Missing You by Harlan Coben
Missing You. Finished 8-1-14, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2014
Unabridged audio read by January Lavoy. 11 hours, 54 minutes
It’s a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she’s ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart—and who she hasn’t seen in 18 years.
Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her. But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable.
As the body count mounts and Kat’s hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved—her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained. With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there.
from Goodreads
I can count on Harlan Coben for solid thrillers, sometimes even stellar. He always seems to have the latest cultural fad at the ready for his standalone books. In this one it starts with online dating but goes much more up-to-date than that (I don’t want to spoil anything) and the results are very good.
I loved Kat as a heroine, what made her great as a detective also make her care about Brandon, who was concerned about his missing mother. Everyone else had blown him off but Kat was willing to dig in and she already had a lot (too much?) on her plate since she was investigating her father’s death years before. There were many storylines, but Kat was able to handle them and I liked her.
With that being said, I finished this a month ago and as I sat down to write this review I couldn’t remember a thing about it. That says a lot right? And not just that my memory isn’t what it should be! After reading a few reviews I remembered but I admit that I expect more than that from Coben. I can say with all honesty that I don’t think you can go wrong with any of his thrillers, but some are better than others. This might not be one of the stellar ones (much like this review) but it was completely satisfying.
My mom bought this one and loaned it to me.
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What Jane Austen heroine are you?
I agree with you. First, you can never go wrong with Coben (have you read his YA’s? I haven’t). They’re either really good or really, really, good. I thought this was really, really good. I gave it a 3.5/4. Pretty much what you gave it. When people ask me which mystery murder writer I like, I always say Coben and Iles. Coben basically leads the pack.
He has lots of fans for good reason! I’ve read the first two of his YA series (3rd just came out) and I like them a lot. It’s nice to see Myron even from a distance. I think you’d like them, Lloyd.
I have read all Coben’s stand-alones, not his Bolitar nor his YA series, and I really liked them all, and some I loved. I have to admit the first four or so stand-alones, when he branched out from the Myron Bolitar series, were my absolute faves.
I tend to think some his older books are his best too, but I do love the Myron series and the last one of that was very good.
I’ve only read a couple of books and I did enjoy them. I have a feeling most of his books are pretty much the same so I can see why you forgot much of it. That doesn’t mean it’s still not fun to read, though.
I think some are definitely better than others and can remember them each after I’ve looked at the cover, but for some reason that didn’t happen with this last one!
Sounds like a very good read! I might have to add this to my every growing tbr list.
Add Harlan Coben at least. I always recommend Tell No One first since it’s my fave 🙂
I am a big Harlan Coben fan. I am listening to this one right now! I really like the narrator, but am thinking it is time to wrap it up. Enjoyable, but not one of my favorites.
We agree 🙂
Thanks for your great review Stacy. I enjoyed Six Years by Coben. This sounds like another one I would enjoy. Many books that I enjoy, I don’t remember later. Sometimes it is good to be caught up in the moment though.
Coben is excellent at keeping you in the moment and turning the pages as fast and long as you can!
“much like this review” *giggle* It was a great review! I get what you are saying completely. 🙂
🙂
Sounds like it kept you guessing.
He is the master of that!
I’ve read mixed reviews about this one. I have only read one book by Coben and I really liked it. I do want to read more by him.
LitF, do NOT listen to anybody that disparages Coben. I know approximately 1000 people (slight exaggeration) that read and love Coben. I have never heard or seen anyone write anything negative about his books. Plus, not that this matters, he is very funny and personable in person.
LOL! I agree with eveything Lloyd said 🙂
It’s funny you should mention Coben’s YA. I was going through my TBR pile this afternoon, looking for my next book (I picked Greg Iles’ Natchez Burning). I looked at Coben’s YA, Found, and kinda decided that I wasn’t going to read it. I hadn’t read the 1st 2, so I figured nah. Now, based on the fact that you’ve never steered me wrong, I’m going to have to work it in somehow. Thanks a lot for preventing me from reducing my TBR pile! (P.S. I still have Rebecca sitting on a shelf. It’s not in the TBR pile, but it’s not resold to the used bookstore either.)
That’s good to know! I think I own most of his back list even though I haven’t yet read them yet. 🙂
I’m a big Harlan Coben fan but I didn’t think much of Six Years *don’t shoot me* … I was hoping Missing You was a return to good old form 🙂