No Second Chance maybe, but read it a second time! (No Second Chance - Harlan Coben)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	No Second Chance - Harlan Coben
Date:	13/10/08 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellently worked book

Disadvantages: A touch far fetched, but nothing major

I am a big fan of the crime thriller genre, and one of my favourite authors is Harlan Coben. Like many authors, he has written a number of books based round a central character, but also a good selection of stand alone thrillers that have no bearing on other books. One of his stand alone books is this one, No Second Chance, a panicky thriller involving a murder and a kidnapping. Coben has the ability to twistg and turn the novel in your head, constantly keeping you guessing until the end before giving you a brilliant plot filler.

No Second Chance sees Dr Marc Seidman waking up in hospital, having vague memory lapses, following the murder of his wife and the abduction of their baby daughter. He receives a ransom note for the baby, stating that if he involves the police, etc, that will be it. There will be no second chance. Thus ensues a frantic tale of just how far one man will go to save his child and avenge his wife.

Coben gripped me from the start with this one. A lot of authors, while excellent in their own right, take a while to get going in their novels, setting the scene and dithering about with characterisation that will become important later on. Coben does away with floating around and launches straight into the story, pausing briefly every now and then to provide some details essential to the plot, and then grabbing us once more by the scruff of the neck and throwing us back onto his rollercoaster novel for another ride.

The plot is a rather twisted and complex one, and there is no real point in examining too much who dunnit or where it's taking you. There are elements which are predictable, but be warned: these are there to throw you off the scent. You see, Coben is an author who seems to put himself in the mind of the reader and think about what they would expect as the plot winds its way to a conclusion. The combination of this as well as the speed with which he gives us chapter after chapter makes me enjoy his work more than than the majority of other authors, and makes him stand out a bit from the crowd.

There are some similarities to other authors in terms of style in the book. Remnants of a James Patterson fan and the familiar crime thriller circles of Michael Connelly and Lee Child spring around from time to time, but I think this is more to with a number of authors spotting a winning formula as opposed to laziness or going with the flow. No Second Chance is a very good novel that had me as a reader not knowing which way to turn, and I was very impressed. The way Coben arrived at the conclusion was a little far fetched in my view, but it wasn't an impossible one that had no logical defence, such as you may find with other authors, and that's what made it so enjoyable.

No Second Chance retails for £6.99, although hunt around the charity shops and online for a cheaper deal.

Summary: Excellent book from a great author