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Run with the Hunted #1
Run With the Hunted
In the fast-paced, tech-heavy future, diamonds are still a girl’s best friend. Bristol is more than happy to get dressed up and crash a private diamond sale that her hacker associate, Bits, has caught wind of on the deep web. The job is unbelievably simple and the getaway is a breeze; Dolly barely even gets to fire a shot during the holdup. But in the days that follow, things start to go wrong. Bristol’s dinner party is raided, their buyer backs out, and they find themselves on the run in a heavily surveilled city. Now that it’s become clear these diamonds are more than meets the eye, the trio has to find out who wants them enough to kill for it.
- GenresScience Fiction
136 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2018
6 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer R. Donohue
42 books17 followersJennifer R. Donohue grew up at the Jersey Shore and now lives in central New York with her husband and their Doberman. A member of the SFWA, she works at her local public library where she also facilitates a writing workshop. Her work has appeared in Apex Magazine, Escape Pod, Fusion Fragment, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Exit Ghost is available now. She tweets @AuthorizedMusin and you can subscribe to her Patreon for a new short story every month: https://www.patre-
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 12, 2018
I love a heist story - who doesn't? And of course, the characters are key. Donohue doesn't disappoint. Everyone is believable and unique and fun. There's tech, but not so much your eyes glaze over. There's world-building that evokes clear images and sounds. Adventure - check. All the boxes are ticked, but not in a ticking-boxes kind of way. It flows up and down like a river raft ride rather than barreling along like a train, and that's crucial. And, the ending is satisfying.
There were some issues for me with enjambment of transitional scenes. I could have used a little more camera in these spots to help me move with the characters. Occasionally I couldn't tell who said what, but it never interfered with the story itself, just my reading.
One more bonus: Bristol's assertive and perfect example of how to correct someone when they misuse a person's pronouns. That's how you do it, and honestly that alone was worth the fair price of admission.
I'd read another book with these characters. I feel like Donohue was trying to leave that open with some of the small reveals of backstory sprinkled through the pages. I hope so, anyway.
There were some issues for me with enjambment of transitional scenes. I could have used a little more camera in these spots to help me move with the characters. Occasionally I couldn't tell who said what, but it never interfered with the story itself, just my reading.
One more bonus: Bristol's assertive and perfect example of how to correct someone when they misuse a person's pronouns. That's how you do it, and honestly that alone was worth the fair price of admission.
I'd read another book with these characters. I feel like Donohue was trying to leave that open with some of the small reveals of backstory sprinkled through the pages. I hope so, anyway.
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March 17, 2020My friend wrote this! I am not well read in the sci fi genre, but enjoyed it. Smooth flowing and believable dialogue. Quick read if you're looking for something engaging and entertaining.
August 20, 2022
Who doesn’t love heists? From THE ITALIAN JOB to the OCEANS franchise to THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, heist stories often offer glamour, high stakes, and danger. The reader or viewer is seduced by the lengths the thieves will go to score their bounty. RUN WITH THE HUNTED involves the theft of gemstones including an enormous and exotic blue diamond. The fashionista of a protagonist favors fabulous couture that also serves as armor.
“I look at Bits, but her facial expression is rarely of any help. I can tell she’s scared right now, but not how scared, on a scale of spiders to snipers.”
Bristol is the mastermind and the inside woman, who has the soft skills to both dazzle and manage the human aspects of a job. Bits has technology covered. Dolly handles the weapons and the muscle. However, the diamond heist Bristol engineers has unexpected consequences, when the jewels turn out to be more than simply pretty.
RUN WITH THE HUNTED is a futuristic Oceans Eight, but with a much smaller, less developed cast of characters on a simpler, less conflict-laden mission. Tons of things about the novella make it an entertaining read, including the cool world building, the female criminals, and the inclusion of a mysterious non-binary ally in Marquis, who had the potential to be a standout secondary character. However, their involvement and peril did little to bother Bristol, which made the protagonist less likeable. Overall, I wanted the characters to have more layers, stronger stakes, and gripping motivation.
In regard to motivation and stakes, not much would change for the protagonist if she did not go through with the heist. Once things go to hell, the reader isn’t quite clear on the consequences if the thieves are captured. Will they be Imprisoned? Killed? Tortured? At one point the Bristol expresses a desire to be caught so she can return to her casual life. She seems more bored with being on the run than genuinely in fear for her life. Talk about deflating stakes.
