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Run for Your Life
A gripping short psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry about how our safest routines can become our deadliest traps.
Riley Fletcher’s morning run should have been ordinary—muscle memory, fresh air, home by breakfast. Instead, she wakes bound and bleeding in a lakeside cabin, her captor a ghost from her past: Dawson Miller, a former coworker with nothing left to lose.
Escape seems simple until her injuries leave her dependent on the very man who took her. As he tends her wounds with unsettling care, Riley realizes this isn’t random violence. Dawson has a plan—one that’s been carefully constructed, methodically prepared. And somehow, she’s essential to it.
Trapped and injured, Riley must find the strength to outwit her captor and unravel his twisted scheme before it’s too late. Because if she doesn’t stop him, no one will.
Riley Fletcher’s morning run should have been ordinary—muscle memory, fresh air, home by breakfast. Instead, she wakes bound and bleeding in a lakeside cabin, her captor a ghost from her past: Dawson Miller, a former coworker with nothing left to lose.
Escape seems simple until her injuries leave her dependent on the very man who took her. As he tends her wounds with unsettling care, Riley realizes this isn’t random violence. Dawson has a plan—one that’s been carefully constructed, methodically prepared. And somehow, she’s essential to it.
Trapped and injured, Riley must find the strength to outwit her captor and unravel his twisted scheme before it’s too late. Because if she doesn’t stop him, no one will.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2026
About the author
Lucinda Berry
35 books24.5k followersUSA Today bestselling author Lucinda Berry is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. She’s written multiple bestsellers reaching millions of readers worldwide. Some of her bestselling works include The Perfect Child, Saving Noah, When She Returned, The Best of Friends, and Keep Your Friends Close. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into several languages.
If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.
If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media (@lucindaberryauthor) or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,169 reviews
July 11, 2026
I know I say this for most short stories, but.. seriously I want a full novel version of this!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS A JOKE
In Run For Your Life, a typical day for Riley is going for her morning run, but today things take a turn for the worse when she wakes up after being hit and is bound and bleeding in a lakeside cabin. She knows her captor and she needs to find out why he is doing what his doing and will she be able to escape.
For such a short story this read really packed a punch! The action starts from go and doesn’t let up till the last pages. I love a thrilling survival story and this book delivered.
The audiobook was fantastic and the narrator Elena Rey really made me feel claustrophobic and reeling hoping that Riley would be able to find a way to get away from her captor.
For 72 pages it was detailed and impactful and I loved how the story just flowed effortlessly well.
I was expecting to feel sad and have compassion for the situation, but I did and I really hope that the healthcare system in America improves because innocent people are suffering unwillingly due to circumstances that is no fault of their own.
4.25 ⭐
Thank you so much to Brilliance Publishing, Lucinda Berry and Netgalley for giving me an ALC
In Run For Your Life, a typical day for Riley is going for her morning run, but today things take a turn for the worse when she wakes up after being hit and is bound and bleeding in a lakeside cabin. She knows her captor and she needs to find out why he is doing what his doing and will she be able to escape.
For such a short story this read really packed a punch! The action starts from go and doesn’t let up till the last pages. I love a thrilling survival story and this book delivered.
The audiobook was fantastic and the narrator Elena Rey really made me feel claustrophobic and reeling hoping that Riley would be able to find a way to get away from her captor.
For 72 pages it was detailed and impactful and I loved how the story just flowed effortlessly well.
I was expecting to feel sad and have compassion for the situation, but I did and I really hope that the healthcare system in America improves because innocent people are suffering unwillingly due to circumstances that is no fault of their own.
4.25 ⭐
Thank you so much to Brilliance Publishing, Lucinda Berry and Netgalley for giving me an ALC
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July 8, 2026For such a short story, it did not waste time. It was fast-paced, tense, and easy to fly through in one sitting, but the ending still managed to hit me harder than I expected.
What got me was that by the end, I understood everyone’s perspective. That does not excuse anyone’s choices, but it made the whole thing feel more human, which is probably why I got a little emotional. Rude, honestly.
Elena Rey was phenomenal. Her narration made the story feel even more convincing, and she brought so much emotion to the performance.
I’d recommend it to listeners who enjoy short psychological thrillers, survival stories, fast pacing, emotional endings, and strong audiobook narration.
What got me was that by the end, I understood everyone’s perspective. That does not excuse anyone’s choices, but it made the whole thing feel more human, which is probably why I got a little emotional. Rude, honestly.
Elena Rey was phenomenal. Her narration made the story feel even more convincing, and she brought so much emotion to the performance.
I’d recommend it to listeners who enjoy short psychological thrillers, survival stories, fast pacing, emotional endings, and strong audiobook narration.
July 8, 2026
Thoughts | 3.5 ⭐️
For 72 pages this was a decent somewhat emotional story highlighting corrupt health care, I did feel that it ended rather abruptly; would've loved a full length read but nevertheless still enjoyable solid 4 stars vibes wise storyline 3 stars
Plot Summary
Riley Fletcher’s routine morning run takes a terrifying turn when she wakes up injured and held captive by Dawson Miller, a former colleague with a dangerous plan. As she struggles to escape, Riley realises her abduction is far from random. With time running out, she must uncover Dawson’s motives and outsmart him before his carefully planned scheme is carried out.
My Bookstagram
For 72 pages this was a decent somewhat emotional story highlighting corrupt health care, I did feel that it ended rather abruptly; would've loved a full length read but nevertheless still enjoyable solid 4 stars vibes wise storyline 3 stars
Plot Summary
Riley Fletcher’s routine morning run takes a terrifying turn when she wakes up injured and held captive by Dawson Miller, a former colleague with a dangerous plan. As she struggles to escape, Riley realises her abduction is far from random. With time running out, she must uncover Dawson’s motives and outsmart him before his carefully planned scheme is carried out.
My Bookstagram
July 7, 2026
Being a short story at just 72 pages, I went in not expecting a whole lot, but was pleasantly surprised by how much of an impression it left.
Riley heads out for her usual morning run before waking injured and held captive. I initially thought this was going to be a straightforward kidnapping story where we simply watch the protagonist try to escape, but it quickly becomes something much heavier, exploring grief, trauma and the devastating consequences of a broken healthcare system.
If you're looking for a quick survival thriller with a little more substance than you'd expect, this is well worth the hour or so it takes to read.
Riley heads out for her usual morning run before waking injured and held captive. I initially thought this was going to be a straightforward kidnapping story where we simply watch the protagonist try to escape, but it quickly becomes something much heavier, exploring grief, trauma and the devastating consequences of a broken healthcare system.
If you're looking for a quick survival thriller with a little more substance than you'd expect, this is well worth the hour or so it takes to read.
July 19, 2026
if I was kidnapped, I would also fight for my life just to get back home to my cats.
July 13, 2026
3.75 ⭐️- This was fast paced and to the point. It’s a good listen if you’re on a short road trip or have some chores to get done (I think I listened to it in like an hour and half). I’m just greedy with Lucinda Berry and of course I want more. This could be a whole novel and I’d eat it up. But I’ll take a short story.
July 8, 2026
The author posted a tiktok saying this book was in memory and in honor of two women who were abducted and killed on runs. I don’t know how you say that and then write an abductor with a “sympathetic” motive.
Also I can’t get past that the main character has so much time alone with a gun and actively chooses to put it back instead of shoot the guy when he walks through the door. “Could I really shoot him after he’s been nice to me?” YES, yes you can?!
Ugh.
Also I can’t get past that the main character has so much time alone with a gun and actively chooses to put it back instead of shoot the guy when he walks through the door. “Could I really shoot him after he’s been nice to me?” YES, yes you can?!
Ugh.
August 1, 2026
➼ 2.5 ✰ that’s it??? am I missing something?? I had such high hopes I was gonna get a plot twist wth
July 16, 2026
3.5 I wish it was a full novel
July 9, 2026
Run for Your Life materialized in front of me like a shadow in a locked room, whispered “run,” and then politely handed me a cup of tea. Because Run for Your Life by Lucinda Berry is exactly that kind of unhinged novella: short, sharp, and designed to make you question every routine you’ve ever had.
I finished this book feeling like someone had replaced my brain with a live wire and then dared me to touch it.
This is Lucinda Berry in her purest form: no filler, no fluff, no emotional safety net. Just a woman going for her normal morning run and suddenly waking up bound, bleeding, and trapped in a lakeside cabin with a man who should have stayed a footnote in her past.
Riley Fletcher is the kind of heroine who thinks she’s having a normal day—muscle memory, fresh air, home by breakfast—until the universe says, “Actually, sweetheart, let’s traumatize you.” She wakes up injured, disoriented, and staring into the eyes of Dawson Miller, a former coworker who has absolutely snapped, shattered, and rearranged himself into something dangerous.
And here’s where Berry does her signature psychological chokehold.
Dawson isn’t a random attacker.
