Rating: 
Summary: "Murder She Wrote" for more sophisticated readers.......
Review: Coben may have left his "series" detective stories behind -- but he has written all four of his "stand alone" mysteries following a formula as familiar as the world of an oft revisted detective. "Gone For Good", "No 2nd Chance", "Tell No One" and "Just One Look" all have common plot threads.#1 Coben Plot Device: Missing immediate family member and frantic search for him/her -- #2: A marriage or significant romantic relationship torn apart -- #3: Menacing inhuman hit man -- #4: Suburban New Jersey setting with tons of local references for Jersey/NYC readers -- #5: Close relative with an agenda the protagonist knows nothing about -- #6: A mob related character who may not or may not be as evil as he seems.... The list really goes on. While some common elements from book to book can be expected -- Coben is simply mining the same territory and shuffling details to tell something close to the same story each time. Still, I have to say -- I did not completely predict the ending of this novel and that is to Coben's credit. However, without giving final outcome away I will say that many readers -- especially female mystery readers -- will not be satisfied with the conclusion of this book. Kudos here for creating a female protagonist with the normal soccer Mom issues -- instead of the usual lone wolf female hero seen in so many detective/suspense novels. Too bad she is knee deep in so many plot detours and convolutions. Coben is still a cut above the average mystery writer -- but faithful readers will not find anything new in this latest offering. It simply doesn't live up to his previous novels.
Rating: 
Summary: The average woman caught up in a nightmare scenario
Review: If I were ever to write a book I would want to write a suspense novel about a normal person caught up into a life and death struggle beyond their control. Twists and turns of the plot would be a prerequisite with surprises galore. I would take great pains in creating the main character as the neighbor next store- no special forces agent or high powered political bigwig- just the sort of person who worries about making dinner for the family or having the time to go to the kid's soccer game. Yes, books just like what Harlan Coben currently writes.
In this latest thriller, average housewife, Grace Lawson is picking up photos from her local photo developing stand. The packet, however, contains an old photo purportedly of her husband, Jack, and several other people. When she shows it to her husband, he denies that it is him. Yet, that night he disappears. Grace is determined to find out what happened to Jack. Her search takes her directly into the path of a killing machine called Eric Wu (who the reader might remember from TELL NO ONE, however, this time sans the even more terrifying Larry Gandle). At stake is not only her own life but those of her husband and children.
Harlan has, once again, penned a novel that reaches to the underlying terror that lies deep in the heart of every person. JUST ONE LOOK has as its main protagonist a female ( a bit of a change for Harlan). He explores how a simple event like picking up family photos can lead into something way beyond what an average person faces. Characters are thoughtfully created with such care that even those with only minutes left to live are fully realized with complete pasts. (Eric Wu, however, is a bit of a stretch.)
Harlan, for many years, has written an excellent series starring Myron Bolitar, a sports agent cum PI. They were amusing books but all of them had a bite to them. They were definitely not about sports. Now Harlan is into these standalones of which JUST ONE LOOK is the fourth. TELL NO ONE is definitely his breakout book and catapulted him onto the bestseller lists internationally. He has a lucrative contract way beyond his wildest dreams and legions of readers. These books are good and solid entertainments. They are well worth purchasing and reading on planes and by the pool. I would compare his work to that of Cornell Woolrich --the everyman placed into a perilous situation. However, I still feel his best work lies in the old Bolitar series. It was in that setting that he so effectively probed the darkness that lies in the heart of man. I know he has one or two more books to write on this current contract. However, I hope he goes back to his roots by writing about truly sympathetic characters that use self deprecating humor as a means of combating life threatening danger. You wouldn't know it by reading these books but Harlan is a very funny man. As his readership grows, however, I really don't see that happening.
Rating: 
Summary: Another roller coaster ride!!!!!!!