While the short chapters work well for thrillers, the chapters in RUN WITH THE HUNTED do not always end on a hook that entices the reader to keep going. Ending a chapter with the point of view character off to dreamland is never scintillating, and can quickly turn the novel itself into a sleeper. The pacing could be improved by eliminating scenes that fail to significantly move the story forward or reveal character. Even scenes that serve as set up should contain tension and conflict.
Of course, it’s easier to pick at the writing craft of someone else’s work than it is to write fiction that displays a mastery of those elements while also infusing the story with the kind of imaginative detail that makes RUN WITH THE HUNTED fun. I absolutely adored the robot hotel, the fortune telling vending machines, and the wicked cool technology. I would definitely consider checking out the author’s other works including the sequel RUN WITH THE HUNTED 2: CTRL ALT DELETE, which is told from the point of view of technology savvy Bits.
“I look at Bits, but her facial expression is rarely of any help. I can tell she’s scared right now, but not how scared, on a scale of spiders to snipers.”
Bristol is the mastermind and the inside woman, who has the soft skills to both dazzle and manage the human aspects of a job. Bits has technology covered. Dolly handles the weapons and the muscle. However, the diamond heist Bristol engineers has unexpected consequences, when the jewels turn out to be more than simply pretty.
RUN WITH THE HUNTED is a futuristic Oceans Eight, but with a much smaller, less developed cast of characters on a simpler, less conflict-laden mission. Tons of things about the novella make it an entertaining read, including the cool world building, the female criminals, and the inclusion of a mysterious non-binary ally in Marquis, who had the potential to be a standout secondary character. However, their involvement and peril did little to bother Bristol, which made the protagonist less likeable. Overall, I wanted the characters to have more layers, stronger stakes, and gripping motivation.
In regard to motivation and stakes, not much would change for the protagonist if she did not go through with the heist. Once things go to hell, the reader isn’t quite clear on the consequences if the thieves are captured. Will they be Imprisoned? Killed? Tortured? At one point the Bristol expresses a desire to be caught so she can return to her casual life. She seems more bored with being on the run than genuinely in fear for her life. Talk about deflating stakes.
While the short chapters work well for thrillers, the chapters in RUN WITH THE HUNTED do not always end on a hook that entices the reader to keep going. Ending a chapter with the point of view character off to dreamland is never scintillating, and can quickly turn the novel itself into a sleeper. The pacing could be improved by eliminating scenes that fail to significantly move the story forward or reveal character. Even scenes that serve as set up should contain tension and conflict.
Of course, it’s easier to pick at the writing craft of someone else’s work than it is to write fiction that displays a mastery of those elements while also infusing the story with the kind of imaginative detail that makes RUN WITH THE HUNTED fun. I absolutely adored the robot hotel, the fortune telling vending machines, and the wicked cool technology. I would definitely consider checking out the author’s other works including the sequel RUN WITH THE HUNTED 2: CTRL ALT DELETE, which is told from the point of view of technology savvy Bits.
May 1, 2019
I like the plot and I love the characters, but I wish there was more depth to the book, I feel like a really great cast was presented with a cool environment, but what was given only just scratched the surface. There could have been more meat to this book, but it was still good. The author does an amazing job at really individualizing the characters and I greatly enjoyed their interactions together. They're a motley band of thieves and it works really well. There were two small things that didn't sit with me right, just in that it didn't totally make sense.
Near the end of the book we learn that the diamond viewing was just to show off, but given that the diamonds contained such dangerous and valuable information, it wouldn't make sense to do that. No one with knowledge of what data those diamonds contained would risk losing even just one of them. Also because they were stolen in the first place, a high end showing like that would be way too risky. I think it would make more sense if the original thieves stole them from people who knew what was on them, but the original thieves didn't know about the data so they tried to sell them on the other side of the world to the highest bidder. Then the owners are the big bad and you could even add in the bodies of the original thieves showing up.
The second thing is that at the end of the book, Bits mentions that just when they get cozy somewhere, they have to leave again. This implies that the trio moves around together a lot, they're tied together and have been for years, which is a big commitment, but they know so little about each other's personal lives. It's nothing plot breaking or anything like that, just some things that stood out to me.
The ending was great, it did not go as I expected it to and I'm glad it didn't, it really surprised me! I expected a shoot out or a double cross from the US government folks, but not for the trio to pull one over on everyone. I guess I underestimated them too 😊 overall it's a pretty darn good book and I recommend it.
Near the end of the book we learn that the diamond viewing was just to show off, but given that the diamonds contained such dangerous and valuable information, it wouldn't make sense to do that. No one with knowledge of what data those diamonds contained would risk losing even just one of them. Also because they were stolen in the first place, a high end showing like that would be way too risky. I think it would make more sense if the original thieves stole them from people who knew what was on them, but the original thieves didn't know about the data so they tried to sell them on the other side of the world to the highest bidder. Then the owners are the big bad and you could even add in the bodies of the original thieves showing up.
