Harlan Coben – The Book Review Station

March 17, 2020

Steady-paced and Occasionally Annoying: A Review of The Stranger by Harlan Coben

I’m going to start this post with two disclaimers.

One, I’ve only read one other Harlan Coben book – Fool Me Once – and had thought that it had its moments but was average overall. Two, I picked up The Stranger only because I wanted to read it before deciding whether to watch the Netflix show that’s based on it (still thinking about that).

The main takeaway from The Stranger, for me, was the question: Are all Harlan Coben books average thrillers, or do some of them get mad exciting, unpredictable, and also more believable? Read on to know why I ask this question.

Harlan Coben The Stranger — Source: Goodreads

Genre:

Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Length:

386 pages

Blurb:

Adam Price is living the American Dream with a big house, good job, beautiful wife, and two great sons. Until he meets The Stranger. The Stranger appears out of nowhere, and hands over undeniable information backed by proof to the people he targets. His reason is unknown. But the secret he reveals to Adam brings his marriage to Corinne, and his perfect life, to the edge of destruction. When he confronts his wife, she says little before disappearing. Adam’s hunt for Corinne and the truth puts him in the middle of startling events he can barely understand. Soon, Adam, The Stranger, and others affected by their actions are on the path of collision. Will Adam discover the truth and manage to survive it? Or will his moves cost him his marriage, his family, and even his life?

Overall Rating:

6 out of 10

Plot:

6 out of 10 (with 1 point of that being for the end)

Characterization:

4 out of 10

Primary Element:

5 out of 10 for its suspense

Writing Style:

8 out of 10

Part of a Series:

No.

Highlighted Takeaway:

The twist at the end. It wasn’t exceptionally shocking but was quite entertaining.

What I Liked:

I really appreciate that, for the most part, Adam and Corinne were shown to be a normal couple, unlike the massively dysfunctional individuals that make up most ‘husband/wife has a secret’ books nowadays.

What I Didn’t Like:

The fact that the minute the secret was revealed, the entire basis and strength of Adam and Corinne’s relationship fell apart like a house of cards. I mean, c’mon! Is it that difficult to just speak to your spouse? Especially when you seemed to be having a normal conversation even in a confrontation before you decided to clam up just for the heck of it? The reason for said clam up is revealed later, but that does little to change the fact that it was an entire personality shift just for that moment, and just so that the story could move forward.

Who Should Read It:

Anyone who enjoys the books that focus on family/spouse secrets (The Stranger is actually one of the better ones in that it is not made up of psycho people who act like dumbasses all the time for no reason). And anyone who enjoys steady-paced, mild-twists-holding suspense.

Who Should Avoid:

Anyone who’s expecting a story with major plot twists. If that’s what you’re looking for, you should probably pick up something else (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was really good in that regard).

Read It For:

A relatively intriguing, well-paced story that is ideal for when you don’t want anything too complicated, and when you’re not expecting too much either.

Did you like Harlan Coben’s The Stranger? Did you like its Netflix adaptation (i.e. Should I watch it)? Which is your favorite (twisty, suspenseful) Harlan Coben book? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

And as always… thanks for stopping by to read my review!

– Rishika

April 30, 2018April 30, 2018

Review: Fool Me Once (By Harlan Coben)

Length: 387 pages

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Maya Stern is no stranger to death. Having served in the army, she’s seen her share of loss. And learned to deal with it. Which is how she manages to bear the pain of having witnessed the death of her husband in a mugging gone wrong. She’s forcing herself to get through one day at a time, fighting against the loss and the nightmares she brought home from the war with a smile on her face for the sake of her two-year-old daughter. But some things are too much even for Maya’s willpower. When she sees her husband on the feed from a secret nanny-cam – feed from a week after his death – she begins to question everything, and everyone. She begins digging to find an answer, but instead finds only more questions. And secrets that go back decades. Everything she’s ever known begins to come under suspicion, and Maya is forced to face the fact that she can trust no one – not even herself. Things simply aren’t what they seem. But is that the result of a conspiracy that goes back years, or the loss of Maya’s own sanity?

The Bottom Line:

A relatively typical crime thriller whose saving grace is its incredible, and unpredictable, ending.

My take:

Fool Me Once has an interesting story that is told with the nearly infallible skill that only an experienced author can possess. Harlan Coben has been around for a while and yet, this is the first book of his that I’ve read. And I can say that the man is, without a doubt, a really good storyteller.

Fool Me Once moves along briskly, and the suspense keeps you turning the pages relentlessly. It is written with the effortlessness that seems so simple, but is probably extremely difficult to achieve. And that translates into a smooth, effortless reading experience too.

The characters are well defined and very human. In fact, they’re human enough to like and dislike at the same time. This is another aspect in which complexity is presented exceptionally well, in seemingly-effortless simplicity. The most enjoyable thing in Fool Me Once is Coben’s skill; I definitely want to read more from him.

As a story, however, it’s pretty average. The premise is interesting, and it unfolds well. But the many twists and turns that were meant to be shocking are quite predictable. That’s not to say that they aren’t enjoyable. But at the same time, it leaves the book lacking the quality that gives it an edge, that pushes it to the level of evoking an, “I loved it!”

The one thing that was surely unpredictable though was the end. And that is what takes the book up from 2 stars (read: It was okay), to 3 stars. All in all, Fool Me Once is a very average thriller, but one that deserves to be read for its story-telling finesse and pretty awesome end. Recommended to: