Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe—who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband—and herself.

This is one of those times where I’m not sure whether I should thank the person who recommended Harlan Coben to me or yell at them. Since it was my daughter, I guess I’ll cut her some slack. 😀

Seriously, after only reading two books by this author and I’ve already realized that you can’t second guess or predict or even try to figure out where the story’s going. I figured that out after reading Hold Tight – that opinion was reinforced after reading Fool Me Once.

Unfortunately, because of the twists, turns and total craziness that’s centered around Maya and the secrets from her past – kept by both her and others – I can’t say too much. Just know that nothing is quite what it seems and it’s really hard to know who to trust.

I might be a gluten for punishment, but I’ve got a couple more Harlan Coben books on my TBR list. I might need a break from all this intense suspense for a little while though, but I’m sure it won’t be long before I pick the next one up. 😉

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill – the latest in a string of issues at school – they can’t help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer, and within days they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son – ‘Just stay quiet and all safe.’
Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son’s death and he wasn’t alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera’s range; but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community. For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this: when it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?

Hold Tight marks another book knocked off my physical book shelf. One that I’m ashamed to say that I’ve had for YEARS (I’ve got a couple more of those BTW.) It’s also my first Harlan Cobin book and I’m not sure what took me so long to finally pick it up, but now that I have there’s no turning back. I’ve since purchased another and my daughter (who is a huge fan and thrilled that I FINALLY started reading one of her favorite authors) has lent me a couple more.

I’m not sure what I expected from Hold Tight, but the whole story took me totally by surprise. The story started with Tia and Mike and their son, but it went way beyond just them. As the story progressed, it wove between several others as well. At first it seemed like there wasn’t any connection between the individual “stories” at all, but then… sorry, but it’s definitely something that you have to experience yourself.

This is one of those books with so many twists and turns that you really have to pay attention. It’s also one that you may think you have figured out, but discover nothing is quite what it seems. I have to admit that Hold Tight had me worried more than once about the fate of more than one character. There was also more than one “bad guy” thrown into the mix. It definitely kept things more than a little interesting. As nail biting and crazy as Hold Tight was, I can’t wait for more from this author. 😉