The thriller king is back: this new Harlan Coben series conquers Netflix

Fair is fair: we are all a bit creatures of habit after all. We prefer to keep a well-established routine, and they think exactly the same at Netflix. For a few years now, they have been following a very nice New Year's tradition: on 1 January, the Harlan Coben collection is expanded again. And with the king of thrillers, you know this will stir things up. ‘Run Away’ popped like a rocket into the Netflix Top 10 and is still firmly at the top there. Which is not surprising, because this series won't let you go.

What is Run Away about?

Simon (James Nesbitt) seemed to have the perfect life. Together with his wife and three children, he lived in a beautiful house and everything was also running smoothly at work. But that fairy tale comes to an abrupt end when his daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) disappears. For months, she remains without a trace. And when Simon finally finds her, the nightmare turns out to be anything but over.

A violent confrontation with Paige's boyfriend goes completely viral - and that costs Simon dearly. When the boy is also found dead not much later, the father is suddenly under a magnifying glass. As Simon goes all out to protect and find his daughter again, the police increasingly turn against him. He is left with no choice: Simon has to take matters into his own hands. The further he gets, the more Paige's secrets come to light. But it turns out she is not the only one with something to hide. This is just the beginning...

Why Run Away is so addictive

In fact, it only takes one scene to pull you into the series. Those first short shots immediately raise a mountain of questions. Are they flashbacks, or are we looking forward? And what are we actually seeing? The answers take a while to come - and that is precisely why you want to keep going.

Whereas Coben's last project ‘Missing You’ disappointed some fans a bit, the mysteries of ‘Run Away’ do manage to score. “Run Away continuously keeps you in suspense, and just when you think you have figured something out, you are presented with twice as many surprises,” says one of the reactions online. Thanks to that ever-growing puzzle, not binging is really not an option. And with a score of 75 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes critics are also enthusiastic. Everyone is left with the same question: what is really going on here?

Harlan Coben teams up with same actor for third time

Harlan Coben himself also likes a set routine - and for him, that means falling back on the same actors regularly. Anyone who knows his Netflix collection a little by now will therefore recognise Simon's face. Actor James Nesbitt, meanwhile, is under Coben's speed dial. He was previously seen in the series ‘Missing You’ and ‘Stay Close’. There, he already made an impression, but in ‘Run Away’ he takes it up another notch.

Coben has also previously worked with Adrian Greensmith, who plays the role of Paige's brother Sam, in the ‘Shelter’ series. Never change a winning team, right? Actor Richard Armitage, who already has four Coben titles on his CV, is to be missed this time. Though a Thanksgiving dinner between him and the writer did confirm: there is more to come. As for location, the writer is now also a regular guest. A setting somewhere in England - preferably in the north - and you're immediately in the right place. Fair is fair: that atmosphere also suits the story perfectly.

Which Harlan Coben series are still to come?

With 12 series, Netflix now has quite a Harlan Coben empire built up. But there is also competition. With the titles ‘Shelter’ and ‘Lazarus’, Prime Video has now also started its own Coben archive. You won't hear us complaining - especially as there are more new series on the way.

Thanks to the author's deal with Netflix, it is already certain that at least 14 of his books are coming to the streaming service. So we are already well on our way, but with all the successes, there is a good chance there will be more to come. The next title we can look forward to is ‘I Will Find You’. In this thriller, we follow a man who is jailed for the murder of his own son. He swears he is innocent and finds clues that his son may still be alive. But to prove that, he will first have to escape from prison.

There is no exact release date yet, but given that filming has now been completed, we can probably expect the series later this year. Until then, we certainly won't have to get bored with all the titles - at least not with ‘Run Away’.

Image: Netflix