Gone for Good

Coben writes the Myron Bolitar mystery series, but this title is one of his stand-alone mystery novels. Will is a nice Jewish boy (from the same hometown as Coben) whose brother, Ken, was accused of raping and murdering Will's former girlfriend 11 years earlier. Ken ran and is an international fugitive, yet the authorities are not even sure he's still alive, and felt he had received aid from his family. Their mother is dying from cancer, and on her deathbed tells Will that Ken is still alive. Then Will finds a recent photo of Ken hidden in his mother's room plunging us into a standard Coben novel of twists and turns, and well-drawn characters who come alive, not to mention a shocking surprise. Coben's themes usually involve families show more just going along with their nice little lives then in some way Coben pulls the rug out from under them where they are forced to cope, and re-evaluate their lives and relationships. Think of film director Hitchcock and how he always pulled the average guy into a situation. Coben's novels are rich with detail yet fast-moving. You'll deeply care about some of these characters, heartily detest some, and grieve in spots. show less

In the final lucid moments before her death, Will Klein's mother tells him his older brother, Ken, is still alive. Will doesn't know whether to believe her or not. Ken disappeared eleven years ago, after becoming a suspect in the rape/murder of Will's former girlfriend. Shortly after the funeral Ken's current girlfriend, Sheila, disappears as well. Will and and his best friend begin their own investigation and soon discover Sheila isn't who he thinks she is. Eventually they find a connection between Ken and Sheila. To say anything more would be a spoiler.

What a great book. I was riveted from start to finish. Surprises and twists are scattered throughout the story and just when you feel like you know what's going on, the rug will be show more swept out from underneath your feet. Coben always delivers fascinating characters and both Squares and The Ghost are just phenomenal. Not many writers have such a gift with realistic dialogue. This is an edge of your seat suspense novel and I absolutely recommend it. show less

Coben writes the Myron Bolitar mystery series, but this title is one of his stand-alone mystery novels. Will is a nice Jewish boy (from the same hometown as Coben) whose brother, Ken, was accused of raping and murdering Will's former girlfriend 11 years earlier. Ken ran and is an international fugitive, yet the authorities are not even sure he's still alive, and felt he had received aid from his family. Their mother is dying from cancer, and on her deathbed tells Will that Ken is still alive. Then Will finds a recent photo of Ken hidden in his mother's room plunging us into a standard Coben novel of twists and turns, and well-drawn characters who come alive, not to mention a shocking surprise. Coben's themes usually involve families show more just going along with their nice little lives then in some way Coben pulls the rug out from under them where they are forced to cope, and re-evaluate their lives and relationships. Think of film director Hitchcock and how he always pulled the average guy into a situation. Coben's novels are rich with detail yet fast-moving. You'll deeply care about some of these characters, heartily detest some, and grieve in spots. show less

This book has more twists and turns than a pretzel! As soon as I started reading, I found it hard to put down. Every time I thought I had it figured out, the plot would give me another surprise. The villains and good guys kept changing places, especially at the end, which I did not see coming. I love his characters, but it's really Mr. Coben's easy, frank style of writing that I enjoy. He provides just the right amount of descriptive backstory, action, and humor to keep the story moving forward. I have enjoyed a lot of his other books, but this one I found to be exceptionally entertaining.

An appalling piece of trash. Gone for Good is an overwrought, cliche-ridden mess featuring implausible characters (especially the ex-Nazi KKK yoga instructor who also happens to be best buddies with every important person in the galaxy, and who saves homeless kids, too; I wish I were exaggerating, but if anything I'm understating the ridiculousness of this character; oh, and then there's 'the Ghost' [excellent creativity with the moniker, Harlan], a 'pale assassin' who's so utterly preposterous you won't be able to suppress your giggles, and, hey, I'd better get the hell out of this set of parentheses), a silly, 'here's something I made up I'll bet you never thought would happen' plot, and endless, excruciating passages about feelings. show more Just about every character in the book, especially the protagonist, spends loooong stretches crying, sniveling, moaning, holding someone desperately just to survive, and then bawling some more. I can't even begin to grasp the reasons for Coben's popularity. show less

"As a boy, Will Klein had a hero: his older brother, Ken. Then, on a warm suburban night in the Kleins’ affluent New Jersey neighborhood, a young woman—a girl Will had once loved—was found brutally murdered in her family’s basement. The prime suspect: Ken Klein. With the evidence against him overwhelming, Ken simply vanished. And when his shattered family never heard from Ken again, they were sure he was gone for good.

Now eleven years have passed. Will has found proof that Ken is alive. And this is just the first in a series of stunning revelations as Will is forced to confront startling truths about his brother—and himself. As a violent mystery unwinds around him, Will knows he must press his search all the way to the end. show more Because the most powerful surprises are yet to come."
The master of twists and turns does it again. As always, you are lead down a path and you think you are figuring things out. But no! The path turns into a weed-thickened trail that leads into a rabbit hole that then spits you out into an abyss. A tremendously enjoyable ride that should be taken by everyone who loves a great plot. show less

Harlan Coben is a best selling author. He is also a prolific writer. So why haven’t I read anything by him before???

The book was immediately good. It was well written, the pacing was spot on, the characters were believable, and more important, like-able. But I just couldn’t get settled in. At one point I even thought to myself, ‘This is a very guy book,’ which is absurd, because there are tons of ‘guy’ books that I love. Then I realized – there’s something about the way this book is written that is intimate. Not in a romantic sense, but in a the writer considers you a friend way, which I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced before. Once I was able to put my finger on it, I settled comfortably into the story. (Apparently, show more my stranger danger alarm from childhood is still ridiculously high.)

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more by Coben. I’m not even going to touch on the plot because there were a couple of twists that I never suspected, which rarely ever happens. I love being blindsided!!! More, please. Highly recommend. 5 stars. show less