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This was a great read, well plotted and full of some interesting but rather unsavoury characters. I can’t say I liked any of the main protagonists although I did feel sorry for Becca’s predicament and my sympathy increased as the book progressed. Delfina was particularly nasty and I was really hoping she wouldn’t evade justice! I've not read many of this author's books and that's not for want of trying to fit them into an already bulging TBR but, what I have read had been top notch. I really do need to get my act together! Yes, exactly. He can’t be one hundred per cent sure because, like everyone else, he’s convinced she’s dead, but he looks into it more deeply and he opens up a real can of worms, finding out first that she is still alive (although in hiding), and then that he’s being set up for her murder. People around him start dying and he finds himself on the run. It’s a hugely pacy book, with short chapters and a whole load of twists and turns. You always think you know what is going to happen but then Coben produces another twist and once again you don’t know where you are. And he manages to carry this on right the way through the book, which is no mean feat. Although you’ll get different answers from different people, for me I think that a thriller is more plot-related. Characterisation is important but I think less so than the plot. Pace is also essential in a thriller, whereas it doesn’t have to be in a regular crime novel. Clearly there are crime novels which have pace as well but the mix tends to be more focused towards characterisation.
I highly recommend this thriller- if you’ve read other books by Simon you’ll love this and if you haven’t it’s a perfect one to start with. Five stars from me. There are some good twists along the way that worked well for me - some of the recent 'twist masters'' works have felt like they just want to add one after another after another to the point you find them so contrived it's spoils the story. Here, they're relevant, appropriate and germane to the overall plot. This was the first book from my Harrogate haul. Not out until October but get this on your TBR! It's really hard to describe the plot as it soon spirals into something I was swept away with, But let's just say there are a lof of people in this book who lie or who don't know what they're saying. The storyline builds, the tension and suspense mounts as nefarious, savoury and unscrupulous characters try to do their worst. The ending is excellent, methinks just desserts?? Maybe, maybe not.I enjoyed The First 48 Hours as it is a clever novel with plenty of twists and turns. I did not find it as gripping as I thought it would be and that is due, I think, to the continually changing point of view. The majority of the novel is told in the first person from the first person perspective of a morally ambiguous detective, Fish with the lawyer, the couple and some other characters making contributions as and when required.
The opening scene in an empty barn is one of the most chilling I have ever read and that includes Scandi fiction!The First 48 Hours is no exception with an opening chapter that subverts expectations straight away.
It is the first of his books that I have come across, but I trust it will not be the last. Read it if you enjoy complicated storylines well-handled, multiple plot twists, continuous tension, and a satisfying ending without annoying plot devices that involve reaching too far. Newly engaged Elena Serenko has just made the life-changing decision to quit her job and start a new life in Australia. High up amongst the penthouse suites, a skilled and dangerous killer is hunting a quarry who's eluded him for far too long. This is a brilliant book because it turns crime fiction on its head. It is a story told by a retired detective to a crime writer who has just given a lecture on crime writing at a police conference. The detective is talking about one of his former colleagues and how he became obsessed with this case about a little girl who was found murdered in some woods on the outskirts of a small Swiss town in the 1950s. The detective who finds the girl was just about to leave his job to go and work overseas, but he makes a promise – a pledge – to the girl’s parents that he will find her killer and bring him to justice, and that pledge takes over his life. It is an immensely moving scene when he talks to the girl’s parents, and very difficult to read. I can’t say that I liked any of the characters, with perhaps the exception of the lawyer, Becca, as she is a victim too, but even then, what she chooses to do is not sympathetic. This makes it difficult to identify with them and get caught up in their plights.Becca is a barrister asked to defend killers and seemingly impervious to the fact she might be getting guilty criminals off scot free. When something awful happens to her daughter she is forced to choose between her family and her personal belief in the law- how far will she go to protect her own flesh and blood? The three threads and characters all stood out and all were very distinctive from each other. The detective, the mother, the missing child and the couple in the funeral home. Blimey when you see how it all goes down and how they all come together. The book that really stood out for me in this excellent series is A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, in which Scudder is hired to find out whether a guy has murdered his wife or not. Basically the man and his wife were supposedly ambushed in their apartment by a couple of burglars who they disturbed after a night out. The man was beaten and his wife was murdered. The wife’s brother suspects that there is something amiss and thinks that the husband is responsible, so he hires Scudder to look into it and we soon find ourselves in the real dark underbelly of New York. The story involves multiple POV, and three apparently unrelated plot lines which intersect smoothly at the right point. This is a writer clearly experienced with delivering a gripping and unusual story, which is remarkably hard to put down. A group of kidnappers, and a crooked cop who knows how the system works is also on the investigation team.
The book then moves to a completely different character, Becca Barraclough, a successful defense barrister who believes that everyone deserves the best defense possible, no matter what they've been accused of. It's her job to try and plant reasonable doubt in the jury's mind. You immediately wonder how Becca's storyline is connected to the Vanishers, and then her daughter is kidnapped. This time around it isn't money that the kidnappers demand. I love this book; this really is a thriller, and a beautifully written one. For me, Dennis Lehane is one of the best American thriller writers alive today. This is one of his early books from his Kenzie and Gennaro series – a male and female partnership of private investigators based in Boston. He wrote five books featuring them in the 1990s. You often talk to police officers as part of your research – so do you agree with the book’s theory? The story revolves around a detective hunting down cold-blooded killers, but as the plot unfolds, you begin to question whether he knows more than he's letting on. Alongside him is a mother who must defend a murderer to protect her kidnapped daughter. The moral dilemmas and tension in this situation are palpable. And then there's a cunning couple attempting the perfect crime. Tell me about your next book, Tell No One by Harlan Coben, which sounds like a very tense thriller and is all about a doctor losing (or is it finding) his wife?It is well-known to most thriller readers (as well as the relevant authorities) that the first 48 hours is critical in any criminal investigation involving a disappearance or kidnapping. This book is a fast-paced examination of those critical hours in the case of a child who has been kidnapped by a professional ring known as The Vanishers. The style of writing is lively, engaging and colourful with scenes springing to life before your eyes. I like the contrast between the different perspectives. Whilst the lead character is despicable, he’s also amusing with a clutch of one-liners and a wry sense of humour. He thinks on his feet, he has to. The kidnappers point of view couldn’t be more different as this is cold, chilling, creepy and violent. The mothers narrative is fascinating as you witness the lengths she is prepared to go to.
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