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On the Run: A Sadie Lynch Novel
Can a city cop win a deadly game against a shadowy paramilitary organization?
In order to protect herself and her grandfather, Officer Sadie Lynch is forced out of her routine life as a cop. On the run, Sadie reflects on the blurry line between good and evil, faith, and the state of her heart. She must overcome her past and allow herself to rely on a stranger, but can she trust Jarett Barber, an arrogant former Navy SEAL? As the stakes are raised, Sadie is forced to choose.With the potential to stun the nation, Sadie learns of dangerous secrets that could get her killed. Tough and determined, she navigates the treacherous path with intuition and intelligence. Will it be enough to save her as she runs for her life?
Sadie Lynch Novels
If you're ready for a brave, smart heroine, then it's time to meet Sadie Lynch. When her life takes an unexpected turn, Sadie tackles the new path with an inspiring resilience and a healthy dose of sarcasm. The Sadie Lynch novels are a full-throttle adventure of twists and turns.
In order to protect herself and her grandfather, Officer Sadie Lynch is forced out of her routine life as a cop. On the run, Sadie reflects on the blurry line between good and evil, faith, and the state of her heart. She must overcome her past and allow herself to rely on a stranger, but can she trust Jarett Barber, an arrogant former Navy SEAL? As the stakes are raised, Sadie is forced to choose.With the potential to stun the nation, Sadie learns of dangerous secrets that could get her killed. Tough and determined, she navigates the treacherous path with intuition and intelligence. Will it be enough to save her as she runs for her life?
Sadie Lynch Novels
If you're ready for a brave, smart heroine, then it's time to meet Sadie Lynch. When her life takes an unexpected turn, Sadie tackles the new path with an inspiring resilience and a healthy dose of sarcasm. The Sadie Lynch novels are a full-throttle adventure of twists and turns.
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Published July 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 20, 2022
On the Run is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that kept me on the seat of my chair every step of the way. The story revolves around Sadie Lynch, a no-nonsense cop who is tough, intelligent, and motivated. The only living relative is her grandfather who, living in a nursing home, is slowly losing his mental health to dementia. While visiting her grandfather in the nursing home, Sadie is unexpectedly targeted by an assassin and only escapes with the help of her grandfather. Sadie soon discovers that her grandfather has a dark past and his past is catching up with him, to terminate him and anyone close to him. This starts Sadie and her grandfather's journey On the Run with the help of a questionable ally recruited by her grandfather.
I really enjoyed the story. It was well written, flowed well and the world-building was fantastic. There was enough action to satisfy my craving, a hint of romance to entice my curiosity about the lead characters, some religious aspects to introduce the mortality and morality of character relationships, and the good old struggle between right and wrong. I am definitely going to follow Sadie in her series and recommend On the Run as a great read. (I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review)
I really enjoyed the story. It was well written, flowed well and the world-building was fantastic. There was enough action to satisfy my craving, a hint of romance to entice my curiosity about the lead characters, some religious aspects to introduce the mortality and morality of character relationships, and the good old struggle between right and wrong. I am definitely going to follow Sadie in her series and recommend On the Run as a great read. (I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review)
January 26, 2022
A suspenseful Christian thriller with plenty of action. A great start to a new series.
February 7, 2022
Maranda’s storytelling is captivating. The story pulls you in from the very beginning and the characters are revealed in just the right way. This, her first novel, sets a high bar for future work for which I am eagerly awaiting. There is intrigue, danger, tenderness, frustration, and old wounds to heal, all enveloped in a fascinating tale of covert government operations set in the idyllic plains of the United States. Please take a few hours and enjoy the expertly woven tale.
November 4, 2024
Plot
HE KNOWS THEIR SECRETS. THEY’LL STOP AT NOTHING TO SILENCE HER.
Officer Sadie Lynch’s world was a simple one. She served her community in a Kansas City suburb, keeping people safe and catching the bad guys. It was a lonely life with only her elderly grandfather for companionship, but at least everything made sense. That world came crashing to an end the day a mysterious assassin tried to murder Grandpa in his nursing home.
Before Sadie could blink, she and Grandpa were on the run for their lives, and nothing was simple anymore. Friendly suburban housewives were shooting at them, good guys were stealing cars to stay alive, and Grandpa’s former career working for the government was turning out to be something far more sinister. Their only hope for saving themselves lay in a forbidding ex-Navy SEAL. But could anyone be trusted when their shadowy adversary had eyes and ears everywhere they ran?
