As the new year begins, a new twisted Harlan Coben series has hit Netflix. On January 1, 2026, the streaming giant released Run Away, Coben’s latest mystery, adapted by Danny Brocklehurst, which promises a riveting tale of secrets, lies, and a string of murders. “Run Away is an emotional roller coaster,” Coben, who wrote the original novel by the same name in 2019, told Tudum ahead of the premiere. “I think maybe more than any other series we’ve done, it will keep you off-balance and guessing.” Of course, not only can viewers expect a bingeworthy watch, but given Coben’s previous titles on Netflix, like Fool Me Once and Missing You, Run Away will surely become a streaming hit in no time.
What Is ‘Run Away’ About?
Set in the UK, Run Away starts off with a seemingly picture-perfect family consisting of financier Simon Greene (James Nesbitt), his chipper pediatrician wife, Ingrid (Minnie Driver), and their three kids. Things take a turn, however, when the Greene’s eldest daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) runs away from home and becomes a missing person. Determined to find his daughter, Simon launches an investigation on his own that goes unsuccessful for six months until he discovers his strung-out daughter playing the guitar as a busker in a public park.
Despite the initial relief of finding Paige, their reunion is anything but joyful, and a confrontation between Simon and Paige’s drugged-out boyfriend, Aaron Corval (Thomas Flynn), escalates into Simon publicly assaulting him. Not long after, Aaron is found brutally murdered, and Simon becomes the prime suspect for Detectives Isaac Fagbenle (Alfred Enoch) and Ruby Todd (Amy Gledhill). He then partners with private investigator Elena Ravenscroft (Ruth Jones), who’s connecting Paige’s disappearance to another missing person’s case she’s working on. In the meantime, the series also follows a couple of young assassins (Jon Pointing and Maeve Courtier-Lilley) who are on a mysterious drive killing seemingly ordinary strangers.
Harlan Coben Reveals Who You’re Most Likely To See in His Next Murder Mystery
The writer’s next project debuts on New Year’s Day.
Despite the Mixed Reviews, ‘Run Away’ Will Likely Be a Streaming Hit
While Run Away has only been out for a day, the series has already received an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. Looking at the critics, however, it seems the show delivers in some major ways, while faltering in others. While some critics praise the adaptation from the original novel, and gives credit to the series’ solid cast, some reviews have deemed the show too ambitious for its own good, with a plot that “moves too quickly for viewers to digest the gaping plot holes.” According to Collider’s very own Jeff Ewing, the show is a 6/10, a series that delivers on mystery, but becomes too melodramatic and inconsistent over time. “Its melodramatic style may be going for intentional camp, but it sometimes undercuts a series with greater potential for suspense,” Ewing wrote. “Nesbitt’s a great lead, but between series style, direction, and the edit, he’s laden with at least one oddly-performed moment per episode.”
With that said, however, Run Away will likely become Netflix’s next streaming hit. After all, if Coben’s latest titles are any indication, Netflix subscribers love shows that are quick, filled with twists and turns and easy to binge. Albeit formulaic, each of Coben’s series checks those boxes, with a complicated mystery that slowly unravels, and reaches a satisfying conclusion by the end. 2024’s Fool Me Once, for instance, has become one of the platform’s biggest shows of all-time, earning over 98.2 million views in the three months after its release. In a way, Coben’s shows are like candy to Netflix viewers, and Run Away will be no different.
As 2026 officially kicks off, and everyone gets a head start on their New Year’s resolutions, Netflix is making sure their goals are met with a mind-bending new show. With a Coben novel as inspiration, and a strong cast to tell it, Run Away has all the ingredients to become Netflix’s next big show, especially with everyone at home taking time off. The series will be surging through the charts in no time.
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Netflix
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Daniel Brocklehurst
