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A review by sometimesbryce
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben
4.0
Wow. I did not expect to like this. My mom always reads these murder mystery/suspense type books and I'm, by and large, not interested. While I do like a good suspense, a typical "whodunit," her favorite, is not mine. So when she sent this to me and told me I'd like it, I was highly skeptical.
The basic premise surrounds a doctor - Marc Seidman - who has been shot and almost killed. His wife is dead, and his 6th month old daughter has vanished. He assumes the worst until he gets a ransom call and that's the moment everything changes.
An interesting concept, sure, but definitely all the characteristics of something I was sure to dislike. Plus, Harlan Coben. So, like I said, I was skeptical. Here's the thing: yes, the suspense was excellent, and the twists and turns were delicious and kept me hooked (they, I will also note, were not the cliche murder mystery type twists that make me dislike the genre) but the thing that made this novel a winner for me was everything that surrounded the main plot.
We got really interesting characters, great world building, and unexpected philosophical musings on life, love, and morality. I absolutely loved this. I wanted to know what happened, but for the first time in the genre, the journey was as interesting as the destination. I'm sad to leave these characters and these lives. I'm sad to leave the East Coast. I haven't been affected like this by a book in a long time, and certainly not from something as unappealing as a murder mystery. But I loved it, and I strongly recommend to readers across genres, particularly those who are wanting to explore the genre more, but are hesitant to leave the comforts of general adult fiction.
Thanks, mom, for sending me this!
The basic premise surrounds a doctor - Marc Seidman - who has been shot and almost killed. His wife is dead, and his 6th month old daughter has vanished. He assumes the worst until he gets a ransom call and that's the moment everything changes.
An interesting concept, sure, but definitely all the characteristics of something I was sure to dislike. Plus, Harlan Coben. So, like I said, I was skeptical. Here's the thing: yes, the suspense was excellent, and the twists and turns were delicious and kept me hooked (they, I will also note, were not the cliche murder mystery type twists that make me dislike the genre) but the thing that made this novel a winner for me was everything that surrounded the main plot.
We got really interesting characters, great world building, and unexpected philosophical musings on life, love, and morality. I absolutely loved this. I wanted to know what happened, but for the first time in the genre, the journey was as interesting as the destination. I'm sad to leave these characters and these lives. I'm sad to leave the East Coast. I haven't been affected like this by a book in a long time, and certainly not from something as unappealing as a murder mystery. But I loved it, and I strongly recommend to readers across genres, particularly those who are wanting to explore the genre more, but are hesitant to leave the comforts of general adult fiction.
Thanks, mom, for sending me this!