Rating: 
Summary: Gives Best Sellers a Bad Name
Review: The widower M.D. and his unfairly disgraced former G-Woman girl friend get a lot of ink and pages but are as alive and as real as the bust of Lenin.The plot treads water when it does not move backwards. The motivation to find the missing daughter has no passion. Saying it over and over again isn't enough. Comparing it to Shutter's Island is an insult to the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Like a Bad Made-for-TV Movie
Review: I started rolling my eyes after the first 20 pages or so; the constant references to daddy's total infatuation with his sweet little baby made me a little nauseous, like when you eat too much cotton candy. And like every similar book or movie ever made, where a kid gets 'napped, you just KNOW the parent will do any number of stupid moves against police/friends/lawyer [pick one] advice. [YAWN]. I didn't waste any more time at that point; I didn't even bother to read the last chapter. Back to the library. Glad I didn't buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: good way to pass the time
Review: "No Second Chance" was a quick and entertaining read. Being from Northeastern New Jersey myself, it was fun seeing mention of different towns and highways that are very familiar to me.
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Rating:
Summary: I wanted to give 4.5 stars. For one simple reason.
Review: There was no "grip" in the first few pages. I started reading Coben's books with "Tell No One." If you have read Tell No One, and Gone For Good, you know of the grip that I speak of, where in the first few pages you read that one line that just sucks you into the rest of the book. No Second Chance, lacked that grip in the beginning, which deducts one half star from my review. I will go against the other reviews here and say that if you have never read one of the Coben stand alone novels, start with this one. This story twists and turns with the best of them, and you get suspicious of every character at one point in this whodoneit. Read No Second Chance, then go read the other two. Another reviewer here praised the character Verne, and I have to second that. A very quick read, fast and the imagery and descriptions are second to none, I can't wait for the next from Coben.
Rating: 
Summary: They should distribute sleeping pills with this book
Review: Ok Harlan, try and understand this. I work very hard for a living, & I can't be staying up until 2 a.m. flipping the pages of your novels. I had just finished reading East of Eden from Oprah's BC. Thought I'd read all of Steinbeck, but missed it for some reason. I had several books that I was ready to start, but I wondered if after finishing Steinbeck's beautiful work, I might be disappointed in the next author I started reading - I mean, how could they possibly compare? I picked Coben's "no second chance". It is rather amazing to me that I wasn't in the least bit disappointed. Am I saying that Coben can be compared to Steinbeck - YES! Go ahead, disagree, but authors are only as good as their ability to see the beauty in all people. Steinbeck's Cathy is an example. He wanted us to hate her, & we did; but he didn't. Coben knows the deep inner love of the depraved and disadvantaged that is necessary to draw those characters we love to hate. This book is so much fun, but mark my words, Coben will write the novel we are waiting for. He isn't a sell out. I know it, I just know it. As for Bolitar - We love him, we're sorry he's gone, but I for one don't want to see him revived. There are authors, & then there are great authors. Tell your publisher & editors to take a leap, open your heart & tell these people what you know inside to be true - you said it in this book twice in different ways. Let it all out. You're wonderful!!!
Rating:
Summary: "Fasten your seatbelts...it's going to be a bumpy ride!"
Review: Having read all of Coben's novels , of his stand-alone novels (those other than the Bolitar series), this is the best yet! The change in narrative is done to perfection, the jump from short chapters to long, the intoduction of different scenarios of how and by whom the 'hero', Dr. Marc Seidman, was shot and wounded so severely as to be in a coma for twelve days; his wife murdered and their lovely 6 month old Tara kidnapped is nothing short of gale-force writing! We are whipped along in the frenzy of Marc desperately waiting for a ransom request for one million dollars, which is received finally by his frigid, and very rich father-in-law, Edgar. On the advice of his best friend and lawyer, Lenny, he brings in the police and for all intents and purposes all is lost because of this flaw in judgement, including the ransom money. They had said 'NO police and no second chance' and now it was over and he would never see Tara again. It is 18 months later before the kidnappers are heard from; and every waking moment of that time Marc is tormented by his guilt in botching the exchange for his baby. In his heart he 'feels' that she is somehow still out there waiting for her daddy and he can only hope that she is being well taken care of. The characters in this well-posed mystery are brought to life by Coben's taut writing and thought processes. We are introduced to his wife through clever writing, even though she is not with us from the first chapter; his friend/lawyer Lenny is ever-present and always ready to offer advice and assistance; his partner in reconstructive facial surgery, Zia, is an exciting force in Marc's life; Rachel, an ex_FBI agaent and former love looms on the horizon and is brought in to help and gives a slam-bang performance. The two FBI men running the investigation are good counterpoint; one decidedly leaning toward Marc as the perpetrator and the other, more of an analyst constantly bringing up facts that just do not add up in the case against Marc. The careful braiding of all these lives leads the reader to jump from one conclusion to another. But isn't that what a mystery book should do? And this is done expertly! I cannot 'not mention' Verne. What a marvelously thought out character...but I leave you, the reader to find out who he is. The last book that I read in less than a day and that made the outside world go away, was Pearl S. Buck's THE GOOD EARTH! My sincere and heartfelt thanks to Harlan Coben for this gift to the world of fine,fine literature.
