The Woods by Harlan Coben

The Woods by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - In and out over 6 days

Pages - 404

Publisher - Dutton

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Twenty years ago at summer camp, Paul Copeland's sister died in the woods, the alleged victim of a serial killer. Her body was never found. Now, Paul is the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey, immersed in one of the biggest cases of his career-a case that will change everything he believes about the past...and the truth.



My Review

Paul is a big prosecutor with huge career plans, he is a good guy and likes to go to town for the wronged, no matter who it may upset. This time he is prosecuting a case, rich/popular/ upper class boys accused of raping a girl from a lower class, no money and a background the defense would rip to shreds. It is all kicking off, add to that we have a development in the case of Paul's missing sister, missing years ago - on his watch - kids were killed and his sister and partner disappeared, only blood left behind. Now Paul has to battle against the rich, folk pulling strings and potential secrets from his past.

There is a lot of skulduggery, shady characters, bad sides of people, greed, lies but there is also good, humour and it is very pacey. Short chapters which I love and we get to reopen and look at what actually happened all those years ago when Paul was a teenager and tragedy struck.

The court case scenes are really interesting and shocking, some of the behaviour and things said, with the context of the case, ooft. Everyone has a past, a history and sometimes secrets are better off staying in the past. I have read Coben before and I will read again, I like his writing and as this is a standalone (to my knowledge) it is a perfect place to start, 4/5.

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Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

Drop Shot by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 357

Publisher - Orion

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

In the second Myron Bolitar novel from Edgar Award–winner Harlan Coben, a young woman’s tragic death spirals into a shattering drama of menace, secrets, and rage. Suddenly Myron is in over his head—and playing the most dangerous game of all.

Once, Valerie Simpson’s tennis career skyrocketed; now, the headlines belong to a player from the wrong side of the tracks. But when Valerie is shot dead in cold blood and dropped outside the stadium at the U.S. Open, sports agent Myron Bolitar investigates the killing and uncovers a connection between the two players and a six-year-old murder at an exclusive mainline club. As Myron is drawn into the case—along with a dirty U.S. senator, a jealous mother, and the mob—he finds himself caught between a killer and the truth.


My Review

LOVE Bolitar and Win books although I am the first to admit, crime of readers here, to not reading them in order :O shock horror. This was on a cheap Amazon deal but they had me at Bolitar/Win. If you haven't read the series before you totally can read this as a standalone - you get enough snippets to know the chat. Bolitar was an athlete but an injury cut his career dead, he then studied as a lawyer and now has a small rep business for athletes. He is invested in his clients, does what is best for them and doesn't use them as cash cows. His associates is a beautiful ex wrestler, she has attitude, smarts and looks. And his very rich bestie Win, he has money, brains and despite his smaller size he is pretty lethal. Him and Bolitar get involved in crimes/investigating so there is always threats and trouble galore.

This book is no different, a tennis super star who burned out before she hit the top is about to make a come back. The day she has desperately tried to get Bolitar she is gunned down. Police seem to be looking at all the wrong angles, Bolitar and his sense of ?honour has to get to the truth. However there are so many secrets/scandals and big names/money in her past some people aren't happy and Bolitar finds himself (and co) in trouble.

Action, guessing along the way and different themes I did enjoy the book, I do like Cobens writing. However I worked out a good bit of it early on, I never manage that and it kind of spoiled the book a wee bit for me. Always enjoyable reading about this wee team, mostly doing the righteous thing and looking out for the wee people - Win has different chains of thought but as he is on the good guys side you can forgive his very big flaws. 3/5 for me this time, can't wait to read the others - not sure how many there are and how many I haven't read - need to check FantasticFiction and my Goodreads account.

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Live Wire by Harlan Coben

Live Wire by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Orion

Blurb from Goodreads

When former tennis star Suzze T and her rock star husband, Lex, encounter an anonymous Facebook post questioning the paternity of their unborn child, Lex runs off, and Suzze - at eight months pregnant - asks Myron to save her marriage, and perhaps her husband's life. But when he finds Lex, he also finds someone he wasn't looking for: his sister-in-law, Kitty, who along with Myron's brother abandoned the Bolitar family long ago.

As Myron races to locate his missing brother while their father clings to life, he must face the lies that led to the estrangement - including the ones told by Myron himself. If we thought we knew Myron Bolitar, Coben now proves we didn't. An electric, stay-up-all night thriller that unfolds at a breakneck pace, Live Wire proves that Harlan Coben still has the ability to shock us anew.


My review

I really like this series with Bolitar & Win, this is book 10 although I never read them in order and often just read them as I come across them. Suzze T was a tennis star, now married and heavily pregnant to Lex, rock star legend. When a post on Facebook shakes Suzze's world and her husband disappears she comes to Myron for help. Little does Myron know that digging in this particular case will stir up his own past and as usual, when people want things to remain a secret, danger ensues.

Bolitar is his usual cheeky self and displays the banter we have come to know and love from him over the series. His family life has, over the previous series flung up some questions and mysteries, some of these resurface in this tale. Whilst Myron tries to work out the mystery for Suzze, he has to delve into his own past and actions.

An easy to read book, as always I would have loved to see more of Win. Action, swearing, drugs, violence, family and relationships are just some of the themes covered in this book. If you liked the previous stories you will enjoy this one, 3/5 for me.

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Play Dead by Harlan Coben

Play Dead by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

pages - 518

Publisher - Orion Books

Blurb From Goodreads

Ex-fashion model and successful business woman Laura Ayars' perfect world is shattered at a time which should have been the happiest of her life. On her honeymoon, her sports superstar husband goes for a swim - and never returns. But what has happened to David - is he really dead?

Whilst struggling to cope with her grief, Laura is plagued by questions and doubts. Was it an accident? Or suicide? Or some terrible, ill-judged hoax?

As events begin to unfold, Laura starts to uncover a conspiracy which reaches deep into the past, and is now slowly beginning to destroy everyone involved. Someone will do anything to keep Laura away from the awful truth - and she has no idea who she can trust .


My Review

Successful business woman and model Laura Ayars couldn't be happier, she is married to a basketball legend and they are on their honeymoon. However, David goes out for a swim and doesn't come back, is he really dead? Laura struggled to cope with her grief and enlists the help of Davids friend to dig and see did David really die. As more questions arise, secrets from the past are threatened to be uncovered and someone will stop at nothing to make sure that doesn't happen. Lives are at stake, people will die but will Laura ever find out the truth about what happened to her husband.

This book near got a two stars from me, when you get to the crux of the matter and start to discover what has actually transpired, you need to suspend belief. Whilst the boundaries of reality are pushed to breaking it is actually written well and easy to read. I found myself signing in exasperation at times whilst still wanting to carry on and find out what happened to the characters and why some people were acting so shifty.

Overall its an ok read, one maybe for on holiday where you don't have to put much effort into thinking about it. 3/5 for me this time, I have more Harlan Coben to read, more recent and very different to this which, he does admit isn't his best work and from decades ago but still worth a wee read I would say although don't judge his recent works on the strength of this one.

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Review - Caught by Harlan Coben

Caught by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 1.5 days

Blurb From Goodreads

Reporter Wendy Tynes is making a name for herself, bringing down sexual offenders on nationally-televised sting operations. But when social worker Dan Mercer walks into her trap, and is tied to the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old New Jersey girl, the shocking consequences will have Wendy doubting her instincts about the motives of the people around her.

My Review

This book starts off fairly quick. There is a sting, set up by a reporter to bust a paedophile and it is all recorded and broad casted on tv. The case falls through and the reporter needs to sink her teeth into something else. Soon she stumbles on something that she will uncover, even if it ruins her life, or worse kills her.

The story splits into two main stories, the accused paedophile and the disappearance of a young respectable girl. There is a lot of twists in the story and after a bit of digging Wendy, the reporter, finds some coincidences between Dan and his old college friends and something that may explain recent going ons.

Some of the book was quite well paced, interesting and I was dying to find out what happened to the missing girl. I felt the disappearance dominated the first part of the story but quickly it was dealt with and another part focused on, only for it to be brought back up later. I didn't like this approach although I did like some of the other situations that arose after. To be honest I swayed between a 2 and 3 star rating and would have liked to have given a 2.5. Some of it was drawn out and didn't seem relevant, things that had dragged where then solved really quickly and moved onto something else. Whilst I like to have answers to everything in my books I don't like it convenient like that. So it says a 3/5 there but I would say 2.5 - I do enjoy this author but prefer the others I have read.

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Review Promise Me by Harlan Coben

Myran Bolitar and his trusty sidekick Win are on another case. This time it isn't one of their clients, it's a friends loved one who seems to have vanished and Myron was the last one with her.

The story really kicks off when Myron is called in the early hours of the morning by his friends teenage daughter whom he promised if she needed help no questions asked just call. He gets more than he bargains for when he drops her off at an unknown address and she goes missing. The police have their suspicions and Myron is the number one suspect, it doesn't look good. Myron starts digging to find out what happened to Aimee and if it is linked to another girls disappearance and gets caught up in a tangled web of danger, murder and family secrets.

This is the 8th book in a series although you don't necessarily have to have read the previous books to follow this one and it does give you a history on the business and his relationships with Win and his co workers. Good paced, easy to follow and some pretty good unexpected twists. 4/5 for me.