Run For Your Life by Jackie Kabler review – One of the best police procedurals of the year

Run For Your Life by Jackie Kabler: The review

Well, you all weren’t lying when you said Jackie’s books were brilliant, were you? Run For Your Life is my first, but having just finished it, I’m so glad I have another waiting for me on my shelf. This is a fantastic thriller, blending together police investigation with a very clever, twisty serial killer crime. The perfect ingredients.

A runner drops dead during a local 5k run and, not long after, a runner training for a 10k is murdered. It seems there’s an active serial killer, and they’re targeting runners.

There’s a heavy focus on the police teams on the hunt for the killer here. I quickly found myself caring for the leading detectives; Kabler has struck the ideal balance between focusing on the crime and also giving the team depth and personality. Interestingly, we’ll also get some chapters from the perspective of the victims, humanising them and making the crimes against them that much more impactful. They aren’t simply random people once we’ve heard about their lives.

Expertly woven throughout the novel are newspaper reports and social media posts from the online running community. It highlights the breadth of the crimes and how much they’re affecting the nation at large, giving a sense of urgency and peril to everything that happens. These aren’t just senseless killings; it’s affecting a community of millions of people.

I flew through Run For Your Life, with a mix of reading and audiobook (which I highly recommend). It’s brilliantly written, balancing personality, thrilling scenarios and twists that will keep you guessing. If you’re a fan of police procedural thrillers, ensure this is on your radar.

Well, unless you’re a runner, then you might want to give this one a wide berth. 👀

Thank you to Insta Book Tours and to Jackie herself for providing me with a physical copy of the book to facilitate this review.