If I Run Series by Terri Blackstock ~ Book Review

If I Run series is a trilogy composed of "If I Run",  "If I'm Found" and "If I Live".  When Casey Cox comes across a friend's murder scene,  everything in her says to run.  Going to police isn't an option as they have failed her in the past.  In her mind, she must run and hide until she can find the truth.  But her DNA is all over the murder scene so local police are on the hunt for her.  Meanwhile her deceased friend's parents have brought in a retired war veteran to find Casey while local police work the murder case at home.  Dylan Roberts worked to solve murder cases for the military and he is good at what he does but PTSD has marred his life.  Everything in him wants to prove he is still good at what he does and make it onto a police force so finding Casey is imperative.  But there are many contradictions to this young woman that do not make sense.  Nothing about her and the trail she leaves points to a killer.  But if she's not the killer why is she running?  But for Casey hiding is something harder than she ever thought possible as her very nature that cannot turn away from helping others reveals her and she must flee yet again.  Everyone has a stake in finding Casey including the mayor's reputation but can Dylan make it past Casey's survival smarts and all the other obstacles thrown his way? 

This was an edge of your seat suspense/cat and mouse thriller.  I reviewed the three together because you have to read them all as the stories are one continuation of the whole revealing more about the truth as you go.  And can we just stop and acknowledge the awesome covers of these books?  Each is a really great cover on it's own but when put together they make one picture as a whole.  Even the spines do that.  Kudos to the creator of the covers.

The author wove each of the books together well while building upon each book to the conclusion.   I read them back to back as I couldn't put it down and didn't want the story interrupted.   The story grabs the reader right from the beginning and keeps the pages turning as Casey is in hiding while trying to find evidence to exonerate herself and reveal the real killer and Dylan is trying to find Casey.  All the characters are well developed even the minor ones and I really started to care what happens to Casey and Dylan as the story unfolds.  They are relatable as each tries to deal with what has happened in their pasts while trying to live through the next day.  The author stated in the back that she wanted to write a story based on a female fugitive modeled after "The Fugitive" tv series back in the day.  I thought she did a great job in creating a character who must prove her innocence even as she has to keep uprooting and recreating herself in the various communities she has tried to melt into.

Definitely recommend this series.    I gave each book and the series as a whole a 9.5/10