My Analysis
I don't remember a thriller that started with action from page two. Usually, there's a build up of suspense, even when you the story starts with someone in danger. This one started calm, then a literal bang and we're, uh, on the run.
A lot of good action throughout. I liked the technology used. I liked the logical process of each step, each chapter as the two, then three main characters are trying to escape the bad guys.
The character development was well-done. The mistrust by Sadie toward Jarett. The eventual trust and the inevitable attraction. Jarett is a standard character for these stories. Handsome, sarcastic, and with a painful story in his history. I'm not saying this is bad, just expected and the author handles this well.
Okay, now for the concerns and things that didn't work for me. First, there is a Christian layer to this story when Jarett comes on scene. Now, while this was not a problem, I believe it presented a challenge to the author. I don't know as if I've heard of a Christian thriller, and I know I haven't read one. Again, I'm not against having Christian aspects in a story. I find no fault with that.
However, perhaps because of this, parts of the story are...a bit unrealistic. I know, you're not going to get vulgarity in a Christian story, but these are cops and military men and covert operatives. One would expect some four letter words. While I've discussed the use of these words in other blogs and while I didn't mind them being omitted in this story...well, one has to stand back and look at character types and how they would react. One would expect Lynch to cuss on the job as a police officer. I would have expected Jarett teammates on his missions didn't say "gosh shucky darn, those terrorist are real poopyheads." Again, I'm not saying the omission of these words are bad, but it did stick out.
I won't play spoiler but will hint that another thing that didn't work for me was the way Lynch used her gun. I think you have to look at the situation, the danger, the character (cop), and think about the use of force. Is it realistic? In this instance—and I understand the Christianity marbling through this—it doesn't quite work for me.
The glaring piece of the writing craft that needed to be edited was italicizing direct thought. This is a first-person POV in present tense story. With third person, you can have direct thoughts from a character. They might be italicized. There's a good argument both ways on this.
With first person, the problem is that the narrator IS telling/showing the reader the story. Therefore, EVERYTHING written is a thought in one sense. Let me bring up my stories. The Mallory Petersen series is first person. However, I do have direct thought, usually a four letter word or a judgment. But this is okay because I don't overdo it.
With Sadie, there were a LOT of italicized direct thoughts. Two problems here. The first is that there were too many and the transition between direct thought and regular narrative blurred because the second problems was the direct thoughts were a series of complete sentences, full paragraphs. The issue here is that people don't think like that. You don't think in paragraphs. One or two words. Maybe a sentence as in a judgment or mental snarky remark. Most of the attributed direct thoughts in this book should have been narrative.
The climactic scene came too early and the denouement was drawn out. By the middle of the wrap up, I knew how the book would end. As for the ending, it left the relationship between Jarett and Sadie up in the air, which mean sequel, which there is one.
So, what about rank. The direct thought italics annoyed me, but I did enjoy the action in the book. The other concerns were apparent, but the character development was well written. I'm torn between green and purple. I give the first when there is plenty of weak writing, enough that my enjoyment level goes to the *shrugs shoulders* level. Purple means I enjoyed it but there wasn't the crispness as scene in blue belt ranked books.
I'm going to give this a Purple Belt with more than a bit of green seeping in.
HE KNOWS THEIR SECRETS. THEY’LL STOP AT NOTHING TO SILENCE HER.
Officer Sadie Lynch’s world was a simple one. She served her community in a Kansas City suburb, keeping people safe and catching the bad guys. It was a lonely life with only her elderly grandfather for companionship, but at least everything made sense. That world came crashing to an end the day a mysterious assassin tried to murder Grandpa in his nursing home.
Before Sadie could blink, she and Grandpa were on the run for their lives, and nothing was simple anymore. Friendly suburban housewives were shooting at them, good guys were stealing cars to stay alive, and Grandpa’s former career working for the government was turning out to be something far more sinister. Their only hope for saving themselves lay in a forbidding ex-Navy SEAL. But could anyone be trusted when their shadowy adversary had eyes and ears everywhere they ran?
My Analysis
I don't remember a thriller that started with action from page two. Usually, there's a build up of suspense, even when you the story starts with someone in danger. This one started calm, then a literal bang and we're, uh, on the run.
A lot of good action throughout. I liked the technology used. I liked the logical process of each step, each chapter as the two, then three main characters are trying to escape the bad guys.
