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jsdrown's review against another edition
1.0
Too Much Frosting. Not enough cake.
This is my first novel by Harlan Coben. Everything here starts off well enough. The dialogue is brisk. The plot lean and mean. Coben has a strong , confident authorial voice. There's a moment early on that had me wide eyed and flipping pages. The issues begin shortly after the 50-page mark.
First: A detour. The use of African American English(or ebonics) is brutal here. Every black character introduced uses phonetic African American English. Every one. And there is a decent number of PoC character in this book. To make things uncomfortable is that none of the other PoC characters speak in a phonetic style. This creates a feeling where the Black character speak "Black" and other characters speak "Normal". It's gross and tasteless. Still, the book is old enough to drink so I'm willing to move past this outdated trend.
What I'm not willing to forgive is the story presented here. The plot begins to buckle under the weight of the many, many twists. There are too many "big" moments and not enough little moments. Characters get introduced but never develop. Thus making the twists harder to handle. The big moments feeling unearned. I could sit here and rattle off the many twists and turns. The issue is that they. never. stop.
The twists are numerous enough that every character introduced is connected to the grand conspiracy at the center of the plot. If you take a moment to stop and think about anything happening it's laughable. Example: Our main character is a doctor for people of low income(because of course he is). At the beginning we're introduced to a drug dealer because the MC helps his son. Like, it's one of the only detours in the book. At the time I thought this was character development for our MC. No. The drug dealer is introduced so the MC can have someone to call for illegal "favors" throughout the book. And by the end? The dealer is directly tied into the ending.
Now, here's the thing. EVERYONE is tied into the ending of the book. The MC's dad murdered in the last twenty pages even though he hasn't said a word. Why? Because he was introduced in Tell No One and in Tell No One if you exist you exist to move the plot forward with a TWIST.
By the end I was worn out and over it. Any you know what? There is a twist on the very last page. The second to last paragraph. And by then? I laughed as a closed the book.
This is my first novel by Harlan Coben. Everything here starts off well enough. The dialogue is brisk. The plot lean and mean. Coben has a strong , confident authorial voice. There's a moment early on that had me wide eyed and flipping pages. The issues begin shortly after the 50-page mark.
First: A detour. The use of African American English(or ebonics) is brutal here. Every black character introduced uses phonetic African American English. Every one. And there is a decent number of PoC character in this book. To make things uncomfortable is that none of the other PoC characters speak in a phonetic style. This creates a feeling where the Black character speak "Black" and other characters speak "Normal". It's gross and tasteless. Still, the book is old enough to drink so I'm willing to move past this outdated trend.
What I'm not willing to forgive is the story presented here. The plot begins to buckle under the weight of the many, many twists. There are too many "big" moments and not enough little moments. Characters get introduced but never develop. Thus making the twists harder to handle. The big moments feeling unearned. I could sit here and rattle off the many twists and turns. The issue is that they. never. stop.
The twists are numerous enough that every character introduced is connected to the grand conspiracy at the center of the plot. If you take a moment to stop and think about anything happening it's laughable. Example: Our main character is a doctor for people of low income(because of course he is). At the beginning we're introduced to a drug dealer because the MC helps his son. Like, it's one of the only detours in the book. At the time I thought this was character development for our MC. No. The drug dealer is introduced so the MC can have someone to call for illegal "favors" throughout the book. And by the end? The dealer is directly tied into the ending.
Now, here's the thing. EVERYONE is tied into the ending of the book. The MC's dad murdered in the last twenty pages even though he hasn't said a word. Why? Because he was introduced in Tell No One and in Tell No One if you exist you exist to move the plot forward with a TWIST.
By the end I was worn out and over it. Any you know what? There is a twist on the very last page. The second to last paragraph. And by then? I laughed as a closed the book.
beate251's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Eight years ago, Dr Beck 's wife was murdered by a serial killer, he himself left for dead. Since then, his life has been suspended in animation - he works and he grieves, that's all. One day he gets an email that seems to be coming from Elizabeth, with info only she could know - could she still be alive? But how?
What follows is a roller-coaster thriller in which we get introduced to quite a few seemingly unrelated people who find together in the end, but not before the plot has twisted like a pretzel several times. Nothing is as it seems and no one is as innocent as they first look in this fast-paced, far-fetched and very entertaining page-turner. Read it in one sitting.
One of the review excerpts from the blurb says: "This book will keep you up until 2 a.m." After I'd finished reading and written this review, I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2am! Can someone de-bug my house please?
What follows is a roller-coaster thriller in which we get introduced to quite a few seemingly unrelated people who find together in the end, but not before the plot has twisted like a pretzel several times. Nothing is as it seems and no one is as innocent as they first look in this fast-paced, far-fetched and very entertaining page-turner. Read it in one sitting.
One of the review excerpts from the blurb says: "This book will keep you up until 2 a.m." After I'd finished reading and written this review, I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2am! Can someone de-bug my house please?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
jenhurst's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really solid thriller and I can see why the book and the author is still being talked about almost 15 years after this book was published. I liked how the clues were hidden in plain sight the whole time and you could unravel them. Most modern mysteries try really hard to be shocking and throw a twist in at the end and all the details to fit it. This also isn’t a run of the mill domestic thriller with a alcoholic/mentally ill women that is the unreliable narrator. So refreshing. I’m excited to read more by Harlan Coben.
tmchale93's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lydiahollern's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
starbuck1210's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't normally go for suspense novels so this is a new genre for me. I was very invested in the story at first but the ending really left me feeling like the author had rushed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse
arodey10's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
glynniscoon3108's review against another edition
4.0
Wish he had wrapped it up better. But still a good read.
lindyloureads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0