I am so tired.  Soooooo tired.  Why?  Cause I’ve now stayed up until 1am two nights in a row to finish my book.  Had to give up last night, but finished it on the tube this morning.  I LOVED it.  It was Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress.  I did try to review books when I first started this blog, but that fell down after a while, but I might start doing it again. 

It doesn mean I get to start another book though.  Yay.  I think it’s going to be The Chocolate Run by Dorothy Koomson (I think I said that last time, but I really mean it this time).  Should have loads of time to read over Christmas.  I hope.  Although as I’m going back to where I grew up I’ve got loads of people to see in a short space of time.  I may not get a chance.  I guess it depends how good the book is – if it’s great I’ll always find time to read. 

I’ve been exploring other entrant’s blogs for the Crime & Thriller Challenge 2010 to try to get some idea of authors I could read.  I have a feeling I’m going to be reading more than 12 books in this genre cause the ideas are coming flooding in.  So far the authors other people will be reading that I would like to (or I found on amazon) are: Lisa Gardner, Michael Connelly, Tana French and Harlan Coben.  Ooh, I can’t wait for January.

I finished typing up Italian Infatuation yesterday.  I just need to insert the extra bits then that’s Draft One done.  I wanted to read through quickly to fill in a couple of blanks and check it works before I printed it off and gave to people, but I just don’t think I’m going to have a chance to now.  I also haven’t got a name for the MC’s sister yet.  Should really find her one, ‘FIONASSISTER’ isn’t all that good.  Also no one has surnames yet, and they need them.  Oh well, it is only draft one.  And people are only going to be reading it to check the story works!

On with it I guess…

These are the latest items currently on sale at Books From A Rose:

Harlan Coben caught this woman asleep while reading his book, Tell No One.

Pic of woman on my plane falling asleep reading Tell No One. … on Twitpic

Oh, hey, it’s my 500th post. Wave hello.

In addition to watching surreal TV and a variety of war movies, I’ve also been reading. Specifically: a steady diet of thrillers.

Lee Child: a retired British TV producer who turned his hand to the novel, his first book, Killing Floor, introduced the character of Jack Reacher. A discharged Military Policeman from the U.S. Army with a 50″ chest, he wanders the country with no fixed address and no permanent ties. He stumbles into trouble and cons, plans, cheats or brawls his way out of it every time.

I’ve read two books of Child’s: Persuader and One Shot. They’re formulaic but that doesn’t detract from their allure. Reacher may have the unreasonable martial prowess of all action movie stars – in One Shot he takes on five guys at once and kills a man by bear hug – but he doesn’t rely on it. Most of his mysteries he solves by outsmarting someone, or at least knowing a little more about the world. Jason Bourne meets Hercule Poirot.

Overthinking It has weaned me off the phrase “guilty pleasure,” which I would normally use to describe Child’s novels. Instead, I’ll say they speak to only one emotion: the laugh of triumph over a defeated foe. Fun beach and airport material.

Harlan Coben: I started reading thrillers on the advice of an agent and an editor, in order to improve my own writing. In that regard Coben’s writing has been the most instructional. Every novel of his I’ve read opens with a first paragraph that hooks me, strings it out to a first chapter that keeps me going, then turns it into a first half that carries me until the plot twist.

His stuff isn’t perfect, granted. The most interesting character in each novel is never the protagonist. The plot twists are predictable only in that they’re always the one thing that would turn the story most on its head at that moment (she’s not really dead!, etc). But his writing grips you and drags you into the heart of the action. It may be a formula, but so is Coca-Cola.

I’ve read Gone for Good and No Second Chance, and I may yet read more.

# # #

Why is the thriller genre so easy for me to read?

As I speculated earlier, thrillers tap into the lust for revenge we all have: the joy of a brutality sanctioned by polite society.

I think it speaks to that fundamental animal rage which all of us – who share more than 95% of our DNA with animals – carry. The “laugh in triumph over a defeated foe” that Orwell talks about: the brutal, pre-rational appeal of nationalism. We want to kill, and we want our killing to be sanctioned by a moral code. He hurt my family, therefore it’s okay if I cut off his fingers. He killed my wife, so it’s all right if I slaughter everyone he knows and burn his house to the ground. No impartial jury or outside observer would think that’s a proportional or fair response – but come on! I’m the Good Guy, so my savagery makes me driven. They’re the Bad Guys; their savagery makes them subhuman.