Rating:
Summary: tedious
Review: i won't detail the plot again as the other reviewers have covered that...i found it mostly farfetched, and full of holes...the characters were not likeable or very interesting...but the major disappointment was the dialogue because normally coben is most excellent at dialogue...witty and clever...
this book is soppy and boring
Rating:
Summary: Another Coben Hit
Review: This is a mystery/thriller at which Coben excels. It begins with the murder and near murder of the main character -a plastic surgeon. At the same time, his 6 month old daughter is abducted. Predictably, he becomes the main suspect. However, The search for the girl goes on for more than eighteen months. Most of the main characters are introduced early on, although how they will interact is not known for quite some time. The solving of the mystery is kept from the reader until the very end - another Coben trait. Also like Coben's other stand-alone books, there are dark and twisted characters. For readers who enjoyed Coben's other works, there is virtually no humor in this work although there is the obligatory Batman TV show reference. The main character is not very likable, but the plot carries the reader despite a lack of warmth to the father/surgeon who lost his daughter. Many of the other characters are very likeable and all are believable, including the doctor. I think the reason the main character was not more likeable was he was an egomaniacla plastic surgeon (which may be redundant). This is a very good beach read. You may not be a better person for having read, but you'll have a good time while you're turning the pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but nowhere near his best...
Review: Let me start by saying: Harlan Coben is my favorite mystery author. And I read a lot of mysteries, so that's saying a lot. Coben can really twist a plot, and everything he's written has been an absolute page-turner... Well, at least until now. "No Second Chance," although not bad, didn't effect me like his others. I put it down a number of times, which was strange. I plowed through all his previous books in a couple of sittings--they never lasted me longer than two days, no matter how hard I fought to slow down and savor them. But that feeling wasn't there this time. My major gripe with the book was the lack of a strong hook. Again, it's odd saying that considering how brilliant the opening line was, and how every other book Coben's written glued me to page from the get-go. But my interest in "No Second Chance" was minimal until about the second half of the book. That's a long time to wait, especially for him, but I had faith in Coben, so I stuck with it. Next in line, the pacing wasn't strong here. There were times when the book dragged. Coben--dragged. Those words sound so incompatible that I hate to say them. But there it is. A major disappointment, too, was that I guessed about 90% of the ending. Coben's finales are usually knock-outs, but this one was a bit predictable. Sure, I didn't get a few of the details right, but I prefer to be thoroughly stumped. I love thinking I know exactly what happened, only to get to the end and realize I had it all wrong. In other words: I love to guess, but if I'm right, it's a little disappointing. Lastly (and this is a complaint I've had about all his stand-alones), the main character was very forgettable. Nothing about him stood out. He was painfully average--and though that may be Coben's point, I'm surrounded by average people. I see them every day. Part of the fun of reading is spending time with someone not so average, someone memorable for their quirky habits, or intuitive nature, or wry sense of humor...Like Myron! (Okay, maybe that's a cheap shot, but with each successive stand-alone Coben puts out, I miss Myron, Win, Esperanza and the gang all the more). If you've never read a Coben, don't start here. Much better to start with "Deal Breaker," the first book in a series of seven (his best work, in my opinion), then work your way up. His writing is always very good, and it was here, but the hook, strong characters, break-neck pace and surprise ending were not.
Rating:
Summary: Would The Baby Ever Be Returned?
Review: Marc Seidman awakens to find himself in the hospital ICU unit. He is hooked up to an IV and his head is all wrapped up in bandages. He enjoyed a peaceful home in his suburban neighborhood until a tragedy occured. His wife was shot and killed, and his six-month-old baby daughter was kidnapped. But just when his world seems lost forever, a ransom note appears. The note is very chilling, but Marc sees only one thing-he has the chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. And he doesn't know whom he can trust. And the authorities are closing in on a new suspect. They think Marc did this whole scheme himself. And Marc will need to prove otherwise. A good interesting read and worthwhile.
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