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Now We Run

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The past comes full circle with a vengeance in this blistering thriller from Joe Hart, Wall Street Journal bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author of Or Else.

Family advocate Nora McTavish is no stranger to hardship and meeting trauma head on- it's part of what drives her to fight on behalf of those in need. So when the opportunity arises to track down and confront the mother who abandoned her as a child she decides to face the past and slay her demons once and for all.

But finding her mother is only the beginning of a journey that will take her from the gorgeous Gulf of California coastline, through the unforgiving desert of northern Mexico, and back to the mountains of Oregon- all in an effort to keep a young boy safe from an abusive father with unlimited resources and a wrath without bounds.

Before long Nora will be forced to confront not only a ruthless killer hell-bent on her destruction, but also the landscape of her own ravaged heart. And only one thing is for certain- she will never be the same again.

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2024

236 people are currently reading
1,695 people want to read

About the author

Joe Hart

43books1,266followers
Joe Hart is the Edgar Award-winning and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seventeen novels including The River Is Dark, Obscura, The Last Girl, and Or Else. His work has been optioned for film and translated into eight languages. He lives with his family in Minnesota.

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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme).
652 reviews568 followers
November 1, 2024
I just don’t know how Joe Hart manages to do it. For the third straight time, he’s hit it out of the park with Now We Run in all of its addictive, fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat glory. With a handful of compelling characters and one nail-biting game of cat-and-mouse, I found myself ripping through the pages until the utterly perfect climax and finale. After all, this book brought to life good versus evil and right versus wrong while also evocatively expressing the complexities of the parent-child relationship through two irresistibly dynamic personas.

It was, however, Nora’s continuing saga in this third book in the series that really hit home. Building upon the backdrop of her turbulent childhood, we saw not only her rescuing the defenseless this time around, but also being vulnerable herself. Well-developed and genuinely flawed, I grew to love her character even more as the plot moved along. And then there were Matthew and Gwen. Both powerful personas in their own right, I felt deeply for them too. Like I said, I don’t know how Joe does it as he both pulled my heart-strings and shredded my nerves in one masterful go.

All in all, from the gripping multiple POVs—including one truly evil individual—to the propulsive, driving plot that held ever ratcheting suspense, I fell in love at first sight. I admit that I did have to suspend all disbelief as the adrenaline-fueled twists departed from reality a few times, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. After all, thanks to this author’s virtuoso-like skill at melding action-packed and poignant, there wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t fully invested. So run out and grab this whole series ASAP. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to miss a moment with Nora. Rating of 5 stars.

SYNOPSIS:

Family advocate Nora McTavish is no stranger to hardship and meeting trauma head on- it's part of what drives her to fight on behalf of those in need. So when the opportunity arises to track down and confront the mother who abandoned her as a child she decides to face the past and slay her demons once and for all.

But finding her mother is only the beginning of a journey that will take her from the gorgeous Gulf of California coastline, through the unforgiving desert of northern Mexico, and back to the mountains of Oregon- all in an effort to keep a young boy safe from an abusive father with unlimited resources and a wrath without bounds.

Before long Nora will be forced to confront not only a ruthless killer hell-bent on her destruction, but also the landscape of her own ravaged heart. And only one thing is for certain- she will never be the same again.

Thank you to Joe Hart and @books_by_the _bottle for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: Out now!

Trigger warning: death of a parent, claustrophobia, illegal immigration, breaking and entering, assault, strangulation, gun violence, mention of: child abuse
Profile Image for Aristotle.
711 reviews73 followers
October 13, 2024
As the plot unfolded it became too unrealistic.
Not sure what the plot was.
Nora searches for her mother then kidnaps the child her mother was nanny to.
What?
Give it time to get too know Nora what makes her tick.
Just didn't work.
Profile Image for BiblioPeeks.
237 reviews25 followers
December 24, 2024
“𝙐𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚� 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙢𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’� 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙩.�

𝑱𝒐𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒕 has done it again! A stellar third novel in the Nora McTavish series, 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗪𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗡 didn’t leave my hands until I was finished! Nora decides to confront her mother who abandoned her as a child and gets more than she bargained for when she finds herself in Mexico. Literally fighting for her life to save an abused boy from his father, the pulse pounding action and sense of foreboding didn’t let up!

𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗪𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗡 is just as much a tale of redemption and breaking free from the past as it is a high stakes thriller. Beyond exciting, the pulse pounding action and intense heart stopping moments were expertly blended with poignant revelations that solidified my investment in the plight of Nora and the boy. I became teary several times, and even outright cried near the end.

The conclusion was soul satisfying on deep level especially after such an emotionally charged and treacherous journey. 𝑱𝒐𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒕’� ability to write such heartfelt introspective observations woven throughout a dangerous life threatening thrill ride, is why he’s a favorite author of mine.