But ultimately, in stories like that, the tissue-thin distinction between Good Guys and Bad Guys suggests more than it divides. We don’t cheer the Good Guy because he did the right thing by stabbing the Bad Guy in the top of the skull. We cheer the Good Guy because he totally fucking killed that dude! Did you see that? We identify with him because he has his reasons – they took my job, they hurt my family, whatever – but that’s secondary. The chaotic, reptilian roar of victory after bashing someone’s neck seals the deal.

I don’t know if you’re like me but before I start reading a book, I love reading the author’s bio and acknowledgments. I think you can tell a lot about writers by what they include in their bios, who they thank and how they do it. Sometimes, I know right away if I’m going to like an author just from these things alone. It’s part of the reason I first became a fan of Harlan Coben and David Rosenfelt—they write hilarious acknowledgments.

But some authors barely include any details in their bios and their acknowledgments are nothing but a laundry list of names, resembling an acceptance speech an Oscar winner is reading from without any passion or enthusiasm. I think, Come on, these people contributed something so significant that you needed to mention them but couldn’t drum up the energy to say why? Would you send a thank-you note without mentioning what it’s for? And while you’re at it, isn’t there something interesting you’d like to say about yourself besides where you live?

To be fair, privacy could be a factor. Perhaps someone gave the author insight on living with venereal disease and would prefer that fact not be broadcast. Or maybe the writer would like to thank someone for bailing him out of jail but doesn’t want to include too many details about that rough time before he became a published author. Or it could be the reason he’s grateful to someone is so precious he doesn’t want to share it with the world (and shouldn’t have to).

Too much information is a turn-off, too. I once picked up a book with four pages of breathless acknowledgments of everyone the author had ever met since exiting the womb. By the time I got to top of page three and the mention of third cousin Jody’s brother-in-law’s unbelievable generosity in once giving the author a glass of water, I was considering seppuku. I never made it to the rest of the book.

I say all this knowing that being on the flip side isn’t easy. I’ve had to write bios and struggled with how to strike the right tone and how much detail to include without sounding like a pompous windbag or hermit with no life. I usually ended up with something random like, “Elyse likes soup and the Bee Gees, not necessarily in that order. Due to a childhood incident, she’s scared of walking over manholes, even when covered, and was once propositioned by a prostitute in Berlin.” (All true.) I hoped these personal details were more interesting than a dry list of accomplishments but it’s possible people just thought I’m a moron.

So I pose the following questions to you: As a reader, how much do you like to know? If you’re on the fence about trying a new author, is there something that person can reveal in a bio or acknowledgment that would push you over the edge? That s/he loves dogs? Knitting? Is an Ultimate Fighting champion? Knows Oprah? Conversely, could they turn you off by telling too much?

Am I the only nerd sitting around thinking about this stuff?

Wow!
Gisteren heb ik het boek ‘Houvast’ van Harlan Coben uitgelezen. Maandag was ik er in begonnen en het in een ruk uitgelezen. Dat heb ik niet vaak met boeken. Tenzij de schrijfster Karin Slaughter is.

In het begin lopen er 100 verhaallijnen door elkaar heen, maar hoe Coben die verhaallijnen tot één verhaal maakt in magnefiek!
Nog 49 te gaan op mijn lijst en nu maar hopen dat ze allemaal lezen als een Thalys die alleen stopt op het eindstation.

Hoe ver ga je om je kind te beschermen?
Tia en Mike Baye hadden nooit gedacht dat ze in een stel overbezorgde ouders zouden veranderen. Maar hun tienerzoon Adam is ongewoon afwezig. En na de zelfmoord van zijn klasgenoot Spencer Hill zijn ze helemaal bezorgd. Ze installeren een programma op Adams computer waarmee ze zijn e-mail kunnen lezen op iedere andere computer, en al na enkele dagen worden ze opgeschrikte door een e-mail van een onbekende afzender; ‘Hou je gedeisd en alles komt goed.’