Review: Harlan Coben, well known for his series featuring Myron Bolitar sports agent AKA as detective, has written four stand alone books. Previously I read the first three titles, Tell No One, Gone for Good and No Second Chance and found them somewhat remarkably similar but good and exciting reads. His latest book Just One Look again is a roller coaster ride when a woman picks up freshly developed photos from a Photomat and events begin to spiral out of control jeopardizing her husband and family. As in his other books, events from the past catch up with the presnt and the reader doesn't know who or what to believe as the good guys and bad guys change from minute to minute and the characters become more and more interesting. As in Coben's other books, though, I found each stand alone a bit more and more convolutd and by page 300 of this one I was tired of trying to figure out what was going on. I went with the flow and finished it up not really bothering to figure everything out to my liking. I do think if you've never read Coben you may find this to be a very exciting book but I am getting a bit tired of his far fetched plots. I did in the end rate it with a B since it had a few good moments but just not enough. My favorite that he's written so far continues to be Gone for Good. I would certainly recommend that title as well as his first stand alone, Tell No One.
Rating:
Summary: Avid Reader, Big Harlan Coben Fan
Review: Although it's tough to write, I was a disappointed in Just One Look. I'm a huge fan of Harlan Coben. I've read all his books including his first two before the Myron series that are out of print. Someone Just One Look seemed hurried? Not as well thought out as his other books? I'm not sure exactly, but I definitely agree with others, that there were too many characters and I didn't wind up caring as much about the main characters as I have always done in previous books. I would have liked to know more about the main characters (especially Grace's husband Jack) and less about the many secondary characters. Grace and Jack needed more back story, more to give the reader's a reason to root for them. Gone for Good, gripped you and kept you turning pages from the first sentence. Just One Look was good, better than alot of what is out there, but it was much easier to put down without having to know what happens next. I know 4 stars probably sounds high for this review, but it was still good, I still recommend it, just not as highly as previous books. The references to characters from past books is fun. I was was surprised and pleased by those.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not Coben's best
Review: I agree with an earlier reviewer (Check out Bobbewig review) that this book is entertaining but it does have some problems.
I do not think it is as good as "Tell No One" or "Gone For Good". There are too many characters and none of them are as well developed as I'd Like. Plus it get s confusing after awhile It also does not have he originality of Cobens earlier works. All in all it is still better then Most the junk I read so do not let my negative comments turn you away I am just picky. I also recommend "A Tourist In the Yucatan" fun thriller!
Rating:
Summary: WORTH READING...AFTER OTHERS
Review: I became a Coben fan after reading _Tell No One_ & (my favorite!) _Gone For Good_. In _Just One Look_, Coben continues his husband-and-wife-something-in-the-past story line (to say nothing of his bright-colored book covers/jackets)--although it (story line) is not as (barring believable) magnetic. However, there is the "Cobin-ending," but nothing as gripping as the two previous books. Futher frustrating, there are too many characters directly (or indirectly) involved in the protagonist's struggle to find the truth--(the past and her husband), which complicates and obfuscates the plot. Always Cobin, though, leave it to him to pen stimulating end-of-chapter hooks, just enough to MAKE you turn the page...and another.... Nothwithstanding the three stars, I quasi-enjoyed reading it & would recommend this novel, but only AFTER reading (in this order) _Gone For Good_ & _Tell No One_, both of which I assigned 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining...But!
