This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Deborah Carr
Six years ago Jake Sanders watched as the woman he loved married another man. Just before the wedding she made him promise not to contact her, but in that time his feelings for her haven't lessened, in fact he's spent most of that time being tortured by his imagination of what her life must be like with Todd, her husband, and missing her on a daily basis. However, when Jake notices Todd's obituary he is unable to resist the opportunity of seeing Natalie once again, and travels to the funeral, but discovers that not only is Todd's wife not the woman he'd fallen in love with, but also that Todd has never in fact been married to Natalie.
Even though Jake didn't understand Natalie's motives at the time she broke up with him, he believed her when she said she was marrying her ex, Todd. Jake sets out to find Natalie and learn why she lied to him, however, instead of tracing her, he ends up risking his life and getting deeper into a murky world he's never encountered before. As Jake's persistence to discover what happened to Natalie increases, he has to contend with threats, physical violence and people blocking him at every turn. Jake refuses his best friend's pleas to give up the search. He is determined to carry on and uncover the mystery surrounding her disappearance, but finds that not only is his life at risk, but that everything he believes to be true in his world is also probably based on lies.
I'd never read a Harlan Coben novel before, but this fast-paced, dramatic, often violent, but intense story kept me transfixed. Every time I thought I'd discovered what had happened to Natalie, or assumed I knew what was coming next, there was a twist and I was taken off in a different direction. I'm definitely going to be reading more of this author's books.
9/10
Harlan Coben's Website