Runner

I love the way that getting to know Charlie helps to draw Matt out. I love the courage he showed when he knew Charlie needed him. I also like how it wasn't an instantaneous fix. It is about the process and getting started.

After being assaulted when he was a teenager, Matt retreats into himself and uses habits and cleaning to get through. When a jogger starts running past his house every day, Matt calls his brother, the police chief, to talk to the jogger. But Clay is worried about Matt and says he will, if Matt asks the jogger his name. When Matt manages to do just that, he is surprised how easy he finds it to talk to Charlie. Then one day, Charlie doesn’t come, and Matt goes into a tail spin. Can he leave his house, to see what happened to Charlie?
Ordinarily, I would write a bit about the book, then about the audio but I might not be able to do that here. Since this book is written in the first person and ONLY from Matt’s point of view, the book and the narration kinda merge into one, and so I’m sorry if this review goes a little off tangent.
Right from the very beginning, we are made aware of what happened to Matt, and what happened after. We get his slow spiral into a smaller and smaller world, and what that does to Matt, and how he deals with things. He is a recluse and does not like people in his space. The jogger throws Matt off, even though said jogger is only going past his house, and not coming NEAR it, Matt struggles. Talking to Charlie, though, was surprisingly easy for Matt, once he got over that initial. . . hiccup. Getting used to Charlie helps Matt in ways he didn’t know Charlie could help him, in ways he didn’t know ANYONE could help him. Charlie not coming one day, well, that messes Matt right back up, and Matt is pushed way beyond his self-imposed limits.
Matt voice is clear throughout most of the book, but this is where my review bits merge. At points along the way, especially when Matt is *thinking* the narrator dips his voice, low, so very low. I usually have no problem with low voices and speech tones, but the narrator also lowers the volume of his voice, and I’m sure I missed some important musings from Matt because of this.
Patrick Zeller is a new to me narrator, not having listened to his work before. For the most part, it was very good, with Zeller getting all of Matt across at some difficult points, emotionally devastating points to be fair, and you do get all that. It’s just the DIPPING I struggled with. Therefore I gave the narration 4 stars.
His voices for all the characters are very different and clearly defined, and I had no trouble differentiating between who was speaking in multi person conversations.
I won’t write him off, not just yet though. I went and had a look at his other work, and while nothing jumps out at me there, should another book narrated by him become available, I would give him another go.
Parker Williams is also a new to me author, although I have listened to a couple of his collaborations before. Runner is the first book of Mr Williams I’ve read/listened to and I hope it’s not the last! I like the way he tells this tale.
It’s not overly explicit, but then again, Matt is suffering from a sexual assault. It is extremely well written, though, the blossoming relationship between Matt and Charlie, and there is a good deal of evidence of research by Williams in Matt’s . . . .what’s the best way to put it. . . .coming out of himself, and beginning to live again, I think best fits. Recovery isn’t quite the right word, but very nearly.
My only reason for giving the book 4 stars, was only MATT has a say. Because of COURSE I needed to hear from Charlie! Ya’ll know I need to hear from everyone, but especially here. I wanted to know what Charlie was thinking when he actually meets Matt, rather than just waving at him in the window, even if that first meeting is a little bit of a hiccup. What he was thinking when Matt finds him when he doesn’t come by the house, and when Matt discovers what Charlie and Clay did. I needed Charlie and I don’t get him, even if it would have been in the first person.
So, 4 solid stars for the book, and for the narration too.
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Parker Williams' Runner is an absolutely amazing romance. I was drawn to the blurb, but the book ended up being so much more than I could have ever imagined. I am elated to have discovered this raw journey of reclaiming one's life.

It's an incredible story of healing and recovery. When we meet Matt, he's been isolating himself for years, scarred by the "incident." He's so damn broken, spending his life looking over his shoulder. A tough read, the attempted rape is written in detail. Thrown for a loop when Charlie starts running by his house, his world is soon upended.

This is a story of abuse and attempted rape, as well as the resulting anxiety and OCD. The anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD are written in an excellent manner, as they're written realistically and with care. I could feel Matt's anxiety and could feel his need to follow his OCD routines. My heart broke for him and his need for order and control.

Their story involves the raw pain involved with letting someone in. It's a powerful tale of showing faith in others and being reminded that not everyone is bad.

As for the character of Charlie, he definitely seems too good to be real. His understanding of Matt's issues, his ability to fit into Matt's life without causing too much anxiety, and his absolute love and devotion are extraordinary.

The writing is superb. The author adds some twists and turns that will keep you riveted. Fantastic first time sex scenes, as Matt slowly learns to trust his body with someone else. Tender and emotional, these scenes are written with understanding, compassion, and care.

Runner is absolutely beautiful. Parker Williams excels in this tale of transformation of Matt from a mere shell of a man to living a life full of love and hope.

What I love most about reading books by Parker Williams is the way he draws you into the life of ordinary people by bringing them through extraordinary circumstances. Runner is a perfect example. Matt Bowers, is a young man who, like all young people trusted someone he should have been able to trust without fear or condition. That trust was viciously betrayed and Matt spent what should have been the best years of his life locked in a prison made of PTSD walls, and OCD bars with paralyzing fear as his ever-present jailor. When he reaches adulthood, he moves his prison to a remote area of his town and he sets about trying to establish a sense of peace and comfort in his solitude and obsessive compulsive routine. Enter Charlie, an ordinary man, doing what ordinary men do, jogging down the road and back. The problem is, though public, this road runs past Matt’s house in a remote area and Matt considers the abnormal breach of his peace disruptive. He finally manages to incorporate the appearance of the runner into the rhythm of his day but life takes another disruptive turn on the day the runner fails to show up…… Matt has life altering choices to make

Through a storytelling style that I have come to call classic Parker, we are introduced to the well-developed main and supporting characters. The thread of life surrounding Matt is gently woven into a fabric that makes you feel everything affecting Matt as he confronts the challenges to his present by facing the fears built by his past. I cried as he pushes past through the obstacles to his mental health to preserve and protect something that means so much more - love. The very realistic portrayal of Matts problems, the illustration of the family that loves him as well as the development and growth of his new relationship with Charlie all come together in a book that is the literary equivalent of the finest painting and Parker Williams is the master holding the brush. I especially love the contrasts, fast yet slow; sweet and soft yet harsh; frightening yet comforting. A book no one should miss.

I considered my thoughts on this book for a couple of days before writing this. At first I had a little difficulty reconciling the attack on Matt and the severity of his reaction, but no one knows just what triggers another's mental stability. Matt spends years coping as best he can, (which is quite well actually) until Charlie jogs along. I like the slow progress these two men make, there isn't an easy fix to Matt's problems but then Mr Williams doesn't try to give us one. Before he meets Charlie, Matt is acknowledging his creeping dissatisfaction with his solitary life, so when he gets to know Charlie he's more open to the changes he needs to make.
Only time and other commitments stopped me from making this a one sitting read. Recommended