(Mini Series) Run Away - Latest Adaptation of Harlan Coben's Work that Might not be Extraordinary but was a Nice Change of Genre

During the past few weeks, Netflix library had grown so much with a lot of new release every few days. This series was something that I was intrigued ever since it was promoted last month, but as I was busy finishing other series, I only got the chance to watch it yesterday and completed it last night. OK then, let us get more into it.

Brief Story Line

Simon Greene (James Nesbitt - Murphy's Law TV series, The Hobbit movies etc) had been looking for his runaway daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange - Arcadia TV series etc) for quite some time. So when he got information of her whereabouts, Simon did not inform his wife Ingrid (Minnie Driver -  The Beekeeper, Speechless TV series etc) and went by himself. Unfortunately he got into an altercation which later made him a suspect on murder case investigated by DC Isaac Fagbenle (Alfred Enoch -  How to Get Away With Murder TV series, Harry Potter movies etc) and his partner DC Ruby Todd (comedian Amy Gledhill).

Meanwhile Private Investigator Elena Ravenscroft (Ruth Jones - Gavin & Stacey TV series, Heartlands etc) was hired to find a missing person. Although she was having her own private case, Elena accepted the job with the help from her tech person Lou (Annette Badland - The Toxic Avenger 2023 version, Bergerac TV series etc). Things also got complicated with the appearance of two mysterious persons Dee Dee (Maeve Courtier-Lilley - Gran Turismo, The Red King TV series etc) and Ash (Jon Pointing - Sweetpea TV series etc).

So what was the connection between the runaway Paige, the missing person case and the mysterious couple? And how would the story conclude? You could find out in this series.

End of Brief Story Line

After watching several adaptation of Harlan Coben's novels (yes this one was also adapted from his novel), I grew quite accustomed to his style of writing. The thing that I like most in his works had always been the intriguing mystery and the shocking twist. This series was not an exception as all these trade marks were quite apparent here. However, because of the frequent watching, I could already deduce a lot of things around mid of the series. Good thing though there was still one surprise twist in the very end that I did not see coming. 

The story telling in the series was pretty interesting with several plots combined that made me curious from the start how they would all be connected. But as I said above, since I was pretty much accustomed, I already knew not to be so easily distracted by few seemingly important clues but turned out not having any connection at all. Which was why it was still nice to see there was something that could still shock me. Another thing that always make me glad watching these series was the limited category as it would be resolved in one season without worrying of cliffhanger ending.

The series was a British production and set in England with British actors and actresses. Aside from the names above, there were others who were part of regular cast and shown during the opening credits. They were Tracy Ann Oberman (Eastenders TV series etc) as the lawyer Jessica Kinberg, Ingrid Oliver (The Thursday Murder Club etc) as Ingrid's sister Yvonne, Adrian Greensmith and Elie Henry as Simon's other children Sam and Anya respectively, Mark Bazeley (Riot Woman TV series etc) as Ingrid's colleague at the hospital Dr. Jay Stanfield and Lucian Msamati (Hostage mini series etc) as Cornelius Faber. There were also few other cast in minor capacity. 

The series itself had only 8 episodes with duration between 41-50 minutes which would explain why I was able to complete the whole series in one day. It was developed by Danny Brocklehurst who created/wrote/executive produced other Coben's works such as Lazarus, Missing You and several others. Btw, this time the series focused more on the mystery side and investigations with a little bit of action instead of the usual psychological thriller. However, I did feel the police work was not too exceptional. In fact I thought sometimes the detectives were a bit absorbed in their own things that made them rather unprofessional. Luckily in the end they showed their professionalism and capabilities. 

Critics seemed to be quite impressed as proven by its pretty high score compared to several of Coben's adaptations in recent years. More impressively, it became one of the most watched series globally behind only the juggernaut Stranger Things finale. In addition to the positives above, I also enjoyed watching the lovely scenery of England. And despite some of the things were easily deduced by the time I reached mid season, I still liked that final twist. So if you are fans of Harlan Coben's adaptations, I think you would like this series. For me, it was a rather nice change after mostly dark and heavy pscyhological thriller genre of the past. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars