Rating: 
Summary: actually 3 and a half
Review: after reading a bunch of great reviews on this book, i was dying to read it.
when i did i felt two ways: confused at points and a little disappointed. while i liked the book's plot(s), i just couldn't become emotionally attached to the characters -- character development just did not seem to be a priority in this book. since i didn't care for any of the characters (as i did not really feel that i "knew" them) so many of them blurred together at certain points of the book. this led me to become confused sometimes. one bad guy seemed just to blur into the next. this did frustrate me at one scene to the point of not wanting to continue reading. but i kept going and was surprised at an ending that i did not expect. not to ruin it for anyone, but the ending for me was a bit of a stretch.
the main thing i did like about this story was really the mental arguments the main character had with himself. often, i found him asking the silly or mundane questions regular people ask/say when watching a suspense or horror flick.
overall, it was an entertaining read, but no.thing extraordinary
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books for summer reading!
Review: Harlan Coben just keeps getting better and better. In his
latest novel, Will Klein loses his mother to cancer but gets
a glimmer of hope that his supposedly dead big brother, wanted for the murder
of Will's former girlfriend, is alive. Coben weaves characters
in and out of Will's life while he tries to discover the truth
about his brother and the night he ran from a murder scene.
Coben is among the best of authors who can make the reader
feel what the character feels - we are drawn into Will's life
and muddle thru the lies and frustration in his attempt to
clear brother Ken and bring him home.
Having read all of Coben's books thus far, I was able to guess
the truth and ending but marvel at his ability to pull off
so many plot twists and surprises. Only one thing keeps me
from giving this book 5 stars - like every book he has written,
Coben's lead character is a gentle, trusting, likeable guy.
He is also a wimp. A little more testosterone next time!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Winner!
Review: Harlan Coben makes his second departure from the Bolitar series (please, Harlan, don't forget Myron Bolitar entirely!) to skillfully plot another great thriller about a missing person!Coben's newest is set in surburban New Jersey and NYC, and his hero is a social worker, Will Klein, whose life is a series of
tragedies. His old girlfriend was brutally murdered, his brother accused and disappeared for the last 11 years, his mother succumbs to cancer, and his girl, Sheila Rogers, disappears and is feared dead. Will enlists the help of his friend, Squares and Katy Miller, his first love's young sister.
He feels compelled to try to unravel what is happening, because the FBI and local law enforcement appear to be involved in a cover-up regarding his brother, Ken.
Squares is an enormously entertaining "yoga master" with a checkered past, and real devotion to his friendship with Will.
Another great character that Coben explores is John Asselta, a sociopathic acquaintance of Will's brother, known as "The Ghost". All in all, Will encounters a lot of evil events in his search for Ken, a search that ends in a group encounter in the last chapter that has more plot twists and turns than I've ever seen. Gone for Good is engrossing, well-written, and makes you care about Coben's main characters. The women in the book, unlike many suspense novels, are well-defined, and you care what happens to them. Coben succeeds, where others fail, at defining relationships while he builds suspense. Don't miss Coben's latest, it looks like it will top the charts for a good long while, and the only thing to criticize is the neon yellow dustjacket....although it is an improvement from "Tell No One's" deer hunter orange jacket! Get it, and get into it, as soon as you can!
Rating:
Summary: A dysfunctional reunion in the old neighborhood
Review: Harlen Coben does a superb job in creating suspense in his cleverly written "Gone for Good". Coben masterfully disguises the numerous plot twists that occur as this passionate drama climaxes. His novel proprels forward at rapid pace as his intriguing storyline unfolds
Will Klein, director of Covenant House, a haven for runaways and street urchins seduced by drugs and prostitution, is sitting vigil for his beloved mother who is dying of cancer. Days before her demise, she reveals to Will that his older brother Ken is alive. Ken, thought to be dead, had fled their affluent Livingston, New Jersey neighborhood eleven years ago. He was implicated in the rape and murder of Will's old girlfriend Julie Miller. Will was never convinced that his brother actually perpetrated this horrendous crime.
Will's girlfriend Sheila Rogers comforted him as they returned to the apartment they shared. Sheila who was very much in love with Will, was a very strange soul. She revealed none of her past and when she mysteriously departed without a trace while Will slept, he was utterly befuddled.
Fearing the worst, Will enlists the help of his best friend Squares. Squares, a former runaway himself is now a rich and celebrated yoga master. He serves as a volunteer at Covenant House combing the streets in a van, trying to help young and unfortunate street people survive. Using Squares' many contacts, they search for clues to discover Sheila's whereabouts and the status of Ken. Their investigation gets them in contact with people that populated Will's past in Livingston, some of them quite dangerous and unsavory.
