Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Adele Rafferty is a young actress trying to get a break in LA. She did have an acting career in her home country, Ireland, but left that all behind after issues on her last film. When she gets a sudden phone call to return home and be a last minute stand-in on a film Adele jumps at the chance. The film, Final Draft, is about a couple who go for a weekend away to an isolated cottage. During their stay they discover a book about a similar couple staying at an isolated cottage - and the mysterious events in the book start to happen in the film. When strange things begin to happen on set, some of them mirroring the events in the screenplay and the book, Adele begins to worry.

I stumbled across Catherine Ryan Howard last year when I read 56 Days so was really looking forward to reading Run Time. This is a book that really defies explanation, it is so twisty, like a triple helix. The book is a very easy read but you certainly have to keep your wits about you figuring out what is "real life", what is screen play and what is the book within the screen play. The story jumps between the "real life" and the screen play (easily distinguished between as the second is presented as a screen play) and this keeps the story moving at a blistering pace. Just as you reach a really vital part of the story we switch to the "other" version. You just keep turning the pages wanting to know what happened.

The setting is suitably spooky, an isolated house, surrounded by forest. There's a small film crew and no other actors. Since the majority of the story takes place after dark all the filming takes place at night. There's also the added complication of no phone signal. It's all very reminiscent of an 80's horror movie, there's even mention of some of the tropes we are familiar with in these kinds of films.

Adele has a past which is hinted at in the first part of the story. She's desperate to find her way back into her acting career and this really explains her erratic behaviour. Adele goes from the excitment of being offered a job to a series of doubts about what is happening on set but doesn't question anything because she doesn't want to lose the job, or have past events rear their head. It's only towards the end of the story that we discover the past that Adele is trying to hide and this explains some of her behaviour.

If you really enjoy twisty stories where it is totally impossible to guess what is happening I heartily recommend both Run Time and 56 Days.