Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Hold Tight


Hold Tight by Harlan Coben ~~ Parents will find this compulsive page-turner from Edgar-winner Coben (The Woods) particularly unnerving. A sadistic killer is at play in suburban Glen Rock, N.J., outside New York City, but somehow he's less frightening than the more mundane problems that send ordinary lives into chaos. How do you weigh a child's privacy against a parent's right to know? How do you differentiate normal teenage rebelliousness from out-of-control behavior? When and how do you intervene if suicidal signs appear? Other issues include single parenting; career versus family; marital honesty; and how much information you should share with a child at what age. Coben plucks each of these strings like a virtuoso as Mike and Tia Baye try to deal with the increasing withdrawal of their 16-year-old son, Adam, after a friend's suicide. A pair of brutal, seemingly senseless killings, punctuate the unfolding domestic troubles that ratchet up the tension and engulf the Baye family, their friends and neighbors in a web of increasing tragedy. The this could be me factor lends poignancy to the thrills and chills
Hands down, this is one of the top 3 books he has written. A+++++

4 comments:

Lenore Appelhans said...

I have this one on my wish list!

Cheryl said...

I so have to get this book sooner. I read The Woods and enjoyed it

http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/

mysteryhistorymom said...

Love Harlan Coben! I just bought two copies of this- one for me and one for my Dad. We read them at the beach together for our yearly reunion. Can't wait to read it! Lori

Lori's Reading Corner said...

You'll both love this book. It is one of his top three!