The Innocent by Harlan Coben Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Innocent
Book Review: BEST BOOK EVER
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book. Harlan Coben is a great author and i admire him so much, but this book just blew me right out of the water. Anyone interested in any of Coben's other books SHOULD read this one. it is a must. also, he once again seems to capture the smart-mouthed characters we all seem to enjoy. Go HARLAN!Book Review: Bet you're wondering how I knew, 'bout your plans to make me blue
Summary: 5 Stars
The lines from Marvin Gaye's classic "Grapevine" could be the soundtrack opening if "The Innocent" is made into a movie. Matt Hunter is a Jersey kid (can you hear Bruce Springsteen's raspy voice in between the lines?) when he is in an accidental brawl that leaves one young man dead. Matt spends 4 years in a hard core prison. I don't know. Maybe Rahway State Prison. Brrrr.
An event just like this happened on Long Island a few years back. After High School a big party is held and two rival groups exchange taunts. Alcohol is involved. That incident left one promising athlete with a closed head injury and one promising college athlete in prison. I believe that upon release the defendant even developed a relationship with the victim's mother, as Matt does here with Stephen's Mom.
Matt's search is for redemption and to become the man he was impeded from becoming. He marries his high school sweetheart and life is indeed better than it should be, he believes, even though he is discriminated against when he tries to move back to his old neighborhood and keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.
His family has some bad luck, grandparents dying, father passing on, older brother a surprising stroke death in his early thirties. But Matt has Olivia, the girl of his dreams, the Mother Teresa who pulls him from the descending whirlpool of his hope and heals his soul.
Or does she?
This is by far the most riveting of the Coben books. I like Myron but I tire of the wisecracks. Life ain't like that. Ditto Elvis Cole, for those of you who know what I'm talking about. But Matt is the real deal. There's a little of Matt in all of us, something in our past we would do anything or give anything to have not done. And, in the best of marriages, (the hell with you Dr. Phil) we all have moments when we're just not sure what's going on.
I don't get 'addicted' to a book. Some books I do read through the night and I'm disappointed when they're done. But "The Innocent" was the first book in a couple of years I was just into to so much I got to the point of ignoring phone calls and kids. And, I was turned on to it by my wife.
Where is she today, by the way?
5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Book Review: Better Than Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again, author Harlan Coben grabs the reader from the very beginning of this heart-thumping suspenseful tale and he doesn't he let go until the bitter end.
Matt Hunter is decent sort of guy who unfortunately has served time in prison for being decent. One fateful night while in college, he tries to break up a brawl between students. A kid is left dead and everyone flees the scene except Matt. He's a stand-up guy, but unfortunately, his sense of honor and decency make him a handy target. He's convicted of murder and serves time in prison.
He somehow survives prison life and once released he's given a new lease on life when his older attorney brother gets him a job as a paralegal at the law firm where he works. Matt meets and marries Olivia who discovers she's pregnant and life couldn't be better.
But this is a Harlan Coben novel, so the reader is braced for bad things to start happening. As expected, at the height of Matt's happiness, his world begins to slowly and horribly collapse, causing the reader to join him and his wife as they try to salvage their lives while dodging bullets.
The Innocent is an edge-of-your seat read that will keep you turning pages in the wee hours of the night.
Book Review: Book Sale
Summary: 5 Stars
I am going to look for more books from this author, He is really good!@
The book condition was as stated and it arrived within a few days of ordering
Book Review: CONFUSING AND TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE!
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to agree with reader/reviewer,"Confused", that you need a flow chart to keep track of the characters and their doings in this book. I liked the first 2/3 of the book, but then the plot started branching all over the place. The motives of the characters weren't clear to me, and there were so many poorly developed characters that I couldn't keep their stories straight. Even though I took extra care to read slowly and comprehend, when I was done with the book, I couldn't tell you who did what--nor did I really care anymore. I have read thousands of books of this genre through the years, but this one just got ridiculous. I've read Coben's other books with enjoyment. I realize that this is not the popular opinion of this book, but it's mine.