![\"Stay](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51a7WnHbu0L.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I reviewed a miniseries<\/strong> created by Harlan Coben a few days back, and so I decided to read a couple more Coben novels. Stay Close<\/a><\/em> was the first. Although it doesn\u2019t follow the usual template for a Coben stand-alone, it had all the familiar elements. And you won\u2019t hear me complaining.<\/p>\n We start with Ray Levine, an Atlantic City photographer at the bottom of his profession. Once a promising photojournalist, a traumatic event several years ago left him adrift. Now he\u2019s \u2013 not a paparazzo \u2013 but a fake <\/em>paparazzo. He follows the customers around with a camera, trying to make them feel like big shots on important days in their lives.<\/p>\n And then he gets a glimpse of Megan Pierce. Ray was in love with Megan once, when she was a stripper he knew as \u201cCassie.\u201d Megan is a suburban wife now, with a pretty good life. Only sometimes she misses the excitement of the old days. And when she makes a discreet visit to a bar where she used to dance, she gets some very dangerous people furiously trying to locate her.<\/p>\n Finally there\u2019s Broome, an old detective trying to solve old mysteries. All of these people have theories about a particular missing persons case. All their theories are wrong. The truth will shock them and put their lives, and those of their loved ones, at risk.<\/p>\n Harlan Coben excels at creating layered, relatable characters. Even the bad guys are understandable, and sometimes almost sympathetic. Except for a couple characters in this book who seemed over the top to me. A sociopathic couple who work as a hit team, and are apparently Mormon missionaries (or something similar) in their off hours. I found them a little hard to swallow.<\/p>\n But the book was exciting \u2013 in fact it was one of those I had to take in small doses, because of the constant peril to innocent people \u2013 and the conclusion was satisfying. Recommended with the usual cautions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I reviewed a miniseries created by Harlan Coben a few days back, and so I decided to read a couple more Coben novels. Stay Close was the first. Although it doesn\u2019t follow the usual template for a Coben stand-alone, it had all the familiar elements. And you won\u2019t hear me complaining. We start with Ray … Continue reading ‘Stay Close,’ by Harlan Coben<\/span>