Would you kill for your kids? (No Second Chance - Harlan Coben)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	No Second Chance - Harlan Coben
Date:	25/03/05 (538 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Read

Disadvantages: none

The question is just how far would you go to protect your family? Anyone who has been a parent would probably at some time or other have said that they would kill someone to protect their children. When you hear in the news about a paedophile or the abduction of a child the emotion is often one of wanting revenge and to inflict pain on the guilty but if the occasion actually arose could you actually do it? Pull the trigger? Stick the knife in? Beat someone to death? Look into someone eyes as you choke the life out of them?

These are the questions that face Dr Marc Seidman a man who has dedicated his life to correcting facial deformities of children all over the world. Seidman remembers being shot one morning in his own house, his last thoughts being about his six-month-old daughter Tara and his beautiful wife Monica. Twelve days later he wakes up in a hospital bed to learn that he is lucky to be alive, his wife not so lucky and no trace of his daughter. The day he leaves hospital a ransom note arrives at the home of his rich father in law. The message is clear deliver the ransom, do not contact the police and you get your daughter back, fail and there is no second chance.

The first dilemma is whether to involve the FBI and police, deciding to trust them, eventually Seidman proceeds with the FBI help. Without wanting to spoil the plot the ransom drop goes wrong and Seidman loses his daughter again and his life lapses into a spiral of despair and with no progress on the shooting Seidman becomes the suspect, and then two years later another ransom note arrives and Seidman is plunged into having to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. He has his second chance.

What follows is a roller coaster of emotions and white-knuckle action as Seidman joins up with his first love, and former FBI agent Rachel Mills in a desperate search for his daughter. How far will Seidman go this time and whom will he ever trust again? Pursued by the FBI and those who do not want him to find the truth he is forced to question his own morals and those of the people closest to him.

Harlan Corben has produced an excellent thriller with a number of twists and turns which keep the reader on the edge of their seat. This is the first book that I have read by this author and certainly it will not be the last. Many times while reading this I felt that I could predict the outcome and final twist however this time I was only partially correct and right to the end Seidman is faced with life effecting decision and moral judgements.

In Seidman you have a main character that is clearly out of his depth battling with his emotions and driven by the need to see his daughter again, he is also wracked with guilt over the state of his marriage and his feelings for Mills, which were a permanent feature throughout his marriage. As a parent you immediately identify with Seidman emotions and continually ask the question of how you would react in a similar situation. There is a strong supporting cast of characters who are well developed throughout the book and you are kept guessing right up to the end.

I would certainly recommend this if you enjoy thrillers and I will definitely be reading more of Corben work. Published by Orion the rrp is £6.99, £5.59 on Amazon however it is a lot cheaper in the used section.

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