HARLAN COBEN STAY CLOSE Paperback

Wow, this is, for me, the best Coben. I’ve read a few and I thought this is gonna be the same - engaging plot, lots of characters, it’s about someone’s or every character’s lousy past, the usual Coben.And yes, the usual stuff but this has so much more. One of the best conclusion is for every character to have a closure. Something they’ve learned through it all and a reconciliation. After all the bad, then it’s good, finally.That’s what I like. I’m going to watch it on Netflix now that I’ve finished the book. Yes - 5 stars!

As is usual for me when I begin reading a Harlan Coben novel, I quickly become absorbed in the story and here with Stay Close it was no different. I prefer to read a book which draws you in from the first page, as if I am not intrigued by the end of the first chapter, I begin to lose interest.The story begins with photographer Ray Levine out on a job. It is immediately plain to see that Ray's career hasn't panned out the way he once expected. His photography job is at the lower end of the scale and is one he derides no enjoyment from. After leaving a job one evening, Ray is attacked and his camera stolen. Fortunately Ray syncs his photographs to his computer and so is able to retrieve the photographs needed for his job. However, as he is on the computer looking through earlier photographs he had taken that day before his job, he sees something which makes him realise that the attacker had not been after the camera, they had been after a certain picture.This opener is the first indication that a dark past is going to come back and affect the characters in this story, although the reader has no idea what the link is until later, as the story then changes to Megan Pierce and her surburban soccer-mum lifestyle, seeing her kids out to school. Then Megan receives a phone call from someone from her past, asking to meet. Megan heads back to Atlantic City and realises she misses her old seedy lifesyle. She has a life many people would be envious of, however she can't help but feel drawn to her old life and therefore stays longer than she really should.Add to this the character of Detective Broome still haunted by a cold case and the opening elements are there to make another thriller with plenty of the usual Coben twists as the reader wonders how these characters are linked and what has happened in the past that is certainly going to affect their future.As the story unfolds and the past is slowly revealed, I marvelled at Coben's knack of bringing everything together but still managing to keep the reader wondering right to the end exactly who is responsible for what and how it is all going to end. Once again I didn't manage to guess the ending, which is the sign of a good thriller for me personally and the writing was well paced throughout with plenty of tension. Indeed there are no endless, needless or boring descriptions in a Harlan Coben novel, he tells you what you need to know without spending too long delving into character's backgrounds.Speaking of the characters, I must admit I didn't feel as close to them in this novel as I have with previous ones. The character of Megan Pierce I found there was little to like about and usually the main character of the story in a Coben novel I find I warm to, so this was different to the norm. Megan appears quite selfish and although you do see a warmer, softer side to her once or twice, it didn't seem to fit well with her overall character and therefore I found her irritating.Despite this, all the characters were well developed and I found I warmed to Detective Broome more than anyone else and wouldn't mind seeing him make an appearance in another novel, as this is something which often happens in a Coben story! Speaking of which, I didn't think there was going to be any familiar characters making an appearance in this story, but there was a nice surprise towards the end when there was a nod to a couple of characters from other Coben novels, Loren Muse and Hester Crimstein, who will be familiar to those who have read some of Coben's previous stand alone novels.I do wish maybe they had featured a little more here, but that is just a personal small niggle and doesn't detract from the story at all.Harlan Coben has delivered another good stand alone thriller in Stay Close. Although it is not my favourite book by him as I didn't enjoy the characters here as much as I have in previous novels, it is still superior to many crime thrillers I have read and therefore is still one I am more than happy to recommend.

This one of his books has some really negative reviews so I was part dreading it but I enjoyed it as much as I always like his stories. MY issue is a few crashing errors that I think the publishers need to hang their heads in shame over......these books aren't free and they need to sorely up their game.An attractive weathergirl is referred to as a hott, and I assume he meant hottie, fance was used and not fiance, someone wrapped (!!) their knuckles, as was used instead of at, spike-y and not spiky and then fled and not filed !! A bloody mess.THEN the cardinal sin for me was misspelling his own character's name at one point. He was Jordan all the way through and then all of a sudden he morphed into Jordon.I liked Megan and also her relationship with her mother-in-law was a touching one. My favourite character was Lorraine, though. A proper good egg, as we'd say here in the UK. The whole tale is very cleverly put together as you wonder how all these people are relating to which crime and each other.The last book of his I read a month or so back lost stars down to formatting mistakes, too. Time someone started to take some pride in what they're slinging out for public consumption.

Interlinked sub-plots add to this tale of intrigue and deception.

This is not my usual sort of book but I suspected I might be watching the TV series soon so wanted to read the book first. It was a good mystery story with lots of intrigue and I definitely didn't guess the ending. The characters were well developed.....but they were all so stereo-typical of the genre. I won't be rushing to read another Harlan Coben!

You can't go wrong with a Harlan Coben book. They say. And really, so do I. Mr Coben brings his own inimitable style of writing to bear here. But some have said that this book is a little less perfect than usual. The main problem seems to be initially getting into it. I can sort of understand that. We are introduced to the main players one at a time and certainly initially there's little, if anything that connects them that the reader can see. So off we go with the first, then you start another chapter and it's like starting a book afresh. See what I mean? But you need to give it a little time and a little concentration and sure enough the benefits come to those who wait.It is, as usual a stirring thriller and, again as usual you will be hard pressed to successfully guess the outcome. Characters are well developed and draw your interest. But look out for the nice couple who are, in effect, contract killers. They sport the nicknames Ken and Barbie, after the dolls. They nearly pinch the headlines!So there we are. A little persistence and concentration to start, but like a roller coaster, once you've rumbled up to the top....

Not one of Harland best, rather convoluted andConfusing at times. Not one that I could say I couldn't put down.

Could not continue with this book as I found the reader hard to listen to.