You 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 read this as a stand alone, but why would you want to? ‘Where They Lie� and ‘Never Come Back�, (books 1 & 2 respectively) are just as amazing and chronicle Nora’s path of processing childhood trauma, and in part, channeling it by helping other children. Definitely do yourself a favor and get all three books in this amazing series.

This gut wrenching breathtaking voyage gets 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 from me!
____

Favorite quotes:

"𝙒𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩. 𝙒𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡."

"𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛-𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣. 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨."
____

Potential spoiler content warnings below.
































⚠️Content Warnings: language, assault, violence, gun violence, strangulation, death, Mention of: domestic abuse, child abuse
Profile Image for Victoria McVicker.
684 reviews9 followers
October 8, 2024
This was not one of my favorites, but not because of the writing or the plot development. It was needlessly very violent and bloody, which became tiresome and interfered with the story. That, as well as having to suspend belief several times due to the ridiculousness of parts of the plot. 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.
2,034 reviews4 followers
October 7, 2024
Good story, but very stressful. Nora finally finds her mother, in Mexico. She is in the process of rescuing a young boy when she is murdered. Nora flees with the boy, but isn’t safe yet. It is great for the heroine to be a child advocate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bette.
806 reviews
October 5, 2024
Oh my oh my! Haven’t read anything this great in a long time.
56 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2024
Roller coaster ride

I started the book with the ending already imagined but as usual Joe Hart did not disappoint. It was a great read.
5 reviews
September 28, 2024
WOW WOW

What a read and somehow this all happens in real life, too!!
Are lets HOPE its just words coming from the mind of a great writer…�.. Mr JH
Well Done!!
72 reviews
September 26, 2024
Loved this book

One of the best books I’ve read. One I’ll probably read again. I highly recommend this book. Such a great story
Profile Image for Linda.
715 reviews16 followers
January 7, 2025
**Crazy bold and fantastic**

Okay realistically, this book isn't 100% perfect with no flaws whatsoever. But given the many ways it upped the ante more than it didn't absolutely made up for where the previous two entries fell short. I feel like it earned its 5th star out of my greedy clutches. I thought the first two entries were great, but this one was just wonderful.

Literally everything was ramped up for this one. The story itself, the action, the drama, the violence, the shock value, even the likability of Nora herself. It was all explosive. This book was so energized that I didn't even wanna stop to do my usual highlighting and commentary. I was THAT lazy, because all I could think about was how in the absolute CRAP this thing was gonna end.

Now sure, along with the excessive good things, there was also the one excessive bad thing, which was the general unrealistic presentation of this story. Sure, it was periodically ridiculous and yeah, maybe a smidge difficult to buy. But ya know what? This was one of those reads that I was quite okay with the number of times I had to suspend disbelief. I was way too invested to get angry.

At any rate, I'm glad for the strong solid finish of this tiny trilogy. For me, this was the precisely the home run I was hoping for. Well played, Joe Hart.
Profile Image for Dan.
2,890 reviews514 followers
February 27, 2025
Puerto Perdón, Mexico.

Nora McTavish is on a mission to finally find her mother, Gwen McTavish. The older woman abandoned Nora and her two brothers more than twenty years ago.

El Salvador / El Despiadado : Harlan Klein.

Nora continues to drink like a damn fish. 💀

Nora’s inner monologues remain grating.

The cartel plan; Matthew.

Rather random story, though the title is quite apt.

The Matthew-following-along thing is dubious.

The tension in this novel helps. While Nora remains incredibly unlikable, faster pacing helps us from getting dragged too deeply into her self-pity.

Kirill Kozlov / Elliot Yardley.

The last quarter of the book is surprisingly strong.

Could push further with the ending. It’s only good—not great. More needs to be said about Nora and Matthew. Even a few sentences could do wonders.


“You’re not his mother, but he looks at your like you are.�
Profile Image for Tonya OK.
510 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2025
Gotta say, a little boring. The story started out well and the pace was good for the first few chapters, and then it became repetitive and unrealistic. Among other things, kidnapping a kid and bringing him across the border is highly unlikely to result in a “fine,� regardless of the reason. It was just such a non-issue. Also, crossing into the US illegally is as made to seem like hot really a big deal, rather than a harrowing experience many people go through. It was a quick read and not terrible, but didn’t really work for me.
399 reviews2 followers
October 16, 2024
oh I loved it!!!

