What do you think?
Rate this book
You Can Run
Penny Conley is still recovering from the untimely death of her husband. But she and her five-year-old daughter, Willow, seem to be thriving in their West Virginia suburb. Penny works for esteemed archeologist Simon Van Etton, who is like family to her—even Simon's great niece, Diana, has become one of Penny's closest friends. So when a distraught Penny calls Diana late one night, Diana is the one who comes running. But just as Diana arrives, the house explodes…leaving Penny in a coma, though sparing Willow any harm.As Diana and Simon try to figure out what happened—and why—two shocking discoveries are First, investigators find a bomb in Penny's basement. Then, new facts about Penny's dark past come to light. Determined to find the truth about her friend and protect Willow, Diana keeps digging for clues. But someone is following her every move—and is willing to kill to make sure that Penny's secrets stay dead and buried…
334 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
8 people are currently reading
252 people want to read
About the author
Carlene Thompson
22 books254 followersCarlene Thompson is an author of suspense thriller novels.
Her first book, Black for Remembrance, was published in 1990 by Little, Brown and was well received. Her books are suspense novels, often with romantic elements and many take place in Thompson's home state of West Virginia. Her books often feature animals, which she bases on animals she knows in real life.
Her first book, Black for Remembrance, was published in 1990 by Little, Brown and was well received. Her books are suspense novels, often with romantic elements and many take place in Thompson's home state of West Virginia. Her books often feature animals, which she bases on animals she knows in real life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 12, 2009
I have a feeling this review is going to be shorter than my usual.
The prologue will suck in any reader. A house explosion that rocks a quiet, run-down neighborhood, a mother thrown from the back porch, her darling girl safe... who wouldn't want to keep reading to find out what's going on!
From finding out that the explosion was caused by a bomb, to finding out her friend lied and still has a husband, to a little girl literally losing it and freaking out that her father is a Bad Man, all makes for some very tense scenes at the beginning.
And while the tension is still there, needless details and repetitive thoughts/feelings are starting to hamper the story.
The main character, Diana, is a very brave woman who doesn't see herself as such. After a failed marriage, she doesn't believe she'll find the love she's looking for. And now she's dumbfounded, for everything that her friend Penny told her was a lie, and Diana wants to know why. Why would Penny run from her husband, taking their daughter with her? Why would she teach Willow to fear her father? Why did Penny say her husband was dead? Diana is determined to find out why, although - we don't really see her investigating anything!
Tyler Raines: supposed to be a stranger, he's actually Penny's foster father. An undercover cop from New York, he's determined to find out why his sister's house was bombed, why she was keeping secrets from him.
More attacks, more drama on the part of the husband, his constant outrage and attacks seemed more like something a woman would do, LOL! I was kind of getting tired of it. But the worst character, I feel, in this story isn't the actual bad guy. Let's see if you can guess who I thought was the most annoying character. Hint: for an adult, she acted way more like a petulant child. And I'm sorry, but adult characters who act like that deserve a smack upside the head from me.
I did, however, get chills during the tenseful, climatic scene where the real bad guy is revealed. I think the chills were because this person seemed unbelievably level-headed and had bided his time. That chilled me.
The epilogue was perfect, though. So many happy endings. Still, the ending couldn't make up for all of the repetitive feelings and details of mundane and not needed details.
A good read to pass the time, and I do believe that I'll try another of Carlene Thompson's books.
The prologue will suck in any reader. A house explosion that rocks a quiet, run-down neighborhood, a mother thrown from the back porch, her darling girl safe... who wouldn't want to keep reading to find out what's going on!
From finding out that the explosion was caused by a bomb, to finding out her friend lied and still has a husband, to a little girl literally losing it and freaking out that her father is a Bad Man, all makes for some very tense scenes at the beginning.
And while the tension is still there, needless details and repetitive thoughts/feelings are starting to hamper the story.
The main character, Diana, is a very brave woman who doesn't see herself as such. After a failed marriage, she doesn't believe she'll find the love she's looking for. And now she's dumbfounded, for everything that her friend Penny told her was a lie, and Diana wants to know why. Why would Penny run from her husband, taking their daughter with her? Why would she teach Willow to fear her father? Why did Penny say her husband was dead? Diana is determined to find out why, although - we don't really see her investigating anything!