The second thing is that at the end of the book, Bits mentions that just when they get cozy somewhere, they have to leave again. This implies that the trio moves around together a lot, they're tied together and have been for years, which is a big commitment, but they know so little about each other's personal lives. It's nothing plot breaking or anything like that, just some things that stood out to me.
The ending was great, it did not go as I expected it to and I'm glad it didn't, it really surprised me! I expected a shoot out or a double cross from the US government folks, but not for the trio to pull one over on everyone. I guess I underestimated them too 😊 overall it's a pretty darn good book and I recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2020
Run with the Hunted delivers the experience of watching a fast paced, twisty heist movie in a quick novella with characters you don’t want to say goodbye to at the end.
Narrated by Bristol, who studies pirated finishing school classes and hides weapons in her hair pins, it’s the story of a trio of women who accidentally take something more valuable (and more deadly) than just the diamonds they set out to steal. Their fence backs out, and they have to find a new buyer while evading shadowy organizations that want them dead.
I fell in love with the trio (especially weapons-and-guns expert Dolly, who is basically a bisexual Labrador in a bulletproof vest) and their world. As cold and polished as her stolen diamonds, Bristol has never truly gotten to know her associates before she’s forced to hide out with them. Watching a world-class manipulator awkwardly fumble her way towards genuine friendship is heart warming and adorable, even if she’d kill me for saying so.
The cyberpunk setting delivers ‘80s aesthetics—video games, VR goggles, Cold War paranoia—and leaves ‘80s social values in the past, where they belong. Bristol is a traumatized ice queen, but she isn’t waiting for a man to thaw her. Her best friend is a nonbinary gallery owner. There are no happy little suburban nuclear families, and no one gets punished for who they are.
This book is so quick and so much fun that I’d honestly recommend it for everybody, but especially fans of A Fish Called Wanda, Ocean’s 8, vending machines, good cop/femme fatale romances, playing spy at sleepover parties, and reading reviews of Michelin-starred restaurants online because you can’t afford to eat there.
A necessarily incomplete list of content warnings:
Narrated by Bristol, who studies pirated finishing school classes and hides weapons in her hair pins, it’s the story of a trio of women who accidentally take something more valuable (and more deadly) than just the diamonds they set out to steal. Their fence backs out, and they have to find a new buyer while evading shadowy organizations that want them dead.
I fell in love with the trio (especially weapons-and-guns expert Dolly, who is basically a bisexual Labrador in a bulletproof vest) and their world. As cold and polished as her stolen diamonds, Bristol has never truly gotten to know her associates before she’s forced to hide out with them. Watching a world-class manipulator awkwardly fumble her way towards genuine friendship is heart warming and adorable, even if she’d kill me for saying so.
The cyberpunk setting delivers ‘80s aesthetics—video games, VR goggles, Cold War paranoia—and leaves ‘80s social values in the past, where they belong. Bristol is a traumatized ice queen, but she isn’t waiting for a man to thaw her. Her best friend is a nonbinary gallery owner. There are no happy little suburban nuclear families, and no one gets punished for who they are.
This book is so quick and so much fun that I’d honestly recommend it for everybody, but especially fans of A Fish Called Wanda, Ocean’s 8, vending machines, good cop/femme fatale romances, playing spy at sleepover parties, and reading reviews of Michelin-starred restaurants online because you can’t afford to eat there.
A necessarily incomplete list of content warnings:
October 4, 2020
I'm always a fan of sci-fi, so when the author offered me a copy of this book for review, I was more than happy to accept!
The characters of the trio of diamond thieves jump off the page immediately. The ultra classy and unflappable, "darling" socialite, Dolly the muscle that's never wholly put together, and the junk-food loving techie Bits make for a nice team. I wouldn't call them a found family, but they do still have a sense of chemistry.
The book is short, but the plot is focused. There are no subplots or side stories, it's all about the diamonds and the strange secrets they hold, as well as the other people that want them. I would have liked a little bit more information on the strange people chasing them, but as this is a series, I'm willing to let some questions go unanswered for now.
The biggest reason this wasn't a four star was a slight lack in depth. There are a few more things I would have liked to be focused on, some points of character development between the three I would have liked to seen more of, etc. But the writing style flows well and has a solid voice. And I enjoyed the little "gotcha" at the end.
