No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Read as an audio book.

One thing I've learned about Coben's stand alone books is, while they are somewhat formulaic, *I* still have to read/listen to the last disk first in order to enjoy the book. Only then can I get through the CD's without throwing them out the window in sheer agitation. Kudo's to the author for being able to illicit that kind of response. Not the kind of response *I* particularly enjoy, but, there it is.

To greatly simplify: Dr. Mark Schneider awakes in the hospital. Last thing he remembers is eating a granola bar over the sink. He finds out he was shot, left for dead, and saved by the paramedics. But this comes at a price: his daughter is missing, his wife is dead, and his drug-addict sister is wanted and missing.

Larry, his best friend and a respected lawyer, warns him not to talk to the police. Mark doesn't heed that advise and finds himself suspect number one despite his assertion of innocence. A kidnapping ransom finally appears at the father-in-laws house, and from there, everything spirals out of control.

Convoluted? Completely. This plot spans nearly two years. Believable? Mmmm.... yeah. For the most part.

A few items popped out at me as I was listening:

• The phrase "I don't understand" is overused to the point of redundancy.  I would dearly love to see a phrase count for "I don't understand" in one of Coben's books.  Makes me cringe to even hear it now.  
• At one point in the book, someone was explaining DNA testing to Mark.  He made a comment about not understanding DNA - he's a DOCTOR.  How could he not understand at least the rudimentary aspects of DNA? 
• I really disliked Reagan and Tickner (Bob and Lloyd).  It felt to me as if they latched on to one theory and refused to acknowledge anything else (perhaps that's what agents/detectives do IRL?  To be a bit snarky, Harry Bosch doesn't, Davenport doesn't...).   Then they latched on to a different theory to the exclusion anything else, except for the possibility of theory one.  I think this was intended to add to the dramatic tension the book; it only added to my annoyance.  

Overall an engaging read, one that pulls the listener in and kept me happily occupied (especially once I knew the ending) during my commute. I find Mr. Coben's observations on society fascinating: he's always dropping these very insightful little nuggets about people's habits and outlooks.

Recommended if you like Coben. Not a bad book to start with if you haven't yet dabbled in his stand alone books.


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