Synopsis
It’s a profile, like the any other at the online dating web site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan notices the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as feelings she’s unnoticed for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is someone she hasn’t seen in 18 years and the person who broke her heart – her ex-fiancee Jeff.
Kat feels a spark, wondering if this could be the instant when past tragedies recede and a new opportunity opens up. But when she reaches out to the man within the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror when a horrifying conspiracy is exposed, where monsters prey upon the most susceptible. Kat’s hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more obscure as the body count mounts and she is obsessed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever treasured in her life – her mother, her previous fiancee or even her father, whose merciless homicide in the past has never been totally solved.
With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must risk going deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, thereby learning whether she has the forte to survive what she finds.
My Take
This is my second book by Harlan Coben. Yes, I haven’t read many books by him. I still have the same feeling about his books like last time. I like the plot, the suspense. Actually I liked almost everything about the book except the style of writing. I just can’t seem to like the way it’s written. Some of the jokes are so lame and the nicknames so weird that I was literally rolling my eyes. Yes, the jokes are meant to be that way and it does say in the book that it is lame. But too many of them is hard to digest for me even if it fits the character.
Other than that, the book is good. Surprisingly I loved the killer’s character. I think this character was the best written in the book rather than the protagonist. This is the character that I wanted to read more about. I was waiting to see what he is going to do next, how he is going to plot his next move. It was these scenes that kept me hooked to the book. The other character that I liked was Brendan’s mother who gets kidnapped. I was really rooting for her and waiting to see whether she escapes. A mother’s anguish and determination is portrayed well and makes us love her. I wish Kat’s character was written this well too. It might have made a huge difference to the book.
My Rating
I would give this book a rating of 3.5⭐. If you like Harlan Coben’s writing, then I would definitely recommend it. Otherwise it’s good for a one time read.
