A great suspense novel, Terri Blackstock’s “If I Run” is told from the first-person perspectives of main characters Casey Cox — on the run from the police for possibly killing her good friend Brent, and Dylan Roberts — Brent’s childhood friend recently discharged from the army, suffering from PTSD, and hired to find Casey.
As the story unfolds, readers must determine if Casey really did brutally murder Brent and, if she didn’t, why does she feel she needs to run from the police. Dylan must dig deep into the psyche of Casey to determine why this well-liked girl would commit such a macabre crime. And does Brent’s murder have anything to do with the alleged suicide of Casey’s cop father when she was 12?\
While Casey travels the country fearing for her life and eluding the police and Dylan, she meets Miss Lucy, who is dealing with tragedy of her own. Can Casey help Miss Lucy and be the hero Miss Lucy needs her to be?
Blackstock does a great job moving the story along, going back and forth between Casey and Dylan’s perspectives. She comes up with many creative ways for Casey to hide from the authorities, and adds a great secondary story with Miss Lucy and the situation her family is dealing with.
Beyond just being a suspense novel, “If I Run” tackles some deep themes like suicide, abduction and mental illness. It touches on being a coward versus being a hero; and reminds us that God can use sorrow in our lives to deepen us.
Apparently “If I Run” is the first installment in a series, as the end is quite abrupt and does not resolve the story lines. I can’t wait to read the next book to see how the story of Casey and Dylan continues.
Five stars out of five.
Zondervan provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.
“If I Run” (If I Run series, #1) by Terri Blackstock