Book review: I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

Friday, March 10, 2023 Permalink

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben starts by introducing readers to David, a man in prison for murdering his son Matthew. He tells us he didn’t do it but didn’t fight the conviction because he blames himself anyway. David’s a likeable lead and though the book unfolds in first person, it occasionally dips into a second person narrative, as if he’s talking to us… so we know HE also knows most people in prison claim to be innocent.

He’s accepted his fate however until his former sister-in-law arrives with a photograph of a boy she believes to be Matthew – supposedly murdered by David five years earlier.

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three-half-stars

Book review: The Match by Harlan Coben

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 Permalink

The Match by Harlan Coben is billed as Wilde #2. I was a smidge confused by this as I could not recall a ‘Wilde’ #1. I then realised I’d missed The Boy From the Woods so came into this without any backstory. And it didn’t matter at all.

Initially I thought it was going to be reminiscent of Linwood Barclay’s Find You First, which featured someone picking off family members with related DNA (discovered through an ancestry match type place). Happily however the DNA matches aren’t really the tipping point here, rather what brings Wilde into the mix.

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four-stars

Book review: Win by Harlan Coben

Friday, March 26, 2021 Permalink

I’ve mentioned before I was a latecomer to Harlan Coben’s work. I’m not sure why that was, but I’ve certainly enjoyed his most recent books, many of which have been standalone novels. It means I’m not really familiar with his popular protagonist Myron Bolitar, though I loved my brief interlude with his nephew Mickey in Found, published in 2014.

I’m assuming our lead in Coben’s latest novel, Win, was introduced in the Myron Bolitar series and as this is labelled Windsor Horne Lockwood III #1, I’m figuring it’s a spinoff.

And that excites me because I really loved this book. I adored Win. I adored Coben’s conversational style of writing. It felt like he was writing in second person, as if Win was telling ‘us’ his story. It was engaging and funny and Win, as a narrator, is unabashedly arrogant and elitist. If the plot had been a little less coincidental / contrived this might have been a five star read for me, but instead Mr Coben will have to settle for 4.5 stars.

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four-half-stars

Book review: Run Away by Harlan Coben

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 Permalink

I really enjoyed this standalone by Harlan Coben. I hadn’t read much of his work until a half a dozen years ago but he’s become a favourite and with about 30 books published (as well as some television series under his belt) he’s proved he’s consistent and a reliable choice when it comes to entertaining reading fodder.

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four-stars

Book review: Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben

Friday, September 29, 2017 Permalink

I’m a fairly new lover of Harlan Coben’s books, not really reading the American author’s work until a few years ago. Although I didn’t LOVE love his 2016 novel, Fool Me Once, his long and much-lauded career is an indication that he consistently produces quality work and his latest novel is no different.

In fact, although I wanted the mystery at hand to be resolved, I kinda didn’t want the book to finish and I suspect that’s a combination of the great characters on offer and an addictive plot.

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four-half-stars

Book review: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Thursday, April 7, 2016 Permalink

I’m always excited to see new releases from my favourite authors so the arrival of Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben was a cause for celebration – and for some shuffling of my ‘TBR’ list so I could get to it as soon as possible.

And although it’s a great read – as Coben’s novels always are – I was a tad disappointed by what eventuated this time around.

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three-half-stars

Book review: The Stranger by Harlan Coben

Sunday, March 29, 2015 Permalink

Harlan Coben’s a writer with 27 novels under his belt, delivering thrillers that offer readers complex plots and a maze of false leads. His latest novel, The Stranger, is—fortunately— no different.

The man who sidles up to Adam Price one night calls himself The Stranger. And what he shares with the respected lawyer and father of two will change Adam’s life forever.

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