Terwijl Betsy Hill een website voor haan zoon bekijkt, samengesteld door zijn klasgenoten, valt haar oog op een foto die lijkt te zijn gemaakt op de avond van zijn zelfmoord. Spencer was nite alleen.. betersy meent Adam Baye te herkennen op de foto – als die vervolgens wordt vermist, voorspelt dit weinig goeds. Tia en Mike Baye zullen voor zichzelf de vraag moeten beantwoorden: wil je echt alles van je kinderen weten?

I just finished my first Harlan Coben book. I’d seen his name on the shelves of the local bookstore for quite some time (usually when I was looking for a new book by Tim Cockey); but never picked one up. I’d seen the trailer for a French film based on one of his books that looked really good, but I never made the leap to reading him. Now that I have, I plan on reading his complete oeuvre ( I may have just misused that fancy word there).

So far, so great. Although having picked up a second novel it seems that much like Irving (wrestling, boarding school, infidelity) he has several themes/actions that appear in all if not most novels. So far he seems to really like protagonists that are Doctors and live in NJ. They also have childhood reminiscences of bullied children and guilt about it. Usually they have one parent involved in some awful tragedy.

I can heartily recommend NO SECOND CHANCES, and I’m about twenty chapters deep into HOLD ON TIGHT.

So far, it looks like Mr. Coben has made a new fan.

All week, I’ve been reading reports about Bouchercon 2009, which took place last week in Indianapolis. (To my international readers: It’s an annual mystery convention held in a different U.S. city every year where fans can hobnob with writers.) The festivities sound like a blast (check out blogger Jen Forbus’s recap), making me really eager for next year’s B’con in San Francisco, which I plan on attending.

I was so excited, I even came up with some panels and authors I’d love to see at the 2010 convention:

• Lee Child discussing “Maximizing the Hurt in Your Fight Sequences”
• Sophie Littlefield on “How to Write 50,000 Words a Day and Get Buff Arms While Doing It”
• Charlie Huston on “Who Needs Quotation Marks?”
• Harlan Coben on “Deadly Sidekicks Can Wear Pink”
• Sue Grafton speaking about her next challenge, “Tackling the Chinese Alphabet”
• Gregg Hurwitz on “Writing Your First Novel at Age 12, Getting Published at 12.5″
• James Patterson on “Whittling Down Your Chapters to Just One Comma”
• Robert Crais and Michael Connelly demonstrating “Effective Greco-Roman Wrestling Moves to Subdue Bad Guys” (This panel will cost extra)

If you’re planning on going, which authors and panels would you like to see?

I like purchasing omnibus editions. These are usually hardback books that include three earlier novels of some of the popular authors of the day. These editions usually cost less than a typical hardback as well.

I first discovered them when I was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club. I immediately liked them because I could have an affordable hardcover edition of some of the earlier work of my favorite authors. The problem with the book-club editions, though, were that they didn’t hold up too well with thinner covers and interior pages.

Then I started noticing them in the brick and mortar bookstores. By then, I was collecting autographed hardbacks and I realized that these editions would never be worth what the original first editions of the novels would be. Still, they filled in gaps in my collections and I just couldn’t (and still can’t) afford to get a nice first edition of those same books. So if I wanted them in my collection, this was going to be the way.

I currently have omnibus editions for Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, David Gemmell and Dean Koontz. I also managed to get them all autographed, which will at least help me preserve the value of the books.

I also think these omnibus editions are a great way to see if you like an author you haven’t read. You’ll get three books in hardback by the author at a cost that is usually less than purchasing three paperbacks. You may even find these omnibus editions on the bargain table to make them an even better value.

Harlan Coben: Sie sehen dich

Harlan Coben ist für mich immer ein sicherer Griff im gewesen.  Ob „Kein Sterbenswort“, „Kein Lebenszeichen“ und wie sie auch alle geheißen haben, immer war Hochspannung garantiert und ich konnte die Bücher nur schwer aus der Hand legen.

Umso mehr hat es mich erstaunt, dass ich mich bei „Sie sehen Dich“ gefühlt hinters Buch klemmen musste, bis sich erst sehr spät so was wie ein „Flow“ einstellte:

Der Teenager Spencer Hill ist tot: Selbstmord. Oder doch Mord? Als sein engster Freund Adam Baye verschwindet, befürchten dessen Eltern Mike und Tia das Schlimmste. In der Sorge um ihren Sohn haben sie heimlich ein Spionageprogramm auf Adams Computer installiert, das schon bald eine bedrohliche E-Mail zu Tage fördert. Alarmiert und schockiert macht sich nun Mike selbst auf, um seinen Sohn nach Hause zu holen – koste es, was es wolle. Doch er und seine Frau sind nicht die einzigen, die andere ausspionieren…

Für mich die bislang größte Buchenttäuschung des Jahres.

Gelesen: 06.09.-11.09.

Seiten total: 446

Seiten/Tag: 74,33

Gelesene Seiten 2009: 12.137

It should be no surprise to anyone that reads many of my blogs that I’m a fan of Harlan Coben. I love both his stand-alone novels and his series detective Myron Bolitar.

Coben recently announced that his next book is going to be called Caught. It will be a stand-alone novel. (Myron’s getting a break since his hard work in Long Lost. However, Myron’s best friend, Win, will be putting in an appearance.) The book is due out in the U.S. on March 23 (April 2010 in the U.K.). Coben hasn’t released any details on the book yet, except that he is hoping to have the first draft finished by the end of October.

The book will retail for $27.95, but many web sites are already taking pre-orders with some offering discounts of more than a third off!

The other thing I’m looking forward to from Coben is that he is working to create two different television series – one for Fox and one for TNT. Again, their projects still in progress so he hasn’t said much about them, but if they can keep his voice – that nice mix of humor and suspense – the series should be great. I would really love to see one of them be a series starring Myron Bolitar.

Dice HARLAN COBEN: “la famiglia è il mio milieu. E non è strano che sia al centro dei miei thriller. È la cosa che conosco meglio”. L’autore merita rispetto per i suoi ottimi thriller, tutti incentrati su quanto può accadere all’interno del nucleo familiare, tra passati che riemergono, fratture mai composte, cedimenti improvvisi. E per i frequenti colpi di scena a cui ci ha quasi abituato! È ancora una tranquilla zona residenziale il luogo in cui avviene l’azione de FIDATI DI ME, dominato dall’ossessione dei genitori di controllare le mosse del figlio, divenuto molto scostante e taciturno dopo il suicidio di un amico: preoccupazione che vedremo dimostrarsi fondata, il ragazzo nasconde qualcosa di losco!

Harlan Coben, Fidati di me, Mondadori

A Tia e Mike Baye non manca nulla per essere sereni e felici: hanno una bella casa, un buon lavoro e due figli, Adam e Jill, rispettivamente di sedici e undici anni. In famiglia tutto procede per il meglio finché un evento tragico e inaspettato – il suicidio del miglior amico di Adam, Spencer Hill – non fa crollare all’istante le loro certezze. In seguito alla morte del ragazzo, Tia e Mike si rendono conto che il figlio è diventato sempre più chiuso, taciturno e distante. La preoccupazione per lui li spinge a mettere da parte i propri principi sulla fiducia e il diritto alla privacy e a far installare sul computer di Adam un sofisticato software, capace di spiarne passo passo il traffico su Internet. L’arrivo di un messaggio inquietante da parte di un mittente ignoto conferma le loro paure: Adam sta davvero nascondendo qualcosa… All’improvviso, la tranquillità di Livingston, la cittadina del New Jersey in cui abitano, si rivela solo una facciata: la madre di Spencer fa una scoperta sconvolgente riguardo alla notte in cui è morto suo figlio, il cadavere di una sconosciuta brutalmente uccisa è rinvenuto non molto lontano e altri segreti vengono progressivamente a galla, scuotendo nel profondo una comunità solo in apparenza solida e quieta. Sarà ancora una volta l’investigatore capo Loren Muse, con il sostegno del procuratore Paul Copeland, a sbrogliare la matassa di una vicenda sempre più intricata e sconcertante.

Advokaten Tia Baye och hennes man läkaren Mike Baye har två barn, den sextonårige Adam och elvaåriga Jill. På sistone har Adams beteende förändrats. Han har slutat med hockeyn, och håller sig alltmer för sig själv. När hans bästa vän begår självmord blir Tia och Mike allvarligt oroade och bestämmer sig för att installera en programvara på hans dator som tillåter dem att se allt Adam gör där.

