May 7, 2001
Every writer likes to stretch his legs, and here Coben, author of seven acclaimed Myron Bolitar mysteries (Darkest Fear, etc.), stretches his. He doesn't quite kick his reputation aside in the process. This thriller, Coben's first non-Bolitar novel, is a breezy enough read, but it's not up to snuff. It's got a nifty setup, though. David Beck and Elizabeth Parker, just-married childhood sweethearts, are vacationing at the Beck family retreat when Beck is knocked unconscious and Elizabeth is kidnapped. Cut to eight years later: Beck is a young physician working with ghetto kids in Manhattan, and Elizabeth, we learn, is dead, victim of a serial killer known as KillRoy. Or is she? For immediately after two bodies eight years old are uncovered on the Beck land, Beck receives a series of e-mails apparently from Elizabeth. His frantic search to find out if she lives dovetails with the equally frenzied efforts of cops to pin Elizabeth's murder on Beck, as well as the antic moves of a mysterious billionaire—an old friend of the Beck family—and his two hired thugs to frame Beck for that murder. Beck finds himself a man on the run from the cops—his only ally a black drug dealer whose child he's treating for hemophilia—caught in an overcomplicated tangle of lies and vengeance. Coben knows how to move pages, and he generates considerable suspense, but there's little new here. The narrative style is cloned from James Patterson, alternating first-person with third. The villains, particularly the billionaire and a Chinese martial artist, are as old as mid–Elmore Leonard or even Chandler. The black drug dealer isn't a character, he's a plot device, and the climax packs the emotional wallop of a strong episode of The Rockford Files. (June 19)Forecast:Heavy-hitting blurbs from Jeffery Deaver and Phillip Margolin, among others, indicate more about the solidarity of the mystery community than about this book's excellence, but should attract browsers. The publisher will pitch this as a summer beach read, and it's not a bad one. In fact, it may outsell Coben's mysteries, despite its flaws.

February 1, 2001
Coben briefly abandons protagonist Myron Bolitar for this story of a man who lost his bride to a serial killer, only to find himself implicated in her murder eight years later.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2001
Adult/High School-Dr. David Beck's wife was murdered by a serial killer, or so the police told him. After eight years of struggles with his grief, on the anniversary of their first kiss, a message appears on David's home computer, a phrase he shared only with her. A current, digital image of Elizabeth follows and David's hopes soar that she is alive. His search for her is hampered by the FBI, who consider him a suspect in her death, and by a billionaire whose son plays a role in the plot. Coben has written a gripping thriller with page-turning suspense and enough humor to break the tension on occasion. His use of state-of-the-art technological devices to move the story along will keep YAs reading. Those familiar with Coben's "Myron Bolitar" series (Dell) will welcome his new protagonist.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2001
This thriller moves from heartbreaking to heartstopping without missing a beat. A young couple takes a moonlight swim at their family's lakeside property. The wife swims to the dock. The husband's reverie is broken by a scream and the sight of his wife struggling. The husband, once he flails to the dock, is knocked unconscious. His wife is viciously branded and murdered. Eight years later, Dr. David Beck, a walk-on in his own life, gets a call from the sheriff saying that two bodies have been found buried near the lake. Something buried with the bodies links them to Beck. And Beck receives an e-mail on his anniversary, directing him to a Web street camera. His wife appears, pleading with him to tell no one he's seen her again. Edgar winner Coben makes Beck (and the reader) walk a tightrope where one false move or word can spell doom. A technologically savvy thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)