Harlan Coben has made a huge name for himself, both in written fiction and also on screen, as several of his books have been made into films and series. I've recently been watching Safe and The Stranger on Netflix, which were both really good. I have also already reviewed three of his other novels : The Woods, Fool Me Once and Long Lost. (Click through to read those reviews.) Each of these titles can be enjoyed as a one-off thriller, rather than part of a series, so you don't have to worry about missing out on things from previous books.
Just One Look focuses on Grace Lawson, a mum-of-two, living a totally happy, normal and uneventful life in the suburbs with her husband Jack. Picking up a packet of photos from a high street shop, Grace comes across a strange, faded photo that appears to feature her husband in the days before she knew him. She asks him about it, but then he mysteriously disappears.
Unsure what is going on but convinced that something bad has happened to him, she calls on a murky figure from her past. As a young woman, she attended a concert which ended in tragedy when, following a gunshot, the crowds surged forward, desperate to get outside. Grace was crushed and trampled but ended up with nothing more than a bad limp. Some others lost their lives and the parents of the victims, in particular this father, look on Grace as a representative of their lost children. But can he really be trusted or is his input just making things worse?
Grace doesn't know who to trust or who to view as the latest suspect. Even her best friend ends up being considered with suspicion and wariness. She is eventually threatened but still doesn't know who is trying to get at her or even why. Can she put everything right, find her husband and keep her children safe?
The end of the novel, which nicely ties up all the loose ends and makes sense of everything, came as a total shock, but it did make sense, in a very sad way. While the mysterious paternal figure certainly helps Grace out, providing protection for her and her children, I didn't like him at all and he seemed less believable than most of the other characters. The police department seemed totally useless in this book too, totally unwilling to help out in the early stages of the disappearance.
It's an enjoyable read and I raced through it, eager to find out what was behind all the mysterious goings-on.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £8.99
- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Orion (27 Feb. 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1409150488
- ISBN-13: 978-1409150480
- Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.8 x 19.6 cm
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