The character development was well-done. The mistrust by Sadie toward Jarett. The eventual trust and the inevitable attraction. Jarett is a standard character for these stories. Handsome, sarcastic, and with a painful story in his history. I'm not saying this is bad, just expected and the author handles this well.
Okay, now for the concerns and things that didn't work for me. First, there is a Christian layer to this story when Jarett comes on scene. Now, while this was not a problem, I believe it presented a challenge to the author. I don't know as if I've heard of a Christian thriller, and I know I haven't read one. Again, I'm not against having Christian aspects in a story. I find no fault with that.
However, perhaps because of this, parts of the story are...a bit unrealistic. I know, you're not going to get vulgarity in a Christian story, but these are cops and military men and covert operatives. One would expect some four letter words. While I've discussed the use of these words in other blogs and while I didn't mind them being omitted in this story...well, one has to stand back and look at character types and how they would react. One would expect Lynch to cuss on the job as a police officer. I would have expected Jarett teammates on his missions didn't say "gosh shucky darn, those terrorist are real poopyheads." Again, I'm not saying the omission of these words are bad, but it did stick out.
I won't play spoiler but will hint that another thing that didn't work for me was the way Lynch used her gun. I think you have to look at the situation, the danger, the character (cop), and think about the use of force. Is it realistic? In this instance—and I understand the Christianity marbling through this—it doesn't quite work for me.
The glaring piece of the writing craft that needed to be edited was italicizing direct thought. This is a first-person POV in present tense story. With third person, you can have direct thoughts from a character. They might be italicized. There's a good argument both ways on this.
With first person, the problem is that the narrator IS telling/showing the reader the story. Therefore, EVERYTHING written is a thought in one sense. Let me bring up my stories. The Mallory Petersen series is first person. However, I do have direct thought, usually a four letter word or a judgment. But this is okay because I don't overdo it.
With Sadie, there were a LOT of italicized direct thoughts. Two problems here. The first is that there were too many and the transition between direct thought and regular narrative blurred because the second problems was the direct thoughts were a series of complete sentences, full paragraphs. The issue here is that people don't think like that. You don't think in paragraphs. One or two words. Maybe a sentence as in a judgment or mental snarky remark. Most of the attributed direct thoughts in this book should have been narrative.
The climactic scene came too early and the denouement was drawn out. By the middle of the wrap up, I knew how the book would end. As for the ending, it left the relationship between Jarett and Sadie up in the air, which mean sequel, which there is one.
So, what about rank. The direct thought italics annoyed me, but I did enjoy the action in the book. The other concerns were apparent, but the character development was well written. I'm torn between green and purple. I give the first when there is plenty of weak writing, enough that my enjoyment level goes to the *shrugs shoulders* level. Purple means I enjoyed it but there wasn't the crispness as scene in blue belt ranked books.
I'm going to give this a Purple Belt with more than a bit of green seeping in.
November 25, 2022
What an exciting story! But it was more than just bullets blazing and racing away from the bad guys. In "On the Run" Collins shares two characters that are broken, lost, and looking for something they don't even understand. Sure, they're also armed with fire arms and skilled at hand-to-hand combat, but these characters are more than these surface level attributes.
This book is great for people who like the intrigue with a good amount of character development. Also, Collins takes the reader on a tour of the four states (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas) through the adventures and shares the reality of life in these fly-over states.
And the best part of this book is that it's set up for a series! Where will Sadie and Jarret end up next? What about Grandpa? I'll be keeping my eyes open for the second Sadie Lynch novel.
This book is great for people who like the intrigue with a good amount of character development. Also, Collins takes the reader on a tour of the four states (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas) through the adventures and shares the reality of life in these fly-over states.
And the best part of this book is that it's set up for a series! Where will Sadie and Jarret end up next? What about Grandpa? I'll be keeping my eyes open for the second Sadie Lynch novel.
July 27, 2022
Hooked on the protagonist and her grandfather from the beginning. Lots of action, conflict, dangerous situations. The romance has a great pace and was very believable. Love the arc of their relationship. It was a fast read and the protagonist, her grandfather, and love interest are very likable. Wished for more of them at the end. These are the type of characters a reader loves to follow around and is sad when the story is finished. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
May 20, 2023
When a routine visit to see her grandpa in the nursing home turns into an assassination attempt, Sadie is forced to abandon her police cruiser for a stolen vehicle and hit the road. Along the way, she discovers her grandpa was a covert operative for Civ Task Black, and even worse, she's forced to trust someone who works for the very agency that is trying to kill them. Full of thrills, suspense, government secrets, and a simmering romance, ON THE RUN, is a must-read!