I loved this three part series with Norah. I wish it’d continue on. I’ve gotten so invested in these characters that I’m sad to let them go. Even the dog Merrill, I’m going to miss him too. I’m thinking out of the three this one is the absolute best. Norah finding out what happened to her mom was a great surprise and the mystery part of this story is hands down exciting and suspenseful! Five stars
1,895 reviews21 followers
September 30, 2024
Good read

As I finished this book it spoke volumes to me. Good versus evil. Bullying versus compassion. Cold hearted man versus strong willed woman. "Now We Run" versus stand tall and fight for what's right. Goodness, compassion, and standing for what's right should win every time.
Profile Image for Stephanie Behre.
27 reviews
December 15, 2024
Exciting read

I really enjoyed this story and I wanted to know the end but didn't want it to end. That to me means I'm reading a great book and that is what it is. Great author whom I enjoy every time I read one of his books.
Profile Image for Loretta Gabriel.
779 reviews6 followers
December 15, 2024
A real thriller.

The author has written a story of abandonment, deception, murder, love and retribution that will keep you in suspense as well as entertained. A story full of surprises.
24 reviews
October 2, 2024
good conclusion I just wished the author would've delved a little deeper into why Nora was the way she was often I didnt understand her motivations which made it hard to connect with her
Profile Image for Sarah Ehinger.
787 reviews10 followers
October 9, 2024
I won this book as a ŷ giveaway. This was a fast-paced thriller that was well worth the read.
126 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2024
Wow. This Nora Maravich series just gets better with each book! This one just blew me away. I couldn’t put it down!
2 reviews
November 15, 2024
Can't put it down.

Jon Hart will keep you up at night because you can't stop reading as you wait and wonder how far they will have to run.

Profile Image for Carrie Shields.
1,539 reviews141 followers
October 20, 2024
𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔.

Oh, how I love this series, and my heart broke into pieces for Nora McTavish. In the previous two books, I knew her as a family advocate, fiercely protecting the vulnerable. It was breathtaking to see Nora's vulnerable side in this installment. Previously, we got glimpses into her personal life and the pain she carried due to the mother who abandoned her, but in NOW WE RUN, Nora finally has the opportunity to track down her mother and demand answers to the questions she has asked herself since she was a child.

Her journey leads her to Mexico where she not only finds more questions than answers but also a young boy in need of saving from a brutal, sadistic father. While he has not unleashed his full wrath upon the boy, he is being groomed and molded into becoming a soulless, violent man like his father. Nora can't let that happen, and even though traveling with the boy complicates her plans, she once again puts her own needs to the side to ensure the safety of another.

I had tears in my eyes more than once while reading. I have a complicated history with my birth mother, who abandoned my two sisters and me when we were young. I struggled like Nora struggled, and I had so many questions that I needed answers to. But when the time came to confront her, I realized her answers didn't really matter because I had found fulfillment with the family who chose me.

Another win from this author, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. This book is available now.
Profile Image for Andrea Ward-Kelly.
45 reviews
December 7, 2024
Excellent, suspenseful novel!

Joe Hart is one of my favorite authors. Ever since I found one of his supernatural/horror books strictly by chance, I’ve read every one of his books as soon as they are released. No hesitation and I’m never disappointed. This thriller of a novel is so well-written and so suspenseful that I couldn’t put it down. I’ve always loved Joe’s writing style and the way that his books play like movies in my mind as I read them. His subtle way of throwing in tiny, seemingly insignificant details that weave together a fabric of a perfect story has always amazed me. When I slow down and truly pay attention to his words, I realize all of the intricacies of how he draws me into the story. It’s brilliant. I can’t recommend this book or any of Joe Hart’s books enough.
Profile Image for Kristen Ogorman.
3 reviews10 followers
November 19, 2024
I recently acquired this book in a giveaway. I hadn't yet read the beginning books to the series. I started the first book and within the month finished all 3. I love the main character and the depth of emotion these books entail! They did not disappoint, but this book, specifically, grabbed both my attention and my heart immediately. Read it! You won't regret it!
Profile Image for Jaclyn Eckert .
4 reviews
January 17, 2025
Enjoyed reading this book. I wanted to know the ending, but did not want the book to end! This is a page turning, can't stop reading book. Get it, read it, enjoy it. Great word spinning author. I will read more by him.
Profile Image for Dive Into A Good Book.
614 reviews39 followers
February 26, 2025
I just love a Joe Hart book! Add in Nora McTavish and I know I will be ripping through the pages, my heart in my throat, stressing biting my nails. This is the third book in the series and each one gets better, I am not sure how that is possible since they are all fantastic! I loved that I was able to dive into Nora's past. It is haunting, horrifying, and so hard to imagine forgiving the person who left your family without giving a reason. Especially when they are one of the people who are supposed to protect you.

I traveled extensively from the safety of my comfy couch. From Mexico and back to Oregon. The bad guys in this book were next level terrifying. The Mexican Cartel are in hot pursuit of Nora. I will not go into any more details. You just need to read this book or start with book one and work your way up. It is worth it, I promise. Nora is a phenomenal character who will carve a place out in your heart. How much she gives to save children and families will make your eyes tear up. Especially when you find out why.
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