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Stay Close [Hardcover]

Harlan Coben
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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Book Description

29 Mar 2012

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she's got two kids, a perfect husband, a house with a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at the age of forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Broome is a detective who can't let go of a cold case - a local husband and father who disappeared seventeen years ago - and spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man's family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up any moment to step into them.

Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past never truly fades away. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realisation that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American Dream - the boredom of suburban life, the thrill of temptation, the desperation that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades - they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper thin as a heartbeat...


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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Orion (29 Mar 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1409112551
  • ISBN-13: 978-1409112556
  • Product Dimensions: 16 x 3.5 x 24 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 85,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Harlan Coben specialises in rousing the snake that lurks in the perfectly cut grass of American suburbia. STAY CLOSE brings the secrets and lives of three people into collision. Coben makes you care about them but never neglects a plot that is full of his trademark shocks. (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 20120422)

"A stroll in excellent company" (Jake Kerridge Sunday Express 20120325)

"A classy thriller" (Bella 20120403)

'"Tense and tightly plotted... a master of thrillers."' (SHORTLIST 20120329)

'"[An] atmospheric, tense and constantly twisting novel. The perfect introduction to the brilliance of US crime master Coben."' (Boyd Hilton HEAT 20120407)

'A masterful stand-alone... Coben writes with wit and irony, and his flair for exposing the frail balance point between order and chaos in our lives has never been stronger than in this suspenseful outing' (Publishers Weekly )

'A tour-de-force stand-alone... with some of the most shocking action scenes in current crime fiction' (Booklist )

"Harlan Coben's latest thriller is typically engrossing" (Star 20120402)

'Coben engages readers from the first page. A plot layered with twists, action, and a scandalous history will have his many fans flying through this new offering. Coben devotees have come to expect certain thrills, and they will not be disappointed' (Library Journal )

'The narration hums and dances and sings like nothing he has done before, and his characters are so real this time around that they almost seem to rise off the printed page' (BookReporter.com )

'In all of his writing he brings a unique voice to stories that entertain and enthrall the reader . . . The story is intense, the characters are interesting, and the writing is magnificent. Coben's talent is in high gear' (Huffington Post )

Book Description

Harlan Coben is back with his trademark combination of page-turning thrills and unrivaled insight into the dark shadows that creep into even the happiest communities...

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars A let down from a usually enjoyable author ... 10 May 2012
Format:Hardcover
I have always been a big fan of Harlan Coben - both his standalone thrillers and in particular his Myron Bolitar series - as he always offered great characters, action, thrills and wit, but his latest offerings are not quite hitting the mark.

None of the characters in Stay Close are particularly interesting or sympathetic so I found myself really not caring what happened to any of them - and two of them (I won't give anything away) were so cliched it became almost laughable. Usually the plot builds and builds - previously often to the point that I've had many a late night just to finish the story, I'm that hooked! - but not the case here. There were no urgent page turning moments, and nothing to particularly keep me interested other than a stubborness to hang on til the end, hoping something was going to happen. Sadly I got over halfway through and realised there was in fact no big bang moment, no crescendo, no sudden unleashing of the surprises and reveals. The only element that could perhaps be perceived as a twist of any sort to the story line started to become so blindingly obvious it's almost not a spoiler to say anything here .... but I won't :-)

I will probably still buy his next book - he has earnt that with his previous offerings - but it feels like he's going the way of many authors (James Patterson to name one) who seem to be churning out a formulaic story just to keep the publishers happy/the money rolling in.

If you are new to this author I would urge you to give him a second chance and try out some of his earlier novels. And let's hope he was just having an off day with this one.
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50 of 53 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, At Best! 11 April 2012
By bobbewig TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
With the exception of Miracle Cure, I've read all of Coben's adult audience books and enjoyed them all, albeit some more than others. This string of praise-worthy books has come to an end for me with Stay Close.

I won't provide a plot summary as this can be gotten from the Amazon Book Description above. I'll just say that Coben's latest standalone, which is set primarily in Atlantic City and the Pines Barrens in New Jersey, involves the violent intersection of several lives that are overshadowed by past events. Broadly speaking, this plot concept has been used by Coben in several of his other books and, though no longer very original, he succeeded in executing them quite well in the past. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Coben's ability to execute his plot concept in Stay Close left me pretty unfulfilled.

Overall, I consider Stay Close to be just an okay read -- at best. What makes me judge this book as "okay" (and not worse) is attributable to Coben's narrative skills and plot pacing, which kept me turning the pages at a brisk pace from beginning to end. Coben gets a lot credit from me on this point because I felt Stay Close had little else that deserves strong praise. In particular, I felt the plot execution lacked credibility and much excitement, and the characters were mostly thinly developed, unlikable, and failed to make me care what happens to them. And, while on the subject of characters, Coben's Ken and Barbie-like team of professional thugs came across to me as laughable and ridiculous and, as a consequence, unthreatening.

If you've been a long-time, loyal Coben fan you're likely going to want to read this book regardless of my review and other reviews giving Stay Close a three star rating or lower.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Tangled Web 2 Aug 2012
Format:Hardcover
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and unlike most of Harlan Coben's books, I hadn't guessed whodunnit until the closing pages.

We are introduced to Megan, who is a happily married housewife with perfect husband and family. I found her a believable character and wanted to read this as quickly as possible to find out how it all panned out.

Megan has a secret past, which comes back to bite her. She worked as a dancer in a men's club, forged some strong bonds there and when the going gets tough, she finds herself back there in a race against time to solve the secrets of the past.

A series of unsolved murders spanning many years are suddenly connected and it all points to the men's club in Atlanta, where Megan worked many years earlier, as being the catlyst and as a gritty detective investigates the case, Megan is pulled back to her lost world and a race against time for the killer to be apprehended before Megan's family life falls apart as she's sucked into events during the investigation.

Detective Broom is the lead investigator and I found myself hoping against hope that he would solve the case before anything happened to divide Megan from her family.

This book is the usual Coben page turner with lots of action and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing leaving them keen to reach the last one as soon as possible to find out how it all works out.

I found the characters believable, some I disliked intensely and I warmed to Megan as the book progressed as we found out more about her past.

She showed a caring side as she dealt with her mother in law's health problems and anyone with a family member with either dementia or Alzheimers could relate to the problems she faced with that.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read
will recommend to family and friends. am an avid harlan coben fan and looking forward to reading all his novels
Published 3 days ago by sandra
2.0 out of 5 stars Awful potboiler
I usually like Coben's stand-alone novels, but this one suffers from the same wisecracking and violence that spoils the Myron Bolitar books - but at least they usually have... Read more
Published 4 days ago by GeordieReader
3.0 out of 5 stars Stay close Harlan coben
I am a Harlan Coburn fan and have read most of his novels, I enjoyed this one very much and really enjoyed the twists and turns within the story
Published 6 days ago by liz guthrie
4.0 out of 5 stars I read a few of his books a few years ago and really enjoyed them...
It is a well thought out storyline,keeps you gripped right to the end The sort of book you do not want to put down.
Published 15 days ago by james o'keefe
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Really enjoyed this book bujt then I am a Harlen Coben Fan. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to be kept in suspense
Published 17 days ago by C.J. Pearce
5.0 out of 5 stars You can't get better
Reading a Harlan Cohen book sends you off to hours of pleasure, lost in another world and time just read this book and you will be enthralled. Enjoy
Published 21 days ago by redmel
4.0 out of 5 stars Another good story by the master storyteller.
I have read most of Harlen Coben's books. I have enjoyed them all. Some like Tell No One, more than others. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Andy O'Boogie
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read!
As usual this author doesn't dissapoint! Good plot...liked the characters too...although i found the "baddies" in the story terrifying! Read more
Published 24 days ago by Twinkle
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
To me its a no brainer, I love Harlen Coben books and I would buy anything that he wrote, did enjoy this book though, keepers you guessing all the way through.
Published 24 days ago by caroline cuthbertson
4.0 out of 5 stars Stay close by Harlan Cohen
Took a while to get into the story. But turned out to be quite gripping . The twist and turns kept me turning the pages till the early hours.
Published 28 days ago by Maxine Iffla
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