No Second Chance

No Second Chance is a suspenseful thriller that never stops moving. Dr. Marc Seidman wakes up in the hospital after being shot twice to discover his wife dead and his daughter missing. Things get worse. The plot is very complicated, with many colorful characters, some I loved, others I hated. At times, I wasn't sure who the good guys were: the ex-girlfriend that murdered her husband, the junkie sister, the lawyer-best-friend, or crazy Lydia and her Heshy (definitely evil). The conclusion was far-fetched but made for a nice, feel-good ending. I found this book well-written and thoroughly entertaining.

From Amazon:

"When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter..."

Dr. Marc Seidman has been shot twice, his wife has been murdered, and his six-month-old daughter has been kidnapped. When he gets the ransom note-he knows he has only one chance to get this right. But there is nowhere he can turn and no one he can trust.

My Thoughts:

Many times in thrillers, once I know how it ends, I tend to think the characters should have known it sooner or done something differently. Not in this book. The twists flow naturally and the characters all act as they should. If you like a well written mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, you'll like this book. If you're a parent, you'll like this book. If you're a fan of action and show more suspense, you'll like this book. The only problem I had with it was Coben completely changing a characters actions and personality at the end. show less

Marc is a doctor – married, with one little girl, still a baby. He's not sure he loves his wife, Monica, anymore, but he'd do anything for his daughter, Tara. When he is shot, Monica killed, and Tara kidnapped, the hunt is on to find out what happened and where Tara is. Of course, the police, with no other leads, tend to zero in on Marc, himself, as having had something to do with it.

I really liked this. It was fairly fast-paced and I wanted to keep reading. I don't think there were as many twists and turns as some of his more recent books, but I still really enjoyed it. I ended up really liking a surprising ally near the end of the book.

Harlan Coben is a master of the twisty plots! He starts with high drama - Marc is shot, and left for dead, his wife is shot dead, and his baby daughter is missing. Marc wakes up in hospital, with no recollection of what happened - and the hunt begins to find his missing daughter, with the police having him firmly in their sight ( after all, it's the closest that are often the perp, right?)
The story of Lydia and Heshy is spine chilling all on its own, even more as it is mixed with Marc's.
Well written, kept me engaged and looking for answers, lots of puzzle pieces that eventually fit together for an unexpected reveal.

Coben can always be counted on for a thrilling read (once he got away from his sports series) and this one is no exception. Marc Seidman is a surgeon with a pretty good life and a brand new baby girl. Then his wife gets shot and killed, he gets shot and barely makes it and his baby girl is gone. The very end of this story is the only disappointment but by the time I got there, I was so invested that I didn't care.

Recovering from near-fatal gunshot wounds, Doctor Marc Seidman’s world is shattered when he learns that his wife, Monica, is dead and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, is missing. Just when the last vestiges of hope begin to drift away, a ransom note arrives and Marc decides he will do anything, no matter what, to bring his daughter home again.

Strong, well-developed characters and a compulsive plot make this book hard to set aside. Tension underlies the telling of the tale and the reader becomes caught up in the father’s emotional struggles despite his propensity for seriously injudicious actions.

Readers will discover that, with its unexpected plot revelations and a few surprising twists, the story is not at all what they believed show more it to be; the unfolding narrative may strain credulity at times but it never falters in its ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Recommended. show less

Plastic surgeon, Dr Marc Seidman, is eating a granola bar one morning when he's suddenly shot. He never sees the shooter and when he wakes up in the hospital twelve days after surgery, he discovers his wife has been murdered and his baby daughter abducted. Even though he's in really bad shape, the police and FBI suspect he was involved in his wife's death. As soon as he is released from the hospital, kidnappers make a ransom demand. Marc's father-in-law gives him the two million dollars in cash. The kidnappers tell Marc not to call the police because there will be “no second chance”. Marc's lawyer and best friend, Larry, advises him to tell the police anyway and when the kidnappers discover what he's done, they take the cash and show more vanish without returning his daughter, Tara. Eighteen months later he's contacted by the kidnappers, offering him a second chance for another two million dollars. He's still convinced Tara is alive, so his father-in-law provides him with the cash. The story grabs you right from the beginning and you are turning pages so quickly you don't realize how fast you've become involved in the story. There are many great characters, including an ex-girlfriend, a crazy neighbor, and a killer couple headed up by a former child TV star. As the reader heads toward a climactic ending, you'll be on the edge of your seat wondering who shot him, who killed his wife and what happened to his daughter. While not my favorite Harlan Coben novel, it's still one of the best books I've read all month. " show less