The Runaway

June 24, 2019
In this nail-biter from Overton (The Walls), LAPD clinical psychologist Becca Ortiz and her 16-year-old foster daughter, Ash, have been getting along well. Becca doesn’t know, however, that Ash has reunited with her old boyfriend, Nate Sutton, whom she met on the streets. Nate lives in a tent city on Skid Row with the Tribe, a group of homeless teens ruled by an enigmatic woman named Mo. After one of the Tribe is beaten at Mo’s behest, Nate asks Ash to run away with him, putting the two in Mo’s crosshairs. With the help of Becca’s police sergeant ex-husband, Becca kicks off a relentless cat-and-mouse game with a manipulative, murderous woman who will do anything to keep her “family” together. Readers will root for the deeply empathetic Becca, who’s devoted to helping society’s most vulnerable, and Overton shines a light on the plight of the mentally ill, foster children, and the homeless while building plenty of tension. Fans of bighearted thrillers will find a lot to like. Agent: Eve Attermann, WME.