A fun read that I had a hard time putting down. ( )

I thought this was a pretty dark mystery, where nothing seems to be certain. People died, ... or did they? There are bad guys, ... but are they really? And are the good guys really good? What's more important, family or justice? All are good questions, but the answers are not always so good, or even so certain. Most of them get answered in the end, but some are left as an exercise for the reader.

The story starts out with a prosecutor trying a case involving a poor black teenaged prostitute/stripper who has accused a couple of rich white college boys of rape. The prosecutor is certain of his responsibility, which is justice for the girl. But the father of one of the boys is willing to go to great lengths to keep his son out of jail, and has the resources to do this.

However, it seems that in his quest for fighting back, he opens a can of worms that can never be closed, and that is the rest of the story.

My first book by this author, but I'm sure I'll read more. There was a bit of humor that kept it from getting too depressing, and some social concepts worth thinking about. The ending was a little unsatisfying in some ways, which is to say that I don't thing everyone lived happily ever after, but if you want, you can imagine that they did since he doesn't really say exactly what happens to everyone. ( )

This is my first book by Coben, and gosh where do I start?

I have had a thriller/mystery itch the past month or so, and this book really hit the spot in that regard. I started this book on a whim, and it certainly hit the spot! This book sunk its hooks into me after chapter 1, and did not let go until the end. I liked Coben's writing style and the pacing. The side plots did not feel like they pulled away from the main plot or like filler. They actually helped buffer the pacing for the main plot quite nicely. I could not just casually read this book, and found it was a nice page turner!

At some points I did find the main character a little annoying, but not every protagonist isn't meant to be loveable (though it is a little heavy handed with the "oh woe is me!" theatrics sometimes). Probably the main reason for this book getting four stars instead of five is that the ending twisted around a little too much for me. At first a twist would seem interesting, but then the resolution seemed just a bit over the top and outlandish. Without spoiling anything, there are some parts I would have been fine not happening and still have reached the main conclusion of the story and felt just as content.

Despite this, I still found this to be a fun read. If you're looking for something fun and fast paced, then this book might be for you. ( )

This was a good easy read. I was a little worried in the beginning that the murderer was obvious but there were enough twists to keep me entertained. ( )

There were a lot of different strands to this novel, and I got a bit lost in the KGB ones. Things came together in rather a rush at the end. I thought the final twist was excellent, although the last paragraph was corny. ( )