Book Review: Just One Look

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Just One Look     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Harlan Coben
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth

Coben continues his parade of stand alone novels, each one featuring a tortured web of unanticipated consequences falling into normal suburban lives, placing ordinary people at risk. The many comparisons to plots of Alfred Hitchcock movies come to mind again with "Just One Look."

Let's see - a mysterious 15 year old snapshot appearing as if out of nowhere, memories of a rock concert gone horribly wrong, a Korean-born bad guy straight out of a James Bond movie, a confusing overlapping set of motives for secrecy and murder, and the calm middle American life of the New Jersey suburbs - what a combo, eh? Hovering just under the surface, of course, are the memories of a recent September morning and the horror of watching the smoke billow from lower Manhattan.

In the end, I don't think this entry quite connects. It's a fast tense read, and I enjoyed the ride, but the motivations and responsibilities for who did what and why remain fairly murky, even after reading the final chapters a second time.

Coben has a firm place on my "don't miss" list, and he hasn't been dislodged, yet! Perlmutter the cop and the computer techie Veronica Baltrus are characters it would be fun to meet again. Perhaps there's another series in the works?

Woodstock - RAM

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