Gone For Good

Rating:
Summary: Review for the best book
Review: This novel is pretty much a regurgitated version of "Tell No One", and all of Coben's subsequent novels have been the same way. I think that Coben, whose Myron Bolitar novels didn't do nearly as well as his new books have been doing, has finally discovered the niche that will get his books sold the fastest, and so he has been rehashing the same plot and characters, putting them into slightly different situations, and cranking out more generic Coben thrillers. If you disagree with me and think that each new Coben book is more original than the last, let me give you a breakdown of the formula he uses and tell me if I'm wrong.

Our hero -- a wimpy, yet intelligent and good-hearted guy -- has lost someone close to him and has never quite gotten over it. Suddenly, he receives a message which leads him to believe that the person he thought he lost is in fact still alive. Coincidently enough, he becomes the target of evil, James Bond-esque bad guys (complete with the typical invincible assassin who is all-knowing and all-powerful) who have some unfinished business involving the hero's lost loved one and believe he can lead them to him/her. The hero enlists the aid of his hard-hitting, invincible partner that acts as the hero's deus ex machina throughout the story (a deus ex machina being a literary plot device that enables the hero to escape from seemingly impossible situations whenever the author can't think of a more original way to get him out of said situations). With the bone-headed FBI agents who believe the hero to be guilty of wrongdoing hot on his trail, the hero eventually manages to save the day and get the bad guys, and in the end is reunited with his loved one. Then, after all is said and done, Coben throws in some bizarre, obtuse and unnecessarily complicated twist that makes the readers go "Ooooh, why didn't I think of that?"

Well, the reason you didn't think of it is because only the author, who knows all the angles of the story he's writing, could have thought of it because he's the one writing it. It just doesn't seem right to have a Harlan Coben novel that doesn't end with a stupid twist. Back when he was writing Myron books, Coben was actually good at the craft of using twist endings, but he eventually lost it after he decided to start writing commercialized, housewife-appealing thrillers with no substance and the same recycled plot over and over again.

If you are a true Harlan Coben fan, stick to his Myron Bolitar books, which didn't try to be cliche so that they would appeal to the mass market of people who don't mind if the books they read are all alike. I find it somewhat ironic, because Coben frequently makes evident the fact that he despises all things cliche, as he always pokes fun at them in his writing. Well, for all his claims, Coben has become the definition of cliche by selling out and cranking out generic Hollywood thrillers again and again and again.

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: 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!.

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.