even better than her first. Narrators we’re excellent! Loved this book. Great thriller

An interesting theme

The only thing I did not like was that the main two women you could hardly decipher who was talking

Great book but not impressed by audio

The book was very good, and I loved the ending. However, the audio book was not as enjoyable, because the voice of Alex was too monotone. Overall, I enjoyed it because the voice of Jill carried the audio performance for me.

bad narration

okay story line but pretty bad narration. i would pass on this story. first book was good.