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Olivia thought again about how the abused always take the path of self-destruction. They simply could not stop themselves. They take it no matter what the consequences, no matter what the danger. Or maybe, as in her case, they take it for the opposite reason \u2013 because no matter how much life has tried to beat them down, they cannot let go of hope.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Another Harlan Coben book<\/strong> in my current little Coben binge. I didn\u2019t love this one, The Innocent<\/a><\/em>, quite as much as I loved Caught<\/em>, which I reviewed a couple inches down the page. But it\u2019s still a superior book.<\/p>\n
Matt Hunter is an ex-con who works as a paralegal. He served a sentence for manslaughter. He\u2019s married to a beautiful woman, Olivia, and they\u2019re deeply in love with each other. She\u2019s just learned she\u2019s pregnant.<\/p>\n
And their life is a lie. Olivia isn\u2019t who she says she is.<\/p>\n
A nun in a nearby Catholic school is murdered in her room. Police find phone records linking her to Matt\u2019s family. Olivia goes away on a \u201cbusiness trip,\u201d and Matt gets a video on his cell phone, showing her in a bedroom with another man.<\/p>\n
Matt sets about finding out the truth \u2013 and he refuses to believe Olivia has betrayed him.<\/p>\n
The plot is convoluted. The characters are numerous and textured, sometimes surprising us as is Cobin\u2019s style (and I like that). We visit the sordid world of \u201cexotic\u201d dancing, which is not pretty. But the conclusion moved me as much as that of any novel I\u2019ve read in a while.<\/p>\n
Recommended. Cautions for violence (but not explicit), sexual situations (also not explicit), and only mild profanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Olivia thought again about how the abused always take the path of self-destruction. They simply could not stop themselves. They take it no matter what the consequences, no matter what the danger. Or maybe, as in her case, they take it for the opposite reason \u2013 because no matter how much life has tried to … Continue reading ‘The Innocent,’ by Harlan Coben<\/span>