När de uppfångar några meddelanden som tyder på att Adam planerar att gå på en föräldrafri fest där det kommer att finnas både sprit och droger gör de planer för att se till att Adam inte ska göra det utan att avslöja att de spionerat på honom. Men istället för att följa sina föräldrars planer försvinner Adam och nu börjar en desperat jakt att få tag i honom innan något händer honom.

Tia och Mike försöker också få lokalpolisens hjälp, men de är upptagna med att lösa ett kvinnomord och ett försvinannde av en annan kvinna. De menar att Adam beter sig som en normal tonåring och säkert ska komma hem på eget initiativ.

—————————–

Det finns ett uttryck på engelska som jag tycker saknar någon bra svensk motsvarighet nämligen “guilty pleasure“. Harlan Coben är ett “guilty pleasure” för mig. Hans böcker är skickligt skrivna, spännande bladvändare, men på något sätt tycker jag att de ändå saknar substans. Det är distraherande läsgodis för stunden, utmärkt distraktion på till exempel flygplatser och flygplan.

Jag blev mindre engagerad i den här boken än till exempel Tell No One (Berätta inte för någon) som också blev en spännande fransk film. Men Hold Tight är onekligen spännande och Coben väver skickligt ihop två till synes vitt skilda händelseförlopp till en dramatisk upplösning.

Harlan Cobens officiella hemsida

Harlan Coben ges ut på svenska av Forum Bokförlag

Advokaten Tia Baye och hennes man läkaren Mike Baye har två barn, den sextonårige Adam och elvaåriga Jill. På sistone har Adams beteende förändrats. Han har slutat med hockeyn, och håller sig alltmer för sig själv. När hans bästa vän begår självmord blir Tia och Mike allvarligt oroade och bestämmer sig för att installera en programvara på hans dator som tillåter dem att se allt Adam gör där.

När de uppfångar några meddelanden som tyder på att Adam planerar att gå på en föräldrafri fest där det kommer att finnas både sprit och droger gör de planer för att se till att Adam inte ska göra det utan att avslöja att de spionerat på honom. Men istället för att följa sina föräldrars planer försvinner Adam och nu börjar en desperat jakt att få tag i honom innan något händer honom.

Tia och Mike försöker också få lokalpolisens hjälp, men de är upptagna med att lösa ett kvinnomord och ett försvinannde av en annan kvinna. De menar att Adam beter sig som en normal tonåring och säkert ska komma hem på eget initiativ.

—————————–

Det finns ett uttryck på engelska som jag tycker saknar någon bra svensk motsvarighet nämligen “guilty pleasure“. Harlan Coben är ett “guilty pleasure” för mig. Hans böcker är skickligt skrivna, spännande bladvändare, men på något sätt tycker jag att de ändå saknar substans. Det är distraherande läsgodis för stunden, utmärkt distraktion på till exempel flygplatser och flygplan.

Jag blev mindre engagerad i den här boken än till exempel Tell No One (Berätta inte för någon) som också blev en spännande fransk film. Men Hold Tight är onekligen spännande och Coben väver skickligt ihop två till synes vitt skilda händelseförlopp till en dramatisk upplösning.

Harlan Cobens officiella hemsida

Harlan Coben ges ut på svenska av Forum Bokförlag

Writing with Heart

Writing a piece is more than telling a story.  If you are passionate about writing, you write with your heart.  You give something in you, to the story.  Author Harlan Coben expressed in a Borders interview:  “I like to write with heart, otherwise it is not going to work for me.”  I agree with his comment; to make a piece that captures the readers, there has to be passion in it.

Author Wally Lamb expressed:  “Write a book for yourself, and let the readers that have to find it, find it.” 

Another author that follows the same rule is Jamie Lee Curtis.  She told Borders:  “I don’t do it for achievement; it is pure expression for me.”  Another good example of this is best selling author John Grisham.  He writes legal thrillers, mostly, but he says that he writes whatever he wants; he has fun with the genre.  He says he does not know where he is going as far as sticking with a genre.  Some of his books have been made into movies (The Firm, The Appeal).  In his own words to Borders:  “You can’t get too serious, the pages have to turn.”

And perhaps, the best example we have about a best selling author that writes with heart is Stephenie Meyer.  Her first book, Twilight, she wrote for herself – at the kitchen table.  The very successful series followed, and captured the heart of fans all over. 

So, next time you pick up your pen (or your mouse), ask yourself this question:  “Am I putting my heart to it?” 

Myron Bolitar est de retour dans “Peur noire“, le septième épisode de ses aventures. L’ancien champion de basket et ex-membre du FBI est devenu agent sportif pour défendre les intérêts des jeunes espoirs du stade. Cette fois pourtant, Myron s’éloignera du milieu sportif car il a des affaires bien plus urgentes à régler… Sa première petite-amie, Emily, refait en effet surface dans sa vie. Elle a besoin de Myron pour l’aider à sauver la vie de son fils qui doit subir une greffe de moelle pour survivre. Or le seul donneur compatible s’est mystérieusement évaporé. Myron, qui galère pour remettre son entreprise à flot, a bien envie de l’envoyer balader… Mais Emily a semble-t-il de bons arguments pour le faire changer d’avis… Et Harlan Coben de nous entraîner dans les aventures de son personnage fétiche.  Le quinzième roman du Maître de nos nuits blanches nous tient une fois de plus en haleine du début à la fin. Comme à son habitude, il sait trouver les mots pour nous captiver dès le début: l’histoire commence en effet avec Myron mâchant une pâtisserie à l’aspect et au goût d’un pain détartrant pour urinoir. Et quand au trois quarts du bouquin on pense avoir trouvé la solution du problème, on s’aperçoit qu’il reste encore plusieurs chapitres avec plein de rebondissements en vue. Car Harlan Coben est bien décidé, une fois encore, à empiéter sur nos heures de sommeil… A noter la parution simultanée de “Mauvaise Base” -6ème aventure  de Myron Bolitar-, chez Pocket pour ceux qui l’aurait manqué. Quant au 8ème épisode, “Promets-moi”, il est déjà paru en 2007 chez Belfond, ce dernier ayant acheté les droits des livres d’Harlan Coben parus aux Etats-Unis après 2001, Fleuve Noir ceux d’avant. D’où cet anachronisme… 

Christelle

“Peur noire”, d’Harlan Coben, éditions Fleuve Noir, 348 pages, 21 €

Cote: 5/5

Un maestro del giallo come Harlan Coben, sempre capace di sorprendere con i suoi colpi di scena, o la classe di un maestro del romanzo storico del calibro di Bernard Cornwell, che ci propone la nuova avventura di un suo eroe, il capitano Richard Sharpe? Due brillanti novità di questa settimana.

Harlan Coben, Fidati di me, Mondadori
A Tia e Mike Baye non manca nulla per essere sereni e felici: hanno una bella casa, un buon lavoro e due figli, Adam e Jill, rispettivamente di sedici e undici anni. In famiglia tutto procede per il meglio finché un evento tragico e inaspettato – il suicidio del miglior amico di Adam, Spencer Hill – non fa crollare all’istante le loro certezze. In seguito alla morte del ragazzo, Tia e Mike si rendono conto che il figlio è diventato sempre più chiuso, taciturno e distante. La preoccupazione per lui li spinge a mettere da parte i propri principi sulla fiducia e il diritto alla privacy e a far installare sul computer di Adam un sofisticato software, capace di spiarne passo passo il traffico su Internet. L’arrivo di un messaggio inquietante da parte di un mittente ignoto conferma le loro paure: Adam sta davvero nascondendo qualcosa… All’improvviso, la tranquillità di Livingston, la cittadina del New Jersey in cui abitano, si rivela solo una facciata: la madre di Spencer fa una scoperta sconvolgente riguardo alla notte in cui è morto suo figlio, il cadavere di una sconosciuta brutalmente uccisa è rinvenuto non molto lontano e altri segreti vengono progressivamente a galla, scuotendo nel profondo una comunità solo in apparenza solida e quieta. Sarà ancora una volta l’investigatore capo Loren Muse, con il sostegno del procuratore Paul Copeland, a sbrogliare la matassa di una vicenda sempre più intricata e sconcertante.