He isn’t chaotic for chaos’s sake.
He’s a man with a plan—methodical, prepared, and terrifyingly calm.
He tends Riley’s wounds with unsettling care, the kind that makes your skin crawl because it’s not kindness—it’s control. He needs her alive. He needs her functional. He needs her for something she doesn’t understand yet.
The tension is suffocating.
The cabin feels like a trap disguised as a sanctuary.
Every interaction is a psychological chess match where Riley is injured, terrified, and forced to rely on the very man who abducted her.
Berry thrives in this space—the claustrophobic, intimate horror of being trapped with someone who believes they’re justified. Dawson’s twisted scheme unfolds piece by piece, and Riley has to outthink him while bleeding, terrified, and painfully aware that no one is coming to save her.
It’s fast.
It’s brutal without being graphic.
It’s psychological warfare in 72 pages.
By the end, I wasn’t reading—I was sprinting emotionally, clutching the novella like it might bite me. Berry knows exactly how to weaponize tension, and she does it with surgical precision.
I finished this book feeling like someone had replaced my brain with a live wire and then dared me to touch it.
This is Lucinda Berry in her purest form: no filler, no fluff, no emotional safety net. Just a woman going for her normal morning run and suddenly waking up bound, bleeding, and trapped in a lakeside cabin with a man who should have stayed a footnote in her past.
Riley Fletcher is the kind of heroine who thinks she’s having a normal day—muscle memory, fresh air, home by breakfast—until the universe says, “Actually, sweetheart, let’s traumatize you.” She wakes up injured, disoriented, and staring into the eyes of Dawson Miller, a former coworker who has absolutely snapped, shattered, and rearranged himself into something dangerous.
And here’s where Berry does her signature psychological chokehold.
Dawson isn’t a random attacker.
He isn’t chaotic for chaos’s sake.
He’s a man with a plan—methodical, prepared, and terrifyingly calm.
He tends Riley’s wounds with unsettling care, the kind that makes your skin crawl because it’s not kindness—it’s control. He needs her alive. He needs her functional. He needs her for something she doesn’t understand yet.
The tension is suffocating.
The cabin feels like a trap disguised as a sanctuary.
Every interaction is a psychological chess match where Riley is injured, terrified, and forced to rely on the very man who abducted her.
Berry thrives in this space—the claustrophobic, intimate horror of being trapped with someone who believes they’re justified. Dawson’s twisted scheme unfolds piece by piece, and Riley has to outthink him while bleeding, terrified, and painfully aware that no one is coming to save her.
It’s fast.
It’s brutal without being graphic.
It’s psychological warfare in 72 pages.
By the end, I wasn’t reading—I was sprinting emotionally, clutching the novella like it might bite me. Berry knows exactly how to weaponize tension, and she does it with surgical precision.
August 7, 2026
I typically enjoy Berry's work, but this novella is a hot mess.
First of all, the title is a misnomer because there's no running involved. Yes, the FMC, Riley, is on a morning run when she's hit in the back of the head and taken to a remote cabin; later on, however, she actually has an opportunity to "run for her life" but chooses not to.
This book is not a thriller. It's mostly a rant about insurance companies and how they hurt people. I don't disagree, but come on
Riley, who has the personality of wet lettuce, is puking and panicking the entire time.
Even worse, her abductor is kind of a GOOD GUY. He wipes her forehead with a cool cloth. He tries to kiss her, but when she says, no, he stops.
Is the author for fucking real?? Sure, let's paint the abductor in a sympathetic light while also dedicating the book to Laken Riley and Eliza Fletcher, both of whom were runners and murdered by their abductors.
I'm being generous with my rating because Berry should be ashamed of writing (and poorly, at that) this tone-deaf bullshit.
First of all, the title is a misnomer because there's no running involved. Yes, the FMC, Riley, is on a morning run when she's hit in the back of the head and taken to a remote cabin; later on, however, she actually has an opportunity to "run for her life" but chooses not to.
This book is not a thriller. It's mostly a rant about insurance companies and how they hurt people. I don't disagree, but come on
Riley, who has the personality of wet lettuce, is puking and panicking the entire time.
Even worse, her abductor is kind of a GOOD GUY. He wipes her forehead with a cool cloth. He tries to kiss her, but when she says, no, he stops.
Is the author for fucking real?? Sure, let's paint the abductor in a sympathetic light while also dedicating the book to Laken Riley and Eliza Fletcher, both of whom were runners and murdered by their abductors.
I'm being generous with my rating because Berry should be ashamed of writing (and poorly, at that) this tone-deaf bullshit.
July 23, 2026
Consider this a public service announcement: this was not good.
Feels strange leaving a long review for such a short book, but I have some hateful things to say.
I’ll set the stage - a "white privileged" (her words, not mine) man kidnaps the FMC, beats the shit out of her, is holding her captive, and at one point it’s assumed he’s planning to rape her by initiating a kiss and after the fact the FMC thinks….
“The shame in his voice unsettled me more than an attempted kiss.”
Really?! HIS shame is the unsettling part of all of this!?? *waves hands frantically in the air gesturing to her wounds and captivity*
I heard somewhere that Berry is (or was) a psychologist, which left me with one question: are we sure she's not a defense attorney?
This book works so hard to make you sympathize with this bad guy that it starts feeling like it's asking you to excuse him. Can a book gaslight you? Because this one certainly tried.
And while we're here, can we please retire this kind of writing? "Like a shot of Narcan straight to the heart."
LISTEN. LISTEN, L(uc)INDA.
THAT'S. NOT. HOW. THAT. WORKS.
Narcan is most commonly given as a nasal spray, and while injectable forms exist, it is NOT an intracardiac injection. It's one of those lines that sounds clever until you think about it for literally two seconds, and then your brain goes, "Hang on..."
When writing is so poor and you force your political skew where it isn’t necessary it pulls you out of a fast paced story and you’re gonna lose readers. Consider me lost.
Run for Your Life is impressively bad, and I'd recommend taking the title literally. If you see this book, keep running.
Feels strange leaving a long review for such a short book, but I have some hateful things to say.
I’ll set the stage - a "white privileged" (her words, not mine) man kidnaps the FMC, beats the shit out of her, is holding her captive, and at one point it’s assumed he’s planning to rape her by initiating a kiss and after the fact the FMC thinks….
“The shame in his voice unsettled me more than an attempted kiss.”
Really?! HIS shame is the unsettling part of all of this!?? *waves hands frantically in the air gesturing to her wounds and captivity*
I heard somewhere that Berry is (or was) a psychologist, which left me with one question: are we sure she's not a defense attorney?
This book works so hard to make you sympathize with this bad guy that it starts feeling like it's asking you to excuse him. Can a book gaslight you? Because this one certainly tried.
And while we're here, can we please retire this kind of writing? "Like a shot of Narcan straight to the heart."
LISTEN. LISTEN, L(uc)INDA.
THAT'S. NOT. HOW. THAT. WORKS.
Narcan is most commonly given as a nasal spray, and while injectable forms exist, it is NOT an intracardiac injection. It's one of those lines that sounds clever until you think about it for literally two seconds, and then your brain goes, "Hang on..."
When writing is so poor and you force your political skew where it isn’t necessary it pulls you out of a fast paced story and you’re gonna lose readers. Consider me lost.
Run for Your Life is impressively bad, and I'd recommend taking the title literally. If you see this book, keep running.
August 12, 2026
Excellent short story! I loved how quickly this moved. Honestly, more books should be this short sometimes. 😂 It gets in, tells an interesting story, makes its point, and gets out.
What really worked for me was the moral complexity. This is one of those stories where things aren’t simply good versus evil, and I found myself completely understanding choices that, under different circumstances, might seem impossible to justify.
More than anything, I thought this story said a lot about how screwed up the American healthcare system can be and what desperation can drive people to do when someone they love desperately needs care they can’t afford.
Fast, tense, thought-provoking, and finished in about two hours on audio. An easy 5 stars.
What really worked for me was the moral complexity. This is one of those stories where things aren’t simply good versus evil, and I found myself completely understanding choices that, under different circumstances, might seem impossible to justify.
More than anything, I thought this story said a lot about how screwed up the American healthcare system can be and what desperation can drive people to do when someone they love desperately needs care they can’t afford.
Fast, tense, thought-provoking, and finished in about two hours on audio. An easy 5 stars.
July 28, 2026
pointless
August 17, 2026
For such a short story, this book was packed with such an emotional punch. 3.75 ✨and rounding up simply because it produced tears.
July 22, 2026
This was a fun quick thriller.
July 16, 2026
Literally so boring 🥱. Fast paced of nothingness.
Half star, seriously.
Half star, seriously.
July 27, 2026
Run for Your Life is proof that Lucinda Berry doesn’t need hundreds of pages to tell a gripping story. At only 72 pages, I flew through this in one sitting.
The story throws Riley into danger almost immediately and never really lets up. What starts as a kidnapping thriller soon becomes much more than that, exploring grief, loss and the choices people make when they’re pushed beyond breaking point. For such a short novella, I was surprised by how much emotion Lucinda Berry managed to fit into the story.
One thing I really appreciated was learning afterwards that Lucinda Berry named her main character, Riley Fletcher, in honour of Laken Riley and Eliza Fletcher, two women who were murdered while out running. As someone who enjoys true crime, I thought that was a really meaningful tribute and knowing the inspiration behind the story made it even more impactful.
My only criticism is that it was over too soon. This premise had all the makings of a full-length novel and I would’ve happily spent another couple of hundred pages with these characters. Just as I felt like I was really settling into the story, it came to an end.
If you’re after a one-sitting thriller that packs a punch while also honouring real-life victims, pick up Run for Your Life.
The story throws Riley into danger almost immediately and never really lets up. What starts as a kidnapping thriller soon becomes much more than that, exploring grief, loss and the choices people make when they’re pushed beyond breaking point. For such a short novella, I was surprised by how much emotion Lucinda Berry managed to fit into the story.
One thing I really appreciated was learning afterwards that Lucinda Berry named her main character, Riley Fletcher, in honour of Laken Riley and Eliza Fletcher, two women who were murdered while out running. As someone who enjoys true crime, I thought that was a really meaningful tribute and knowing the inspiration behind the story made it even more impactful.
My only criticism is that it was over too soon. This premise had all the makings of a full-length novel and I would’ve happily spent another couple of hundred pages with these characters. Just as I felt like I was really settling into the story, it came to an end.
If you’re after a one-sitting thriller that packs a punch while also honouring real-life victims, pick up Run for Your Life.
July 14, 2026
Such an intense read! Super intriguing and full of that raw realism I can always count on in a Lucinda Berry book.
July 28, 2026
When you think the (final) twist is going to appear, the book ends and you catch your kindle and want to throw it to the wall. I know this is a short story without any chance of being a brilliant one, but girl, this is real shit even if you use it when you go to the bathroom, sorry my English. Period.
July 9, 2026
Good thing this was a short story because it wasnt great. Any longer and it would have been added to my DNF collection.
July 8, 2026
For a short story this one was packed with content, and was quite unique. It was essentially a kidnap story but with a little twist on it.
One morning whilst out on a run Riley is grabbed and taken to a remote cabin, she was essentially experiencing every woman’s worst nightmare and was sure she was about to experience the worst thing you could as a woman, because isn’t that the reason a man would take a woman in this way.
But her kidnapper has selected her for a reason and he tells her of a job she has so to and it turns out to be more terrifying than she ever could have realised. Lucinda Berry sure knows how to write, whether that be long or short stories.
One morning whilst out on a run Riley is grabbed and taken to a remote cabin, she was essentially experiencing every woman’s worst nightmare and was sure she was about to experience the worst thing you could as a woman, because isn’t that the reason a man would take a woman in this way.
But her kidnapper has selected her for a reason and he tells her of a job she has so to and it turns out to be more terrifying than she ever could have realised. Lucinda Berry sure knows how to write, whether that be long or short stories.
July 10, 2026
Short Amazon Original 72 pages
August 14, 2026
I loved that this was a quick thriller, it hooked you in right from the start and felt like a quick read. The ending was not as I expected, but I still enjoyed it. Grab this if you are looking for a quick short story thriller!
July 9, 2026
3.5⭐️
This was a lot more sad than I had anticipated. It kept me engaged the entire time. I think it would have made a great full length book.
This was a lot more sad than I had anticipated. It kept me engaged the entire time. I think it would have made a great full length book.
July 17, 2026
Wow! This was such a good short story. I’m genuinely a little boggled at how Lucinda Berry managed to pull this off so masterfully in such a small number of pages. 🤔🤩
It wastes no time pulling you in and despite its length, the story never felt rushed. Every scene had a purpose, and the suspense kept building until the very end.
It wastes no time pulling you in and despite its length, the story never felt rushed. Every scene had a purpose, and the suspense kept building until the very end.
July 25, 2026
Definitely enjoyed this short story!
Full review to come soon!
Full review to come soon!
August 17, 2026
Quickie
A strong female character is abducted while out for a run. It initially seems so random until it doesn't. This is a fast-paced heart pounder that all comes together well.
A strong female character is abducted while out for a run. It initially seems so random until it doesn't. This is a fast-paced heart pounder that all comes together well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,169 reviews