Author: Harlan Coben
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: March 2013
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Harlan Coben, the master of domestic suspense, returns with a standalone thriller in the vein of #1 bestsellers Hold Tight, Caught and Stay Close that explores the depth and passion of a lost love . . . and the secrets and lies at its heart.
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.
But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.
As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart—and who lied to him—soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.
Harlan Coben once again delivers a shocking page-turner that deftly explores the power of past love and the secrets and lies that such love can hide.
My Thoughts: With Harlan Coben, I know I am going to get a story that’s hard to put down and draws me in, trying to guess what is going to happen next. The bad news is I’m usually wrong. The good news is I’m usually wrong. Just when you think you know what’s coming next, you get thrown for a loop with a twist you never saw coming. I love that. This book doesn’t disappoint in that area, either.
First of all, Jake was a great character, very well written, very easy to relate to and quick to like. I felt for him and the heartbreak he has been living with and admired him for trying to move on with his life after the woman he has always loved married another man. He definitely goes down the rabbit hole when he sees an obituary in the paper for the man that Natalie married. Against his better judgment, he decides to go to the funeral to get a glimpse of her. Imagine his surprise and mine, when he gets to the funeral to learn that the mourning widow is not the woman he once loved!
This story takes the reader on a roller-coaster of intrigue, mystery, lies and cover-ups as Jake begins to research to find the truth, which puts Jake’s life in danger from unknown parties. I felt like Jake can’t trust anyone. He is being lied to by people he has known for years and he has nowhere to turn for help.
My Final Verdict: Readers looking for a nail-biter of a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat will devour this one. The characters are very developed and easy to relate to. Readers who want stories with characters they feel deep empathy and compassion for will lose themselves in this story worrying about Jake and cheering him on. Readers who love to immerse themselves into stories that take them out of their minds and the distractions of daily life should give this one a shot. Well done, Mr. Coben, I look forward to more from you.
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