Bernard Cornwell, L’oro di Sharpe, Longanesi
Agosto 1810. L’esercito di Napoleone ha messo sotto assedio la città di Al-meida, ultimo baluardo che lo separa dalla conquista del Portogallo. La Spagna è ormai caduta, le ultime truppe spagnole si sono dissolte, lasciandosi dietro solo il porto fortificato di Cadice e i contadini che combattono la guerrilla. Non c’è più nulla da fare, l’Europa è pronta a cedere alle pressioni del nemico. Richard Sharpe, giovane capitano inglese, è il solo a non credere che sia così. Dopo il successo ottenuto nelle precedenti campagne si è guadagnato il rispetto delle alte sfere dell’esercito britannico, primo fra tutti Lord Wellington, al quale un tempo ha salvato la vita. Ed è proprio da Wellington che riceve un incarico che, agli occhi di tutti, sembra un’impresa disperata: penetrare in Spagna e recuperare l’oro spagnolo, nascosto prima che il governo fosse esiliato a Cadice. L’intenzione dichiarata di Wellington è quella di restituirlo agli spagnoli, ma in realtà il generale intende utilizzarlo per erigere un’ultima, colossale linea di difesa intorno a Lisbona, tentando di capovolgere l’esito della guerra. Difficile però non lasciarsi scoraggiare, soprattutto se gli uomini a disposizione sono un manipolo di furfanti e ubriaconi, e i guerriglieri spagnoli, dal canto loro, non fanno che ostacolargli la strada, trascinati da un uomo che chiamano el Católico la cui promessa sposa, la bellissima Teresa, a complicare le cose è pericolosamente attratta da Sharpe.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his best friend Spencer Hill, they can’t help but worry. Within days of installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer, they are jolted by a cryptic message from an unknown correspondent that shakes them to their core “just stay quiet and all safe.”

As if Mike Baye isn’t dealing with enough, he also learns that Lucas Loriman, the sweet kid who grew up next door, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. As the boy’s doctor, Mike suddenly finds himself in possession of an explosive secret that threatens to rip the Loriman family apart at the seams.

Nearby, while browsing through an online memorial for Spencer, Betsy Hill discovers a surprising detail about the night of her son’s death. Before she can find out more, Adam disappears, taking the truth with him and sending shock waves through the neighborhood.

As the lives of these families collide in tragic, unexpected, and violent ways, long-hidden connection in their small suburb begin to work their way to the surface. And when an unidentified Jane Doe is beaten to death not far away, those connections threaten to turn this quiet community upside down—and force these desperate parents to decide whether there is any line they won’t cross to protect those they love most in the world.

My thoughts:

I picked this book up at the library for one of the on-line reading groups I’m a member of. This is the first Coben book I’ve read, but definitely won’t be the last.

One of the things we’ve talked about in our office this summer is that you never know what your neighbors are up to, whether it be affairs, picking up prostitutes, theft, who knows what. Hold Tight takes that idea to a whole new level. So many of the residents in this town have secrets or worries that they can’t share, but as the events unfold, all their lives intertwine. Coben keeps the suspense going and I was never sure what he was going to throw at his characters next. It kept me hooked, needing to see what would happen, how everything was going to come together in the end.

This book raises a lot of issues. When, if ever, is it right to spy on your kids? Should they have a right to privacy? What is normal teenage rebellion and what actions are purely dangerous? When and how do you intervene if suicidal signs appear? How much do you let kids know? How much do you/can you protect them from?

There are a bunch of characters in this book, so many that it was a little difficult for me to keep track of them, but they were each well-drawn and believable, thrown into situations they’ve lost control of. Some are good guys, some are bad, but for me, at least, most of them live in that middle gound. You make choices, some right some wrong, you just do the best you can, trying to protect the ones you love. It could happen to any of us.

There’s also a reading guide available at Penguin.com. This is a very discussable book, bringing up topics that I’m sure will resonate with many parents.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.
• Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser:

“But you need some evidence of an abduction or threat of physical harm. Do you have any?”

-pg. 185,  Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along.