Rating:
Summary: Great story
Review: I read "Tell no one" and liked it very much.
But actually "Gone for good" is even better. The characters are deeper, the story is great and very well built.
I really enjoyed reading this book.
Go for it, you won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Almost riding the roller coaster at Six Flags!!!
Review: I read TELL NO ONE first and just read GONE FOR GOOD when we were on vacation. I could not put it down, except when I HAD to so I wouldn't have a heart attack or stroke from the excitement, or overexcitement as the case may be. I just had to catch my breath at times.
Coben is a very talented author, especially at twists and mysteries and hidden secrets... all the things we love. And the pages FLY as you near the end. Very very good. Even better than TELL NO ONE which I heartily, thoroughly also enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: Hooray for Harlan Coben
Review: I read this book mostly because I met the author years ago in an AOL writer's chat room and we became internet buddies, exchanging emails, that sort of thing, although I haven't heard from him in several years. I started one of the Myron Bolitar stories years ago but never really became engrossed. We have never actually met in person, but now when I go to the bookstore I see a whole section of his books and see that he has become a successful author (congrats!) Since he's a "buddy" I just have to give this book five well deserved stars.
I enjoyed the book from start to finish. Some of the plot twists seemed a little absurd but I guess that people read thrillers for plot twists and people read Thomas Mann novels for something else. I just read *The Magic Mountain* and it didn't have much in terms of plot twists. Too bad we couldn't get Mann (R.I.P.) and Coben together to write a novel . . . I bet we'd end up with something along the lines of *The Name of the Rose.*
I have two minor complaints about the novel. The first is my fault: every time the character referred to as "the Ghost" was in a scene I visualized this crazy large white head - something like the appearance of Jim Carrey in *The Mask,* but white instead of green; or else an appearance like the guy in the Jack in the Box commercials. That was awfully distracting, but then again the character was first described as having "skin like cataracts, milky and marshlike . . . head shaped like a lightbulb . . . nightmare version of a Dresden doll." Yikes!
The other complaint is about the character "Squares," who is the second most important character and probably the most interesting character. Why, though, did he have to be a famous yoga guru? The character was strong enough as a street-wise dude who has a somewhat evil past and now drives around in a van trying to help street kids change their lives. The yoga guru component added nothing to the story and wasn't even believable because he hardly ever even went to that job. What gives?
Unlike *The Magic Mountain* this book moved along quickly because it kept me wondering what was going to happen next. The characters, except "the Ghost," were well drawn, likeable, and genuine; and the main character's witty quips made the book interesting. I laughed out loud a couple of times. The main character, Will, and the female characters were particularly well done. Hooray for Harlan Coben! I hope you get a big movie deal out of one of these books.
Rating:
Summary: Coben is superior!
Review: One more time, Harlan Coben has written a superb mystery where every page adds another totally unexpected twist. This book didn't have as many extreme plot turns as his last, "Tell No One," but it is really close. As you have read, the plot revolves around poor Will, who has to be the unluckiest man in love ever. His first love is murdered, his worshipped brother is the suspected killer and has been on the lam for 11 years, his current lover is missing. Can things get much worse? Of course they can because Coben makes up good stuff!! I refuse to say any more about the story because to do so would ruin it for you. Suffice to say, the different story lines become interwoven, and downright creepy. I have followed Coben's writing since his very first novel and, in my humble opinion, he keeps getting better and better. If you only read one or two novels a year, this is a don't miss for sure. If you read hundreds of novels a year, this is one you won't forget. "Gone for Good" is a great read, filled with suspense and the knowledge that Coben won't let you figure it out; he always has one more surprise up his sleeve. And the surprises just keep on coming. Buy it, Read it, Relish it. This book is one of the year's best!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book!
Review: This book is suspense and thrill at its finest novel form. I did not quite like it as much as Tell No One, but it is another excellent book from Coben. If you have read one of his book,s this is a MUST read because it is so good. If you haven't read any Coben books, I suggest you start with this or Tell No One. You will not be able to put it down. Always unexpected twists.
Rating:
Summary: Good heavens!
Review: This is my first Harlan Coben book. WOW, it packs quite a punch. The action is never ending and the plots twists constantly so you never really make up your mind. Ghost was a character I will NEVER forget. Early in the book, man's inhumanity to woman is upsetting and you dont know where to look. I had to put it down several times to catch my breath. What a story! What a writer!.
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