August 31, 2022
I had just finished a James Patterson book when this arrived in the mail and I have to say this was just as engaging. Every night, I had to just keep reading a little bit more before I could actually go to bed. Maranda does a great job keeping the story moving and the characters are compelling and relatable. I can't wait for the next Sadie Lynch novel to come out!!
May 30, 2023
Bought at self care fair, hadn't read anything other than text books for past 12 yrs, this was the best book to bring me back to myself. Thoroughly enjoyed &Thank you Maranda! Personally I think it could be made into a movie. Keep writing Sadie Novels, we'll keep reading them. Looking forward to your next book!
March 25, 2022
Grabbed me from the beginning! This fast paced story kept the pages turning. It was a great story, but definitely lends itself to future adventure with Sadie Lynch! I also loved that the author is from the same area I am, so reading about locations I'm familiar with made me love it even more!
April 1, 2022
Good first book
I really enjoyed Sadie and her Grandpa. The book is well written and flows nicely. This isn't typical genre but I will read the next in the series to see where Sadie and Jarrett go.
I really enjoyed Sadie and her Grandpa. The book is well written and flows nicely. This isn't typical genre but I will read the next in the series to see where Sadie and Jarrett go.
June 8, 2022
This is a fast paced thriller that doesn't disappoint. This is a fantastic book! You get hooked in quickly, the character developments are great, and the plot twists are wonderful. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!
July 15, 2022
Twists and Turns
I read this book much quicker than other books. I love the twists and turns. I could hardly put it down. Good thing I had it on my phone. Even a few minutes moved the story along quickly.
I read this book much quicker than other books. I love the twists and turns. I could hardly put it down. Good thing I had it on my phone. Even a few minutes moved the story along quickly.
October 9, 2022
It's no wonder this won the Adventure Writers' Competition Finalist Award! Fast and fun, with a protagonist (and a gravelly grandfather) you'll love from the start. This is the first installment of what's sure to be a great series. Highly recommended!
November 4, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, fast paced story. Loved Sadie and her grandpa. I have not read any books based in my areas or places I have been (living in southeast Kansas), it was really fun to do that. Can’t wait for the next installment of Sadie Lynch.
November 7, 2022
Really good ! Engaging, unique plot, just enough teasing with a romantic relationship and love that it’s set in Kansas !! Loved the shorter chapters and just enough suspense to keep you turning pages but not overwhelming
March 18, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. Fast paced, didn’t want to put it down. Great story and great characters. I look forward to reading the next one.
April 4, 2022
Great book! Really held my interest. Love the Godly points in the book. I'm always looking for Christian authors.
April 13, 2022
This book was action packed from the start and dint have a slow moment. I enjoyed Sadie!
April 29, 2022
Pulls you in from the first page. A well written, enjoyable read
December 31, 2022
I absolutely loved this book! It was full of excitement and the plot kept you guessing. A total page turner!
January 13, 2023
I love all the little details about Manhattan and the K- State campus. It makes me feel like I’m back walking on the grounds and really grounds the story. Looking forward to the next one.
February 1, 2024
What I liked about this book is that a lot of it took place on the Kansas State University Campus in Manhattan, KS where I graduated from.
It thought the story was a little cliched.
It thought the story was a little cliched.
October 21, 2024
Good story line
I was intrigued from the beginning. Interesting twists kept me in my toes. Ready for book 2.I hope it's was good was
I was intrigued from the beginning. Interesting twists kept me in my toes. Ready for book 2.I hope it's was good was
November 20, 2025
well written
The book kept my attention as the story progressed. It was action packed and yet had heart as well. Good read.
The book kept my attention as the story progressed. It was action packed and yet had heart as well. Good read.
Read
December 31, 2023I bought this novel at the Ozarks Writers League conference in Branson, MO, April 2023, because, well, because I liked the cover. I kept seeing copies lying on participant's tables all day. I thought maybe I should buy it but got involved with the conference and forgot. At the last minute, I remembered to buy it. The author was clearing off her table and packing but graciously unpacked a book and autographed it for me. Boy, am I glad she did. It isn't even in a genre I read, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. It starts off with a bang and keeps going. The author developed a great protagonist and put her in a difficult situation. I will probably follow this series because Sadie Lynch, the protagonist, is in a pickle that is different from most thriller heroes. She is put in a compromising situation with her grandfather used as leverage. I'll want to see what happens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews