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emleemay 's review for:
Fool Me Once
by Harlan Coben
Interesting. I kinda liked this, I think, but perhaps it wasn't the best choice for my first [a:Harlan Coben|24689|Harlan Coben|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361316023p2/24689.jpg](?)
Coben has long been on a mental list of mine - along with [a:Koontz|9355|Dean Koontz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1487353807p2/9355.jpg], [a:Child|5091|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377708686p2/5091.jpg], [a:Grisham|721|John Grisham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1413390525p2/721.jpg], [a:James Patterson|3780|James Patterson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1468347205p2/3780.jpg] and [a:Connelly|12470|Michael Connelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1406128068p2/12470.jpg] - of well-loved mystery/thriller authors I have never read. After he made an appearance as a character in King's latest novel, [b:The Outsider|36124936|The Outsider|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524596540s/36124936.jpg|57566471], I decided it was finally time.
And... um, I can see why people like him. In [b:Fool Me Once|26109394|Fool Me Once|Harlan Coben|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443190440s/26109394.jpg|45536239] he pulls out a perfect "oh, of course!" reveal. The kind that makes you look back over the novel and see that it makes absolute sense. Any author can pull something ludicrous out of their ass to surprise their readers, but it takes a great author to weave a plot tight enough to keep its secrets hidden while still being believable.
The story follows Maya in the aftermath of her husband's murder. She's a former special ops pilot and suffering from PTSD as she tries to raise her two year-old daughter as a single mother. She gets a nanny cam to keep an eye on her daughter's activities while she's at work, but then one day she sees something very strange: her dead husband, Joe, playing with their daughter on the film. This triggers a series of events that will lead Maya to old secrets, cover-ups, and lies left hidden for years.
The problem is, I found the getting there a little dry and overlong. Maya's third-person perspective was not engaging, often devoid of emotion in circumstances that should have been highly tense and emotional. Plus, the first 75% of the book felt dragged out and longer than it needed to be. Maya spent multiple scenes reiterating the possibilities of what could have happened, considering if Joe could be alive or if someone messed with the cam. I think King can get away with this much waffle but, here at least, Coben can't.
Emotion aside, it was a clever mystery with lots of twists and turns, but I am first and foremost an emotional reader. When I think of thriller authors I enjoy - like [a:French|138825|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg] or [a:Lehane|10289|Dennis Lehane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1227580381p2/10289.jpg], or even [a:King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] - I always feel so much more emotionally-engaged while reading their books.
Is there another Coben book I should try?
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Coben has long been on a mental list of mine - along with [a:Koontz|9355|Dean Koontz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1487353807p2/9355.jpg], [a:Child|5091|Lee Child|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1377708686p2/5091.jpg], [a:Grisham|721|John Grisham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1413390525p2/721.jpg], [a:James Patterson|3780|James Patterson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1468347205p2/3780.jpg] and [a:Connelly|12470|Michael Connelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1406128068p2/12470.jpg] - of well-loved mystery/thriller authors I have never read. After he made an appearance as a character in King's latest novel, [b:The Outsider|36124936|The Outsider|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524596540s/36124936.jpg|57566471], I decided it was finally time.
And... um, I can see why people like him. In [b:Fool Me Once|26109394|Fool Me Once|Harlan Coben|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443190440s/26109394.jpg|45536239] he pulls out a perfect "oh, of course!" reveal. The kind that makes you look back over the novel and see that it makes absolute sense. Any author can pull something ludicrous out of their ass to surprise their readers, but it takes a great author to weave a plot tight enough to keep its secrets hidden while still being believable.
The story follows Maya in the aftermath of her husband's murder. She's a former special ops pilot and suffering from PTSD as she tries to raise her two year-old daughter as a single mother. She gets a nanny cam to keep an eye on her daughter's activities while she's at work, but then one day she sees something very strange: her dead husband, Joe, playing with their daughter on the film. This triggers a series of events that will lead Maya to old secrets, cover-ups, and lies left hidden for years.
The problem is, I found the getting there a little dry and overlong. Maya's third-person perspective was not engaging, often devoid of emotion in circumstances that should have been highly tense and emotional. Plus, the first 75% of the book felt dragged out and longer than it needed to be. Maya spent multiple scenes reiterating the possibilities of what could have happened, considering if Joe could be alive or if someone messed with the cam. I think King can get away with this much waffle but, here at least, Coben can't.
Emotion aside, it was a clever mystery with lots of twists and turns, but I am first and foremost an emotional reader. When I think of thriller authors I enjoy - like [a:French|138825|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg] or [a:Lehane|10289|Dennis Lehane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1227580381p2/10289.jpg], or even [a:King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] - I always feel so much more emotionally-engaged while reading their books.
Is there another Coben book I should try?
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube