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joza2007's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
2.0
beaureads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book on CD performed by Scott Brick
3.5***
Matt Hunter made a major mistake when he tried to break up a fight. A man wound up dead, and Matt was convicted of murder. Now he’s an ex-con, but working in his brother’s law firm as a paralegal. Married and starting a family with his wife, Olivia, they’re about to buy a house and things are looking up. And then things go south. Matt notices a man tailing him, then he gets a disturbing photo from his wife’s cell phone. He hires a private investigator to find out who the man is, but he turns up dead – murdered. Now police, both local and federal, are looking at Matt, a former con with one murder already on his record.
Coben knows how to craft a fast-paced thriller that kept me turning pages (or changing CDs). However … I found this plot way too convoluted. I get that the author is trying to keep the reader off guard as much as the characters, but I was losing interest because nothing was coming together. I’m glad I persevered, however, because about half-way through I found I just could not put this down.
I liked Matt as a character; he’s a stand-up guy, smart and resourceful. His inability to trust people around him is understandable. And I really liked homicide investigator Loren Muse; a childhood friend of Matt’s, she’s skeptical of the pattern emerging and keeps digging until she finds the real culprits. Olivia? I couldn’t stand her. Matt deserves better.
Scott Brick is a very talented voice artist. I really liked the way he narrated the audio. Though I read at least a third of this in text format, I’m bumping up the rating by a half star on the strength of Brick’s performance.
3.5***
Matt Hunter made a major mistake when he tried to break up a fight. A man wound up dead, and Matt was convicted of murder. Now he’s an ex-con, but working in his brother’s law firm as a paralegal. Married and starting a family with his wife, Olivia, they’re about to buy a house and things are looking up. And then things go south. Matt notices a man tailing him, then he gets a disturbing photo from his wife’s cell phone. He hires a private investigator to find out who the man is, but he turns up dead – murdered. Now police, both local and federal, are looking at Matt, a former con with one murder already on his record.
Coben knows how to craft a fast-paced thriller that kept me turning pages (or changing CDs). However … I found this plot way too convoluted. I get that the author is trying to keep the reader off guard as much as the characters, but I was losing interest because nothing was coming together. I’m glad I persevered, however, because about half-way through I found I just could not put this down.
I liked Matt as a character; he’s a stand-up guy, smart and resourceful. His inability to trust people around him is understandable. And I really liked homicide investigator Loren Muse; a childhood friend of Matt’s, she’s skeptical of the pattern emerging and keeps digging until she finds the real culprits. Olivia? I couldn’t stand her. Matt deserves better.
Scott Brick is a very talented voice artist. I really liked the way he narrated the audio. Though I read at least a third of this in text format, I’m bumping up the rating by a half star on the strength of Brick’s performance.
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
I am listening to this book on Overdrive, but I think that it is abridged because it is kind of confusing, so I also have the hardcover library book to try to follow it better!!
This was one of those books that has a new surprise around every corner. I know I would've liked it much better if I read it. I did read the ending to make sure I knew all the final details. Sometimes I like these kind of books that keep throwing in more and more. Sometimes it annoys me. I actually think I was somewhere in between on this one!
This was one of those books that has a new surprise around every corner. I know I would've liked it much better if I read it. I did read the ending to make sure I knew all the final details. Sometimes I like these kind of books that keep throwing in more and more. Sometimes it annoys me. I actually think I was somewhere in between on this one!
fuascailt's review against another edition
4.0
Three cases.
No seemingly visible connection.
What could be happening here?
Honestly this was so good, I have seen a TV series based on Harlan Coben's book before, but I had never read his work till this, and I guess I was a little intimidated to give it a shot? But I was like, what the hey, this looks interesting, so let's go. Not disappointed at ALL. I had no idea what the heck was happening and the end pay-off was perfect. I really do prefer thrillers that have be thinking, and this was sure did
There is but only ONE thing I got right and towards the reveal of ONE of the mysteries I had begun to think "what if" on another thing, otherwise, it was so subtly written that I never saw a large majority, or really ANYTHING to do with the BIG case in this book
The characters themselves were really really good too, I never felt like they were off, or rushed, or not fleshed out, so they were easy to read duh, I inhaled this is a day ;)
Final rating of 4.5/5 rounded down to a 4. :)
No seemingly visible connection.
What could be happening here?
Honestly this was so good, I have seen a TV series based on Harlan Coben's book before, but I had never read his work till this, and I guess I was a little intimidated to give it a shot? But I was like, what the hey, this looks interesting, so let's go. Not disappointed at ALL. I had no idea what the heck was happening and the end pay-off was perfect. I really do prefer thrillers that have be thinking, and this was sure did
There is but only ONE thing I got right
Spoiler
the fact that Kyra was Olivias daughterThe characters themselves were really really good too, I never felt like they were off, or rushed, or not fleshed out, so they were easy to read duh, I inhaled this is a day ;)
Final rating of 4.5/5 rounded down to a 4. :)
hjulia5'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? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mcearl12's review against another edition
3.0
Confusing at first, but pretty good from about halfway to the end.
holmstead's review against another edition
3.0
The suspense was good. I enjoyed it to an extent. A lot of things start to happen at once and I really got caught up in it. But then slowly I started to predict things, and one by one they turned out to be true. I really don't like thinking something and being right. I appreciated what Olivia and Matt went through and making what they had in their new lives that much more precious. There was no "ah-ha!" moment for me when it came towards the end, it was still decent. I don't feel it was a waste, just nothing big enough to rave about.