Review: Just One Look

I once remarked that the complexity of Harlan Coben’s plots could be a marketing opportunity for Aspirin, and his latest ‘Just One Look’ is his most convoluted to date. Continuing the theme of a suburban family having the rug pulled from under their coffee-table lives, we have Coben trying to outdo his last book (’No Second Chance’), and boy what a ride we have. It opens in trade-marked Coben style, with a prison meeting that will have consequences far beyond the turreted walls. Meanwhile back in suburbia, Grace Lawson is living an idyllic life with her husband Jack and their beautiful children, when their lives are disrupted by the chance glimpse at a mysterious snapshot. Jack runs from the past, while Grace wants to find out what made Jack run, and why the photograph had him spooked. But before you can say ‘Windsor Horne-Lockwood the third’, we have a gonzo chase thriller racing ahead like an out-of-control freight train. I heard that ‘No Second Chance’ – Coben’s last thriller missed the #1 position in the UK Hardcover charts by only a handful of copies sold. This one is destined for #1, even if it had me reaching for the Aspirin. ‘Just One Look’ follows Coben’s recent formula, which is how secrets and lies are always concealed beneath the normalcy of a suburban life – but it is crowd-pleasing fare, and a very fast and complicated tale. It features a death-row confession (or is it?), a kidnap (or is it?), a rock concert stampede that went terribly wrong (or did it?), an attorney who is hiding the truth (or is the truth a lie?), and no one can be trusted (or can they?) as Grace’s world unravels (or does it?). This book raises more questions than a final term paper and perhaps it might be handy having a notepad handy as you read it, or perhaps my memory is not what it used to be (or is it?), either way, Coben manages to solve the tale magically.

The complexity of the tale and how Coben manages to knit it together at the end is a marvel to behold. I think that Coben could be in trouble with the Fisheries commission due to the amount of red-herrings he has added in the plot (over quota?). The main baddie like his ancestors (from Coben novels), Eric Wu is as evil as they come and despite my moments of confusion, I marvel at Coben’s talent, because this book is like solving a giant jigsaw puzzle blindfolded. I only wish Harlan would return to the less complex world of Myron Bolitar and Win, but while he can churn out these literary versions of amphetamine tablets, why should he? Apart from trying to gain a percentage from Aspirin sales? Top notch from the man with the fastest plots in the west (but how will he top this one?)

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Ali Karim - RAM

Mysteries

Book Review: Just One Look