Review: I've been a big fan of Coben's books since the Myron Bolitar series. His latest, Just One Look, is a book you won't be able to put down and will keep you in suspense from the very beginning to the very end. It is well worth reading. With that said, Just One Look, on a comparative basis, ranks a notch below two of his other stand-alones -- Tell No One and Gone For Good. While the main character, Grace, is well-developed, the more secondary characters -- and there are so many of them you need a scorecard to keep track of them -- are not particularly well-developed. Further, I had some credibility issues with some of them. The basic plot is a simple and interesting one -- a suburban housewife picks up some photos from the store, one of which is an old print depicting her husband with other people from his college days. When the wife shows the photo to her husband, he leaves home and disappears. When the wife soon learns that her husband has been kidnapped, she goes off to search for him. While this plot is suspenseful, it is not especially original, as Coben has used some of his plot devices in his other stand-alones. For example, the concept in Coben's three previous books is one in which the main character's happy life is upended by some event that the reader can easily relate to, and the use of a kidnapped family member was a key factor in Coben's last book, No Second Chance. So, I'm starting to miss some of the originality that I'd come to expect from Coben. Perhaps, he needs to take a step back and have his next book or two feature the main character, Myron Bolitor, from his excellent mystery series. As mentioned above, Just One Look has many characters that at times makes it difficult to remember who's who. However, Coben does neatly tie all the loose strings together involving these characters and who did what to who at the end. Please understand that my criticisms are not MAJOR ones and should NOT deter you from reading this book, especially if this is your first book by Coben. Coben remains one of my favorite authors and I think he'll be one of yours as well.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST ONE YET??? YES
Review: So many authors' books get tiresome and repetitive after you read a few of them-but not Harlan Coben! Just One Look is his most masterful thriller yet. As always, I pick up one of his book late at night hoping to read 50 pages before going to bed, and end up staying up all night (and being a wreck at work) because I have to stay up and finish it. Great characters, the most intersting and credible plot yet, more twists and turns than Space Mountain, my only regret about this book was that it ended and I had to read other authors. I wont do a plot summary since there are many others, but let me say that this is THE BEST HARLAN COBEN YET!!!!! I only wish I didnt have to wait a year for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: superb crime thriller
Review: Grace Lawson met her husband while in France and for her it was déjà vu, a feeling that he was her soulmate and logically he felt the same way to. They married and moved back to the states and are living in their own home with their beautiful children. They are very happy together until the day Grace goes to the photo store to pick up some pictures they developed. One of them doesn't belong with the rest. It is a picture of two young women and three men taken a couple of decades ago and she thinks one of the men in the photo is Jack. When she shows him the picture, he stonewalls her by going into another room and shortly after he drives away from the house. Grace waits for him to return, but he never comes home so she goes to the police. Jack calls her using a code word to tell her he's in trouble. The man who kidnapped Jack also killed many others and he isn't hesitating to murder Grace if she keeps on asking questions. Harlan Coben writes a superb crime thriller using so many red herrings, twists and turns that readers keep their eyes glued to the pages trying to figure out who is after whom and who is the mastermind calling the shots. The heroine is a strong willed person who refuses, even in the face of threats, to stop looking for her husband though one must wonder about the safety of the children. When she does find him, it is in less than ideal circumstances. JUST ONE LOOK is one of the most satisfying crime thrillers of 2004. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A MUST read page-turner!
Review: Grace Lawson is your typical suburban mother until a newly developed roll of film turns her world upside down. In the stack of pictures is a strange photo of five people: four that Grace doesn't recognize but the fifth resembles her husband Jack. Grace shows the picture to her husband, but he denies being the man in the photo, although he is obviously rattled by it. Grace goes to bed unsure of what to think about the photo and awakes to an empty bed...Jack left in the night and has not returned. Grace goes to the police for help, but finds it pointless as they think her husband just left her. Knowing she must look for her husband on her own, Grace starts tracking her husband's steps and finds several suspicious phone calls placed days before his disappearance; one to the sister Grace didn't know he had, and another to a man who has since been murdered. The deeper Grace digs she realizes that she knew nothing about the man she married, and the only way to learn the truth is to confront her own dark past. 'Just One Look' is a secret filled thrill-ride that will have you reading well into the night. From the exciting opening to the stunning conclusion you will be held spellbound by a thriller that doesn't quit. The story moves with gale force and is packed with twists, turns, and surprises galore all blended together by Harlen Coben's smooth writing style. Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors and his long list of excellent novels just got longer with the addition of 'Just One Look', his newest blockbuster. Expect to see 'Just One Look' on all the bestseller lists. A definite MUST read! Nick Gonnella
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