Scarlett Thomas

Runner: The mind-expanding new thriller from the bestselling author of The Sleepwalkers Scarlett Thomas

The mind-expanding new thriller from the bestselling author of The Sleepwalkers and The End of Mr. Y. - He's running for his life. And he's running out of time. On a sun-soaked Greek island, Jay is on the run. Hes been hunted since he was twenty years old: a contract on his life traded like a commodity, rising and falling with the price of Bitcoin. Stranded with no passport, loyalty points as his only currency and an assassin in hot pursuit, Jays only hope is to escape on a catamaran with a crew on their way to perform an exorcism on a dictators private island. When it becomes clear that his shipmates are even more dubious than they first seemed, Jay has to run again this time into the arms of the beautiful Ellie, who is either his doom or his salvation. Caught in a web of high-finance, con-artists, the Book of Jonah and ultramarathons, Jay will have to choose between love and survival, and run for his life! The Runner is a high concept literary thriller. Darkly funny, sexy, exciting, philosophical and thrilling, The Runner is the most gripping and intelligent novel you will read in 2026.