Tyler Raines: supposed to be a stranger, he's actually Penny's foster father. An undercover cop from New York, he's determined to find out why his sister's house was bombed, why she was keeping secrets from him.
More attacks, more drama on the part of the husband, his constant outrage and attacks seemed more like something a woman would do, LOL! I was kind of getting tired of it. But the worst character, I feel, in this story isn't the actual bad guy. Let's see if you can guess who I thought was the most annoying character. Hint: for an adult, she acted way more like a petulant child. And I'm sorry, but adult characters who act like that deserve a smack upside the head from me.
I did, however, get chills during the tenseful, climatic scene where the real bad guy is revealed. I think the chills were because this person seemed unbelievably level-headed and had bided his time. That chilled me.
The epilogue was perfect, though. So many happy endings. Still, the ending couldn't make up for all of the repetitive feelings and details of mundane and not needed details.
A good read to pass the time, and I do believe that I'll try another of Carlene Thompson's books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2009
It took me really long time to finish this book and I kept dropping this book to read something else interesting. What kept putting me off is the terrible language. I can understand the author's intention to write real-life dialogues rather than just dialogues centering around the plot, but Carlene definitely overdoes it here. There is a lot of irrelevant detail in this book, and after painstakingly developing characters and establishing their mannerisms, we see them do something totally out of the character.
I couldn't identify with most characters, but I could least identify with the 5-year old kid in the book, Willow. She sometimes has a vocabulary of a pre-teen and sometimes behave nothing like a child.
Overall, I just wanted to finish the book all the way to the end, simply because I find it hard to stop a book midway and give it up, unless I really cannot digest a book. To me, this book was really not worth my time.
I couldn't identify with most characters, but I could least identify with the 5-year old kid in the book, Willow. She sometimes has a vocabulary of a pre-teen and sometimes behave nothing like a child.
Overall, I just wanted to finish the book all the way to the end, simply because I find it hard to stop a book midway and give it up, unless I really cannot digest a book. To me, this book was really not worth my time.
March 8, 2010
Okay, I wasn't overly impressed with this book. Compared to If You Ever Tell, this book fell short. I was expecting more from You Can Run... Don't get me wrong, it was really good just it was lacking a bit of thrill.
This is the second book I've read by Thompson, and it centers around another traumatized girl, Willow. I really liked the plot, and I was slightly surprised by who the murderer was. I had a feeling that's who it was, but the motive behind why that person did it threw me off. All in all, a good read. Maybe not fully worth 4 stars, I'd rather give it 3.5 but nevertheless it was quite good. :)
This is the second book I've read by Thompson, and it centers around another traumatized girl, Willow. I really liked the plot, and I was slightly surprised by who the murderer was. I had a feeling that's who it was, but the motive behind why that person did it threw me off. All in all, a good read. Maybe not fully worth 4 stars, I'd rather give it 3.5 but nevertheless it was quite good. :)
October 29, 2018
This is a story with a lot of twists. Its gets you from page one till the very end. Penny Conley and her five year old daughter Willow move to a new town to start over when their husband/father dies. She works for an esteemed archeologist Simon, who becomes family to them along with his niece Diana. One night Diana gets a call from Penny that unsettles Diana asking her to stop over on Diana's way home. Diana is late getting there so when she pulls up to as the house it blows up. Now the questions start are the two Conley's alive and why did the house blow up? Penny's past is looked into and the questions are shocking.
April 9, 2023
This book sat on my self for years. Finally in an attempt to get those "older" books out of the way I read it. Why did I wait...because of poor reviews! I need to learn from this, reviews are nice but read the back cover, if you are interested read it! I enjoyed this book. It had twists and turns, it really is not a romance book although it appears to be marked as one. Is it far-fetched...yes, but that is fiction for you. It is a good story worth reading.
February 11, 2018
It's hard to imagine that a story that literally begins with an explosion could start slow, but that's how I felt about this book. I was close to halfway finished and I didn't have any attachment to the characters or the plotline but it definitely improved after that. I ended up enjoying the story but I can't say I loved it.
January 7, 2021
This book isn't exactly the most literary thing I've ever read. The first 100 pages in particular read 'amateurish', or at the very least in need of tight editing. The 'easy' writing still packs a good amount of suspense and the book ended up being a much more entertaining thriller than I expected.
November 7, 2025
This book literally started with a bang with a house exploding but then the story just meandered around. It was not the fast paced suspenseful story that I wanted it to be and assumed it would be based on the title and the opening.
April 16, 2020
I am going to read everything Carlene Thompson wrote. I can usually figure out the killers, but it took me until about page 300 to even get a clue. She has lots of twists and turns.
October 25, 2020
Great story line, good suspence, kept me guessing in this who done it! I gave it a 3 because there is such a thing as too much unnecessary detail.
July 19, 2021
Couldn't put the book down
A wonderful mystery. Always try to figure out who the bad guy is. Lots of twists and turns. Thank you
A wonderful mystery. Always try to figure out who the bad guy is. Lots of twists and turns. Thank you
March 24, 2024
You can run was pretty good overall. Didn't catch me into the plot as I was hoping. But overall it was a good storyline that connected well at the end
May 23, 2024
C’est pas le meilleur thriller que j’ai lu. L’histoire était prévisible, mais j’ai passé un bon moment malgré les petites incohérence dans l’histoire
March 2, 2021
J'ai bien aimé les livres de Carlene Thompson. Pour ceux qui se cachent il m'a pris 2 mois pour le terminer.
j'avais beaucoup des sentiments vers les personnages Willow, Diana, Penny, Glen, Jeffrey....
j'avais beaucoup des sentiments vers les personnages Willow, Diana, Penny, Glen, Jeffrey....
September 2, 2009
My first Carlene Thompson. Diana Sheridan is late. As she gets to her friend Penny Conley’s house it suddenly explodes with a roar, flames and flying debris. Diana is shocked and as she tries to get under control, a man comes up and helps her, moving her car away from the flames. What has happened? Where is Penny, is she all right and where is her daughter 5 year old Willow? These and more questions are posed and answered, but they bring to light more questions and threats to Diana and her Uncle. There a number of suspects and several threads that eventually come together in the end as various characters arouse your suspicions along the way.
ISBN - 978-1-61523-011-2, Suspense, Pages - 592, Print Size - L, Rating - 4My first Carlene Thompson. Diana Sheridan is late. As she gets to her friend Penny Conley’s house it suddenly explodes with a roar, flames and flying debris. Diana is shocked and as she tries to get under control, a man comes up and helps her, moving her car away from the flames. What has happened? Where is Penny, is she all right and where is her daughter 5 year old Willow? These and more questions are posed and answered, but they bring to light more questions and threats to Diana and her Uncle. There a number of suspects and several threads that eventually come together in the end as various characters arouse your suspicions along the way.
ISBN - 978-1-61523-011-2, Suspense, Pages - 592, Print Size - L, Rating - 4
ISBN - 978-1-61523-011-2, Suspense, Pages - 592, Print Size - L, Rating - 4My first Carlene Thompson. Diana Sheridan is late. As she gets to her friend Penny Conley’s house it suddenly explodes with a roar, flames and flying debris. Diana is shocked and as she tries to get under control, a man comes up and helps her, moving her car away from the flames. What has happened? Where is Penny, is she all right and where is her daughter 5 year old Willow? These and more questions are posed and answered, but they bring to light more questions and threats to Diana and her Uncle. There a number of suspects and several threads that eventually come together in the end as various characters arouse your suspicions along the way.
ISBN - 978-1-61523-011-2, Suspense, Pages - 592, Print Size - L, Rating - 4
August 25, 2009
This book was one of my group BOM's. I wasn't really that interested in it when I picked it up and read the back. But I figured I would give it a try since my group was reading. It turned out better than I expected and I ended up liking it.
This was a suspenseful story line that begins with a house exploding. Penny is heading outside to find her daughter Willow who was supposed to be resting in bed when the house explodes. Dana shows up just as the house goes up in flames, and she is determined to find out what's been going on with her friend. Add in to the mix an interesting stranger named Tyler, who appears in place at the right time too often. Should Dana accept his help, or should she be wary of him?
When Dana finds out that Penny's house actually had a bomb planted in it, she knows something is definitely wrong and maybe she didn't know her friend as well as she thought. Someone wants to make sure that Penny's secrets stay buried and that means some loose ends have to be tied up which puts Willow and Dana at risk.
The story moved quickly, and it was an interesting storyline. I wouldn't mind reading this author again.
This was a suspenseful story line that begins with a house exploding. Penny is heading outside to find her daughter Willow who was supposed to be resting in bed when the house explodes. Dana shows up just as the house goes up in flames, and she is determined to find out what's been going on with her friend. Add in to the mix an interesting stranger named Tyler, who appears in place at the right time too often. Should Dana accept his help, or should she be wary of him?
When Dana finds out that Penny's house actually had a bomb planted in it, she knows something is definitely wrong and maybe she didn't know her friend as well as she thought. Someone wants to make sure that Penny's secrets stay buried and that means some loose ends have to be tied up which puts Willow and Dana at risk.
The story moved quickly, and it was an interesting storyline. I wouldn't mind reading this author again.
August 17, 2009
At first I had trouble getting into the storyline on this book but then I started
to realize that it seemed more of a mystery than a romantic suspense.
Once I started to read it as a mystery it flowed so much better for me as a
reader.
I enjoyed the characterizations as well as the setting, (I’m a native West
Virginian, so please forgive the bias), Diana seemed to be just your
average young woman trying to find fulfillment when what seems
to be a tragic accident has critically injured her best friend Penny.
While attempting to do her best for Penny’s daughter who was spared; she
comes to realize that she didn’t know her best friend as well as she thought
she did; in fact, she didn’t know her at all. With the help of her Uncle Simon
and the stranger Tyler Raines, Diana tries to uncover the mystery that
surrounds Penny; without getting herself killed.
A thoroughly good mystery that shows the most dangerous relationships
are not those of strangers but of family.
to realize that it seemed more of a mystery than a romantic suspense.
Once I started to read it as a mystery it flowed so much better for me as a
reader.
I enjoyed the characterizations as well as the setting, (I’m a native West
Virginian, so please forgive the bias), Diana seemed to be just your
average young woman trying to find fulfillment when what seems
to be a tragic accident has critically injured her best friend Penny.
While attempting to do her best for Penny’s daughter who was spared; she
comes to realize that she didn’t know her best friend as well as she thought
she did; in fact, she didn’t know her at all. With the help of her Uncle Simon
and the stranger Tyler Raines, Diana tries to uncover the mystery that
surrounds Penny; without getting herself killed.
A thoroughly good mystery that shows the most dangerous relationships
are not those of strangers but of family.
August 25, 2012
this book was just okay. It said on the cover that fans of Mary Higgins Clark would like it, and in my opinion, it had the same weakness Mary Higgins Clark's books have – a weak heroine who needs to be saved by the man. I was really disappointed in the ending, Tyler needing to save Willow and Diana. I would've liked to see Diana defending herself successfully. I also didn't think it was realistic that the family cozied up to the semi-abusive father in the end. I didn't think they would forgive and forget so easily. Although it was true he was not a murderer, his behavior was still horrible towards Willow. I just didn't find that realistic. I did like how I didn't figure out the mystery until the very end. And I did care about what happened to Willow and Diane, so the book at me reading. Three stars is generous though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2009
Although I enjoyed this book a fair amount, the romance portion (always my least favorite component of any story anyway) was far too rushed to be believable. Of course, this is often the case with almost all romantic suspense fiction, and probably why it is my least favorite part of any storyline. In this case though, it really detracted from the story for me. Too contrived and silly. The rest of the plot was a very enjoyable mystery with an ending that I did not see coming. This author reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark, and what I refer to as my "easy breezy" mysteries, and I do so love them.
This was the first book I have read by this author and I will definitely be reading more of her books.
This was the first book I have read by this author and I will definitely be reading more of her books.
August 22, 2009
I did enjoy this book. At times I felt like the author gave too many details and other times, not enough but I ended up liking the book.
I enjoyed the characters good vs. bad. My favorite character was "Badge". I also enjoyed Willow, but a times thought the author made her sound too old for her age. Inserting the older charcters in the book Simon/Clarice added anothr dimension to the book.
Although this was not a 5 star read, I did find myself wanting to find out what happened next and trying to figure out who the villian would be. I would definitely read another of Carlen Thompson's books.
I enjoyed the characters good vs. bad. My favorite character was "Badge". I also enjoyed Willow, but a times thought the author made her sound too old for her age. Inserting the older charcters in the book Simon/Clarice added anothr dimension to the book.
Although this was not a 5 star read, I did find myself wanting to find out what happened next and trying to figure out who the villian would be. I would definitely read another of Carlen Thompson's books.
January 26, 2011
If you love hot and explosive romantic suspense novels, you'll enjoy Carlene Thompson's You Can Run. Diana Sheridan gets a call from her friend, Penny Conley, on her way home from a trip. When she arrives at Penny's house, Penny's home explodes and her daughter's missing. That's when she runs into Tyler Raines at the scene, a mysterious man with secrets of his own. While Penny's in the coma, badly burned and disfigured, Penny's secrets comes out on the open, after her daughter Willow is returned. From there, Diana learns on her past life and develops a connection to Tyler, that puts them together to protect her from Penny's killer, when they discover the truth.
March 20, 2009
I usually love most of her books but this one seemed off for her. Like she wasn't that focused when she was writing it. The book starts off with a "bang" literally..an explosion but then it seems to wander for most of the book.
You really don't get most of the clues to the mystery until the last couple of chapters,Which I admit were pretty good. The romantic interest let me down as well. There was no character development between them it sort of felt like.."Hi,I love you"..."Oh Hi,I love you too" to me. Not a totally bad read but definately not one of her best.
You really don't get most of the clues to the mystery until the last couple of chapters,Which I admit were pretty good. The romantic interest let me down as well. There was no character development between them it sort of felt like.."Hi,I love you"..."Oh Hi,I love you too" to me. Not a totally bad read but definately not one of her best.
July 14, 2009
I was disappointed with this book. I had read a few of her previous ones and thought they were pretty good, but this one seemed very superficial and awkward. The dialogue, the interaction between the characters, the progression of the story, all seemed stiff and unnatural. I don't mean to sound unkind, but the writing style reminded me of Catherine Coulter and I almost felt like I was reading one of her books, which to me are very superficial (see my review for "Tailspin" to get a better explanation on my views of her writing style). It had great potential, but just didn't deliver.
January 17, 2013
This was a great book some romance and plenty of suspense. It makes you want to keep turning pages. Diana and her great uncle Simon accept penny and her little girl willow into their lives and small family, not knowing there is more to penny than meets the eye. Penny has an unfortunate occurrence that puts her in the hospital and when willow is found she stays with Diana and Simon, who is penny realy, who wanted penny hurt, and who is targeting willow. There are so many twists and so many probable suspects you can't help but need to get to the end.
August 13, 2009
I enjoyed the sub-plots more in this story. Yes, I did like the whole book but I liked the behind-the-scenes story better. Diana is a strong, determined woman, Willow is a cute 5 year old and Tyler was ok as far as the "knows what's better for you because he is a man" type that every romance seems to have. I gave this story 4 stars for the suprise effect.
August 22, 2009
I found it too me longer to read this book as this book couldn't hold my interest at the start. Once I was about 1/3 way through the book I found I couldn't put it down. The suspense was great and I was totally surprised at the ending, I didn't see this coming.
August 4, 2011
Story line was good however, it took way to long to tell it. There were some jumps in the plot that just "jumped" the reader was just suppposed to accept this new information even when it came out of thin air.
July 12, 2021
Ein sehr spannendes Buch. Die Figuren sind sympathisch und die Autorin bietet mehrere Personen, die als Täter in Frage kommen. Gegen Ende hin zieht sich der Kreis der Verdächtigen enger, und man glaubt, nun wisse man, wer es ist. Und natürlich liegt man falsch.
August 26, 2009
it was a good read.
I kindof wondered if what she was hiding from was her husband from fairly early on and the book suggested the guilty party and that was why the ending was a surprise
I kindof wondered if what she was hiding from was her husband from fairly early on and the book suggested the guilty party and that was why the ending was a surprise
January 10, 2016
review to follow
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews