Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Adele Rafferty was once a successful child actor in Ireland, where she performed for years on a popular soap opera.
Adele actually got into acting by chance, when she was selected from the crowd by a casting agent at an audition she simply attended with her best friend, Julia.
Julia was actually the actor, but Adele got real lucky that day. The role was on These Are the Days, the soap that she remained on for years.
Branching out later on, Adele took a role on a movie and it was a wild success. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, that success went to her head a wee bit.
She began to resent the soap from holding her back from doing other projects. Feeling constrained she abruptly left. Her next project did not end well.
Embarrassed beyond belief and consequentially, partially blacklisted from the industry in Ireland, Adele packed her bags and moved to the United States to try her luck there.
As the hits keep on coming though, that’s not a successful venture either. Where once Adele was a big fish in a tiny pond, in L.A. she’s more like an amoeba in the ocean.
Just when she’s about to call it quits on acting for good, Adele receives a call that could change everything and the opportunity is back home.
She’s offered the chance to be the lead in a very secretive project. A Horror movie called Final Draft filming in a remote region of West Cork. This could be exactly what Adele needs to revitalize her career.
With some minor trepidation, she hops a plane and heads home. Once on location, Adele is surprised by the skeleton crew and lack of bells and whistles. This is quite a small production indeed.
As she tries to settle in, Adele is unnerved. When the screenplay she reads begins to come to life, she’s properly freaked out. Seemingly abandoned on set and in a desperate search for answers, Adele fears for her life.
Will this be her final cut!?
I had a lot of fun with Run Time. This was my first novel by Catherine Ryan Howard, but I absolutely plan to pick up more from her soon.
I was intrigued with this from the very start. First, I need to point out that I did listen to the audio for this and I absolutely would recommend that format.
This novel has an interesting format. You follow Adele in her present perspective and through her reflections on her career leading her up to this point.
You also get the screenplay from the movie, Final Draft, the one Adele is returning to Ireland to act in.
In Final Draft, one of the main characters, Kate, is reading a book whilst at a remote cottage on a weekend getaway. You also get the portions of that book that Kate is reading.
So essentially, you’re reading a book within a screenplay within a book. That’s a lot of layers.
Due to the fabulous narration, I found it very easy to keep all of this straight. The multiple narrators kept these sections distinct and easy to follow.
Additionally, I love a screenplay included within a book. I know this is hit or miss for people, but for me it is almost always a hit.
I found some scenes in here genuinely creepy. Putting myself in Adele’s shoes, I was proper freaked out. It was claustrophobic and disturbing. I had no idea what was happening.
I liked how the truth behind the movie was revealed. It was surprising, but also sort of not at the same time. Like once it was revealed, it did make a lot of sense, but I didn’t see it coming at all.
Since this has a bit of a nontraditional format, I know it won’t be for everyone. Luckily, I found it quite enjoyable. I think if you enjoy Horror in general, gritty-feeling found-footage movies, or just stories that go against the grain, you should absolutely give this one a shot.
For Audiobook Readers, I can’t stress enough how fun this was in that format. I’m not sure if I would have felt the same about it had I picked up a hard copy.
Thank you to the publisher, Blackstone Publishing and Blackstone Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This was a real treat for me. The exact type of content I can always get into!