Usually when I review sci-fi, I always include a note on how accessible it is for those new to the genre, and this one is VERY accessible. There's still the strange tech and holograms everywhere, but for the most part this is the kind of espionage/heist story you can instantly recognize. A great jumping off point for people who don't read a lot of sci-fi.
The characters of the trio of diamond thieves jump off the page immediately. The ultra classy and unflappable, "darling" socialite, Dolly the muscle that's never wholly put together, and the junk-food loving techie Bits make for a nice team. I wouldn't call them a found family, but they do still have a sense of chemistry.
The book is short, but the plot is focused. There are no subplots or side stories, it's all about the diamonds and the strange secrets they hold, as well as the other people that want them. I would have liked a little bit more information on the strange people chasing them, but as this is a series, I'm willing to let some questions go unanswered for now.
The biggest reason this wasn't a four star was a slight lack in depth. There are a few more things I would have liked to be focused on, some points of character development between the three I would have liked to seen more of, etc. But the writing style flows well and has a solid voice. And I enjoyed the little "gotcha" at the end.
Usually when I review sci-fi, I always include a note on how accessible it is for those new to the genre, and this one is VERY accessible. There's still the strange tech and holograms everywhere, but for the most part this is the kind of espionage/heist story you can instantly recognize. A great jumping off point for people who don't read a lot of sci-fi.
January 18, 2020
This review applies both to Run With The Hunted and Run With The Hunted 2 Ctrl Alt Delete
These two books brought me back to the pleasures of great sci-fi, a genre from which I drifted after my teen years. The author creates a compelling and authentic tech world, that seems to be just around the corner from 2020. Although the story lines are original, her work evokes the once and future sci-fi great, William Gibson. The three main characters are fully realized, such that I cared deeply for Bits and disliked Bristol. My emotions are not typically engaged to that extent. The three women are clearly outside the law, yet they have believable heart. I liked that very much as well. The technology is totally believable, though no copy of anything I’ve read. The author brings it all together in a masterful way. I hope to read more of her books.
These two books brought me back to the pleasures of great sci-fi, a genre from which I drifted after my teen years. The author creates a compelling and authentic tech world, that seems to be just around the corner from 2020. Although the story lines are original, her work evokes the once and future sci-fi great, William Gibson. The three main characters are fully realized, such that I cared deeply for Bits and disliked Bristol. My emotions are not typically engaged to that extent. The three women are clearly outside the law, yet they have believable heart. I liked that very much as well. The technology is totally believable, though no copy of anything I’ve read. The author brings it all together in a masterful way. I hope to read more of her books.
December 9, 2018
A good solid heist story. While I was sold this as a found family story, it isn't really as although the three characters have worked together regularly it isn't that dynamic. Once I got past that though it's a good solid story hitting the traditional beats well. The three characters work well together and it's fun to see a traditionally feminine character work in compliment rather than in competition with a more tech focused member.
April 22, 2021
This book was SUCH A FUN READ! A great concept, full of surprises, and sparkling with humor. But my favorite thing was the characters. Bristol, Dolly, and Bits are an IRRESISTIBLE trio, and I rooted for them from page one. Onward to book 2!
January 1, 2019
This was fun! Bristol kind of annoyed me, but I think that was intentional, so I’m waiting to see what will happen to her in book two. I’m excited for the next installment!
November 29, 2020
This book is super fast paced and I love it! I need it to be a movie like now. Also I pictured Dolly as Dolly Parton so that made this book that much more fun! FIVE STARS WOULD RECOMMEND!!
July 31, 2022
a fast paced little cyberpunk style story, with an interesting twist on what the Macguffin really is.
September 28, 2022
A quick entertaining heist book. The protagonist is super annoying but was reasonably believable.
March 31, 2024
This not their first. Heist
Three delightful asset relocators, have fallen into a different layer of difficulty. And with difficulty comes a possibility of greater reward.
Three delightful asset relocators, have fallen into a different layer of difficulty. And with difficulty comes a possibility of greater reward.
June 3, 2024
It’s just so fuckin’ fun honestly.
March 27, 2025
Entertaining, quick read. Technically a heist book, which I liked, but actually more about the fallout after a heist, "So you pulled it off, now what?" which I think is a bit more interesting.
April 28, 2025
Fun read. I look forward to more.
September 17, 2025
This book is a lot of fun! Fast paced, great introduction to the series and the trio of characters at its heart.
October 17, 2025
This is a super fun heist series!
May 29, 2023
WHAT this is so much fracking fun! Near future all female heist trio, steals diamonds and gets more than they bargained for.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews