Kabler is an auto-read author for me! I was telling everyone about it at my girls group.
The twists and messed up ways that people think and act in her books are ... chef's kiss! This genre is going to have the character that is meant to lead you astray and think you know who the bad guy/gal is -- but Kabler is a MASTER at this element.
If you like books with sick, twisted characters, plot twists that make your eyes Pop!, and fast pacing - you'll like Kabler.
In this book, I really loved the way Kabler kept leading us along the path with the next victim, gave us insight into the killer's thoughts and actions - and Yet Expertly Shielded Who They Were until the end. The social media elements in the book also really made this feel like this story could happen in real life. Her characters are believable and relatable. I really liked that the focus was on the victims and the killer and that the police force was the supporting cast.
I found it interesting that in her notes, Kabler mentioned being hesitant to tell this story about runners being the victim --- I'm not a runner, but I was here for it! Even though I don't run, she captured the drive that runners have - and made me want to (slightly) take up running.

I received a dARC from the publisher via Netgalley. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jackie Kabler, and HarperCollins UK | One More Chapter for a copy of Run for Your Life in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book took my nonexistent jogging plans and buried them six feet underground. I am never running anywhere except maybe to lock my doors after reading this. 🏃‍♀️🔪

Five runners. A serial killer. An inmate. Lookalikes. A full blown psycho running around making everyone suspicious. This book felt like someone threw a true crime documentary, a police procedural, and pure panic into a blender and hit liquefy. And somehow it WORKED. Every single chapter dangled another little breadcrumb of chaos in front of me until I physically could not stop reading. Sleep? Irrelevant. Responsibilities? Forgotten. My Kindle battery? Fighting for its life.

The pacing in this book deserves an award because the second I thought I had a handle on what was happening, Jackie Kabler came flying around the corner with another twist like a caffeinated menace. The tension never dropped. Not once. It was giving “just one more chapter” until suddenly you are sitting in darkness at 2 AM questioning every person who has ever gone on a morning run.

And can we talk about the characters? Because I actually cared about them. EVERYONE felt important. The runners all had their own personalities, secrets, and drama, which made it even more stressful trying to figure out who was safe, who was suspicious, and who was about to end up on the evening news. Even the police were interesting, and that is rare because sometimes thriller detectives have all the personality of stale toast. Not here. I was INVESTED.

What I loved most was how fresh this felt. So many thrillers start blending together after a while: unhappy wife, creepy husband, missing girl, surprise affair, somebody drinking too much wine while staring out a rainy window. But this? This felt different. The running angle added this constant sense of vulnerability and urgency. Every isolated road, every dark trail, every early morning jog suddenly became terrifying. Congratulations to Jackie Kabler for unlocking a brand new irrational fear.

Also, the suspense? Top tier. This book had me suspicious of everybody. I was out here building conspiracy boards in my head like I worked for the FBI. Every reveal made me rethink everything I thought I knew, and I LOVED IT.

Final Verdict:
This was addictive, intense, creepy, smart, and ridiculously entertaining. Jackie Kabler absolutely understood the assignment and delivered a thriller that had my heart racing faster than the characters in this book. If you love twisty thrillers that grab you by the throat and refuse to let go, pick this up immediately. Just maybe stretch first... because this book will have you running for your life too. 🖤

Absolutely brilliant!
This had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, fantastic plot and as always brilliantly executed by Jackie Kabler.
Jackie is a go to author for me and I am yet to read something of hers that doesn’t blow me away!
5 stars from me!
If you haven’t read this… what are you doing??!
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc