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Stay Close

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 15,862 ratings · 1,137 reviews

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can’t...more

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published March 20th 2012 by Dutton Adult (first published January 1st 2012)

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Mar 28, 2012 Snudson rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was disappointed in this book when compared to many of his past books, which I have greatly enjoyed. It felt as if the book had been rushed and put together quickly. I did not feel it had the depth and strong plot as I would expect from this author.

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Sep 05, 2012 Bill Garrison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Has Coben Formula Gone Stale? I think it has. This book is still enjoyable, but all too familiar.

I fell in love with Harlan Coben after reading NO SECOND CHANCE, GONE FOR GOOD, and THE INNOCENT in the span of a couple of weeks. I loved his characters, his originality, his plot twists, his humor, his villains. Basically, I couldn't get enough of Coben. I still enjoy his novels, still make them a priority, but his latest, STAY CLOSE, seems a little stale. He's gone to the well once too often. The...more Has Coben Formula Gone Stale? I think it has. This book is still enjoyable, but all too familiar.

I fell in love with Harlan Coben after reading NO SECOND CHANCE, GONE FOR GOOD, and THE INNOCENT in the span of a couple of weeks. I loved his characters, his originality, his plot twists, his humor, his villains. Basically, I couldn't get enough of Coben. I still enjoy his novels, still make them a priority, but his latest, STAY CLOSE, seems a little stale. He's gone to the well once too often. The characters are almost always the same. A suburban housewife with a secret past. A stripper with a heart of gold. A Jewish alpha-male lead.

This time, Ray Levine's life is in shambles, and it has been ever since that one day 17 years ago where something horrible happened at that abandoned ore factory. Megan Pierce was at the ore factory that night, but escaped, and now lives in bliss in suburbia with two kids and a doting husband. But, Megan hides a dark past, and that past is calling to her. Detective Broome can't let go of the disappearance of Stewart Green. Every year, on the anniversary of his disappearance, Broome visits his wife. Broome hears that someone recently spotted Stewart Green. What could Ray Levine and Megan Pierce have to do with it.

What happened that night that would change the lives of so many people? That's the question of this novel. All twists and surprises revolve around what happened that night, so while the plot twists and turns throughout, all events point toward that night 17 years ago.

With this novel, Coben seemed to be tackling the theme of regret and holding onto the past, which is what both Ray and Megan are doing. The past destroyed Ray, and Megan wonders if she'd be better off as she was rather than with the husband and kids. I admire Coben going that direction with the novel.

I'm still going to read all of Coben's novels, but STAY CLOSE is just so unoriginal. Plot points and characters seem ripped from earlier novels. I know it is easier to write what you know, but maybe its time Coben set a novel outside of New Jersey and did some research into creating some original characters.
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Apr 09, 2012 Nancy Katz rated it 4 of 5 stars

In recent weeks, I have been on a reading roll of Harlan Coben's books. I have read stand alone title which was his second book, Miracle Cure, some of his early Myron Bolitar series books, his first in a young adult series featuring Mickey Bolitar, Myron's nephew, and now his most recent book, Stay Close. I also had the opportunity to hear Mr. Bolitar speak at a signing in New Jersey. he is like his booksd, witty, sarcastic, warm and funny.

My first experience with this author was whe nI came ac...more In recent weeks, I have been on a reading roll of Harlan Coben's books. I have read stand alone title which was his second book, Miracle Cure, some of his early Myron Bolitar series books, his first in a young adult series featuring Mickey Bolitar, Myron's nephew, and now his most recent book, Stay Close. I also had the opportunity to hear Mr. Bolitar speak at a signing in New Jersey. he is like his booksd, witty, sarcastic, warm and funny.

My first experience with this author was whe nI came across his stand alone book, Tell No One. Up to that time, I hadn't read anything by this author, let alone know anything about his books. Within the first 50 poages, I fell in love with his characters, plot, roller coaster ride of a read and a fabulous ending.I also saw the French movie based on this book featuring Kristin Scott Thomas when it played locally. Coben's newest book, Stay Close, is alo a stand alone. And while I enjoyed this book, it wasn't quite as good as his other stand alone titles.

Stay Close takes place in and around Atlantic City in New Jersey where Coben generally sets his books where he was raiseds and livesa there now. One reads about the hotels, Boardwalk, Lucy the 6 foot wooden elephant built in the late 1800's and the Korean War Memorial placed between two of the boardwalk hotels. The book begins by introducing three main characters. Megan is a typical NJ housewife and mom. She is trying to deal with her teenager and younger son and all the while she is keeping a shocking secret from her family. Ray was a photojournalist until he fell on hard times and lost the love of his life. 17 years ago, Cassie, a pole dancer at a gentelmen's only club disappeared as did a customer who was interested in her also disppeared. Today he is feared dead. Finally there is Detective Broome who for 17 years has tried to find out what happened to this missing man. And now these three people are inexplicably joined together in an interesting set of circumstances which catapaults to a fitting conclusion.

I'm nto sure why I didn't love this book but I found something missing. Perhaps, I've been reading too many of the author's books and know what's coming. Still,I do enjoy to a certain extent any book written by Coben since they are better than most in this genre. Mr. Coben's books keep me on my toes with their convoluted plots and interesting characters. If you've never read Harlan Coben do yourself a favor and pick up one of his titles.
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Apr 10, 2013 Guilie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm a huge fan of Mr. Coben's and have read perhaps half his work. This book disappointed me a little, however. I love the story and the twists were as unexpected and unpredictable as Mr. Coben is famous for. But in places it felt a little like reading a rough draft. Repetitious language, a couple of continuity errors, unexploited opportunities for added tension or intrigue, and--for the first time ever in my Coben reading experience--the threads seemed to come together at the end in a way that...more

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Apr 09, 2013 David Roberts rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am reviewing the novel Stay Close by Harlan Coben which is a very good stand alone thriller which I bought from a local supermarket. This book is doing well in the UK paperback chart. The plot involves a young lady who used to be a drug addict and worked as a prostitute to pay for her habit and went out with a man who used to beat her up. That man she saw bleed to death having been murdered but she thinks she has seen her expartner recently. Her current partner is kind to her but unknown to he...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Frances Plino rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Harlan Coben is one of my all time favourite authors and I wasn’t disappointed by Stay Close.

We have the usual mix of damaged characters, who are never quite what they seem, and an ending that I simply didn’t see coming at all.

One of the damaged is Megan, seemingly happily married with a loving husband and family. But seventeen years ago Megan used to live on the wild side and is now finding her longed for domesticity stifling. Taking a trip into her past connects her with a series of unsolved...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Jeffrey May rated it 3 of 5 stars

Around 2002, I read Harlan Coben’s tight, well-written suspense Tell No One and immediately became a fan. I was excited to read his Myron Bolitar series, not quite as tight but full of colorful characters and fun. His subsequent books at some point began to meander and get sloppy, so I quit reading them. Until now.

My wife bought Stay Close for my kindle, thinking I might enjoy it while I had extra time on my hands. (I love my kindle but get annoyed when publishers who should know better get the...more Around 2002, I read Harlan Coben’s tight, well-written suspense Tell No One and immediately became a fan. I was excited to read his Myron Bolitar series, not quite as tight but full of colorful characters and fun. His subsequent books at some point began to meander and get sloppy, so I quit reading them. Until now.

My wife bought Stay Close for my kindle, thinking I might enjoy it while I had extra time on my hands. (I love my kindle but get annoyed when publishers who should know better get the formatting wrong. There was a little extra space between each paragraph.) While Coben hasn’t lost his ability to keep you reading, he has unfortunately remained sloppy and perhaps even gotten worse.

In Stay Close, he unnecessarily tries to humanize the most cold-blooded killers with excessive emotional gushing. He uses schmaltzy cliches about family and gets away with it because his writing has emotional power, sort of like a appliance salesman, and because he tells you that it’s, well, schmaltzy. Gushing about irrelevant details in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but when he gives equal emotional weight and similar narrative voice to even the tertiary characters, the reading becomes tedious. Is the author merely finding outlets for his own feelings?

In a crucial scene near the end of the novel when one of the many “main characters” is creeping into a house full of potential danger, we get irrelevant description and extraneous detail. It’s near the climax. We are about to discover the true killer. We get three pages about the artwork, the coffee tables, the barstools and liquor, the bathroom, and so on. “There was no more time to waste.” It was as if Coben knew he was merely filling up the pages, and worse, that he knew it was boring. The killer says, “It’s all so.. I don’t know... meh.”

Many of Coben’s books are great fun, and I can recommend him as an author. Even Stay Close was a relatively fast read. But I’m disappointed that Harlan Coben apparently no longer enjoys the editorial effort needed for high quality.

Jeffrey Penn May, author of Where the River Splits (less)

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Jul 15, 2012 elaynne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Downloaded from Audible.com
Narrated by Scott Brick

If I could give half stars, I would have given this book 2.5 instead of 3. The reason why I even gave it a 3 is because the narrator is very good. In reading other reviews, I noted that they were at both extremes: either very good or very poor. And that's sort of how I arrived somewhere near the midddle.

The story is very dark and disturbed me; it includes abuse and torture, neither of which ever sit very well with me, even if only in a fictional...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 3 of 5 stars

Gambling was supposed to be the salvation for the downtrodden Atlantic City, but has proved to be anything else. Once you leave the glitz of the casino environment, the resort city is pretty well the rundown area that it was before the old and new hotels were converted to wagering meccas. So it is fitting that Atlantic City is the setting for this novel which, we presume, reaches for the jackpot, but comes up a little short.

It is a murder crime tale united by the past histories of three main cha...more

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May 30, 2012 Glenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

Stay Close is about Megan, who appears to be an ordinary all-American housewife, with two kids and a good husband; but Megan has a past, there are people who will remember her as Cassie - a good-time girl who worked the sleazy bars and lived life on the edge. When Megan revisits her past, her new life begins to unravel. Ray is a wreck, an ex-boyfriend of Cassie, his life has been one big mess for the past seventeen years, ever since Stewart Green disappeared - Ray can't forget the blood.
Detectiv...more

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May 29, 2012 Andrew Montooth rated it 4 of 5 stars

According to his website, Harlan Coben has 50 million books in print worldwide, making him the most underappreciated author of our time. If readers truly appreciated the man, he’d have four or five times that many books in print. Until now I was one of those who did not appreciate him. My wife recommended his books to me several times over the years. So did a friend of mine. For one reason or another, I never read one until just now. I’m a convert. I get why he does so well despite having half o...more

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May 22, 2012 Highland-dreamer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 12, 2012 Marleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On the surface Megan is the typical suburban wife and mother. Living in a beautiful house with her loving husband and two children, her life behind the picket fence appears picture perfect. But Megan has a secret. Seventeen years ago she fled Atlantic City and her old life. A life in which she was called Cassie and worked as a dancer in a seedy place called La Crème. And although she knows she should be grateful that she had a chance to leave her old life behind and start a fresh one, part of he...more On the surface Megan is the typical suburban wife and mother. Living in a beautiful house with her loving husband and two children, her life behind the picket fence appears picture perfect. But Megan has a secret. Seventeen years ago she fled Atlantic City and her old life. A life in which she was called Cassie and worked as a dancer in a seedy place called La Crème. And although she knows she should be grateful that she had a chance to leave her old life behind and start a fresh one, part of her still misses the excitement of the those days.
Ray Levine is a photographer. He used to be very successful in that career but for the past seventeen years he’s been haunted by visions of blood, too much blood, and incapable to keep himself together enough to do more than sleazy and cheap assignments.
Broome is a police detective who has never been able to let go of a seventeen year old, unsolved case. Back than, on the eighteenth of March a man disappeared never to be seen or heard from again. And although the general consensus is that the man had run of with his stripper girlfriend, Broome never was and still isn’t convinced of that.
When, on the eighteenth of March, seventeen years later, another man disappears, Megan, Ray and Broome are all drawn back to the events that altered their lives in such substantial ways.
Three people are given the opportunity to revisit the past and maybe right old wrongs. But they are not the only ones taking an interest in the new disappearance. And those others who are trying to find answers have no scruples or qualms about their methods.
When it appears that this may be more than just a case of two missing men, when the death-toll rises and the solution appears no clearer than it was in the past, lives, sanity and happiness may fall victim to a very clever and manipulative mind.

Harlan Coben has long been one of my favourite authors. I may not have read every single one of his books, but I haven’t missed many of them because he writes damn good thrillers.
Coben has to be one of the masters of this genre. He takes seemingly normal, every day people and puts them in situations out of their control, puts them through their paces and facing near impossible dilemmas. And just when it seems impossible that they might resolve their situation he will throw them a life-line or they will exceed their own and the reader’s expectations and the story continues.

To call this book a page-turner would be an understatement. I dare anyone to start this book and linger on it. These pages are filled with twists and turns, heart-stopping scenes and cliff-hangers. Just when the reader thinks they know where the story is going and pride themselves on having it all figured out, Coben throws them on another loop and nothing is the way it seemed just a few pages before.
These days, I often pride myself on being able to figure out what exactly is going on before the moment in the story when the writer wants me to know the answers. That was not the case in this book. The resolution of this story took me by surprise as much as it did the characters in the book, which for me only added to the reading enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller, but I guess those people have probably been reading Coben’s books for years. Therefore, I would also tell people who don’t usually read thrillers but would like to try one, to pick up Stay Close. I would be surprised if they didn’t turn around and stay with the genre. Because this is one terrific read.
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May 07, 2012 Carol Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Harlan Coben book, and I wonder if it wasn't the right place to start. I enjoyed the book and thought it well paced with a reasonably satisfactory conclusion, though with fewer clues to follow than I might have liked. However, I was never really drawn right in to the story, even when the pace picked up towards the conclusion. The narrative style is very self-aware and self-reflective, which in moderation I enjoy but I found a little over-played in this instance. It is very much...more

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May 07, 2012 Gill Chedgey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Stay Close

As a keen reader of crime and thriller fiction you’d think a new Harlan Coben, and a hardback at that, to read and review would make me think it was my birthday, wouldn’t you? Tell the truth I was indifferent! I’ve only read one of his books previously and I found the twists and turns of the plot very clever but too complicated to make it a satisfying read. It didn’t resonate with me at all.
I’m delighted to say that I simply couldn’t put this book down. I loved it.
I never see the poin...more

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May 04, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

I used to be a big fan of the Coben thriller, but these days he seems to have gone off the boil, im no sure i can even put my finger on exactly what the problem is, a lack of passion? an lack of a great idea? a lack of focus?
With the Myron Bolitar series we had great characters , wit, humour action and thrills.
With this and the last few tales, we still have well constructed thought process and the plot, but the characters dont seem to be alive (at least not to me) and that lacking ruins the stor...more I used to be a big fan of the Coben thriller, but these days he seems to have gone off the boil, im no sure i can even put my finger on exactly what the problem is, a lack of passion? an lack of a great idea? a lack of focus?
With the Myron Bolitar series we had great characters , wit, humour action and thrills.
With this and the last few tales, we still have well constructed thought process and the plot, but the characters dont seem to be alive (at least not to me) and that lacking ruins the story.

I think a die hard Coben fan will still probably really enjoy this book, but if i were a new reader coming to this rather than his earlier excellence, i may not come back.

(parm)

Product Info (From back of Book)

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she's got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can't let go of a cold case - a local husband and father disappeared seventeen years ago, and Jack spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man's family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up any moment to step into them. Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past doesn't recede. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American Dream - the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades - they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat. With his trademark combination of page-turning thrills and unrivaled insight into the dark shadows that creep into even the happiest communities, Harlan Coben delivers a thriller that cements his status as the master of domestic suspense. (less)

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May 03, 2012 D.M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: the bored who like a weekend thriller

Shelves: thrillers

I felt like a thriller for the weekend and picked up this stand alone title of Coben's. I got what I expected and was entertained for what it was worth. Basically it's about three people, one woman and two men, who had their lives altered by a mysterious disappearance/death. All three people have pasts and now the past is revisiting and the reader can expect closure for the characters and this is how the story neatly and satisfyingly ties up.

There's one really clunky bit of the prose that neede...more

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May 03, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Three people. A second chance to put things right.

Stay Close marks the welcome and much anticipated return of Harlan Coben to the psychological thriller.

Stay Close unravels itself around three characters. Megan, a suburban soccer mum, Ray, a talented, yet wasted photographer and Broome, a detective who is obsessed with a cold case. A case that revolved around a husband and father, missing for seventeen years.

A slightly predictable story line trails, three characters intertwined in an emerging se...more

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May 01, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

The blurb pretty much sums up what the book is about, but to extend on it: Seventeen years ago a man disappeared without a trace, now, on exactly the same date, another man has also disappeared and Broome is determined to find out how the two are connected. It’s time for everyone to reassess the past in order to start enjoying the here and now (even if that means digging up a few dirty secrets).

The book begins by introducing you to the three main characters in the book: Ray, Megan and Broome. E...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Gayle rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an exciting whodunnit by a master of the genre. Harlan Coben has over twenty mysteries to his credit and the last four or five made it to the top of the NY TIMES best-seller list. Our detective Broome is on a case that dates back seventeen years. Each year a man disappears; nobody hears from him again and no bodies are found. As Broome works through the evidence, he begins to suspect the same person has something to do with all the disappearances. His partner is also his ex-wife for whom...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Suzyn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-sucked

The worst crime novel I've read in years, and I've read a great many.

First off, the writing is so incredibly cornball that I had a minor following on twitter just tweeting the worst examples of it and making fun of them.*

Secondly, If you think you know who did it like 1/4 of the way in, you're right but the author adds an extra cup of cheesy pathos to the motive that undermines the only thing that was even mildly interesting about the killer.

Thirdly, the characters are flat and somewhat silly...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Selaine Henriksen rated it 3 of 5 stars

It came out last week and I ran to the book store to get it. As an aside, I live in a suburb full of young families and every time I go to the book store, weekend or not, the place is packed. It's an outing with the kids. I wonder if the library is also packed? Anyway, my point is- there is still a place for a brick and mortar building and for 'real' hard copies of books.

So, "Stay Close". It has all the things I love about Harlan Coben's writing: gripping, fast-paced, lots of plays on one's perc...more

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Feb 19, 2012 Amy Lignor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Not a surprise to lead off a review by saying this author has done it once again. A truly fascinating tale of suspense that delves into the lives of three people who thought they knew what they wanted. Alas, they just can’t quite seem to find a way to forget the incredibly dark past they’ve left behind.

Ray Levine was once a talented documentary photographer, but upon reaching middle-age he finds himself at a job posing as a paparazzo, chasing celebrity parents and kids around, taking pictures fo...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: outread-aubrey

I enjoy Coben's stories, and this one kept me reading to the very end. It's not one of the Myron Bolitar series, which is fine. I actually held off reading this one, because I wasn't sure I hadn't already read it, and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was new. Megan, the main character, is a woman with a past. Currently the wife of a lawyer, and the mother of two, her main responsibilities are that of soccer mom and whatever else rich suburban moms do. The book, however, starts with Ray be...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Ron Arden rated it 4 of 5 stars

Harlan Coben has produced another great page turner that brings together three people who had relationships 17 years ago in Atlantic City, NJ. Ray Levine was an award winning photojournalist and has fallen about as low as a human can get. Detective Broome of the Atlantic City PD is still trying to solve a missing person's case from 17 years ago. Cassie (or Megan as she is now known) is a suburban housewife with a wonderful family, but she still has an itch for her past in the clubs of Atlantic C...more Harlan Coben has produced another great page turner that brings together three people who had relationships 17 years ago in Atlantic City, NJ. Ray Levine was an award winning photojournalist and has fallen about as low as a human can get. Detective Broome of the Atlantic City PD is still trying to solve a missing person's case from 17 years ago. Cassie (or Megan as she is now known) is a suburban housewife with a wonderful family, but she still has an itch for her past in the clubs of Atlantic City.

Cassie goes back to her old haunt, a strip club, and reconnects with an old friend, Lorraine. Ray, Cassie's old flame winds up shooting a photo of what he thought was a dead man, and sends it to the police. Broome gets the photo and starts developing a pattern of disappearances/killings that tie the 3 people together.

In typical Coben fashion, things are not as they seem as the 3 main characters uncover truths, lies and half truths about events from 17 years ago and each other. Cassie misses the old life, but she really is happy. Ray has been pining for Cassie all these years and is stunned when she shows up. The two split very hastily under false pretenses. Each believed something horrible about the other. Neither was true but both were in some regard.

Each character is seeking some explanation and closure for the past. They all get caught up in some insanity started by the father (Del) of the latest missing man. Ken and Barbie, who are nuts, are helping Del find his son. Ken and Barbie are sweet on the outside, but evil crazy people who torture their victims for information. Things get way out of hand and too many innocents get caught in the crossfire.

As with Coben endings, this one has a few twists, but I was a little let down at the end. I thought the resolution was okay, but it didn't smack me in the head like some of his recent books have done. Still, this one moves right along and gets into some of the underbelly of society where people make a deal with the devil to sometimes get what they want. (less)

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Jul 03, 2012 Mj rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller

This book kept me interested enough to want to read more but I found I was able to put the book down fairly easily. It didn’t really grab me immediately and throughout. It didn’t suck me into reading another chapter to find out what would happen next like the other 2 books of his that I have read and rated 5 stars did. (Hold Tight and Tell No One)

Like his other books however, Coben does raise some interesting questions to ponder and made me think and reflect. What do people want out of life? Wha...more

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Jun 20, 2012 MissSusie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, reviewed, mysteries

Stay Close by, Harlan Coben narrated by, Scott Brick

I chose this book for my #JIAM challenge of listening to new to me narrators and with a bonus of a new to me author that I have been meaning to read ,I am so glad I picked this one what a great book and great narration!

I now see why Harlan Coben is so popular here at the library this was a really good mystery, it kept me guessing all the way to the end. Coben’s writing kept me glued and I didn’t want to stop listening. I liked all the different...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Katharine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review, read-2012

‘Stay Close’ by Harlan Coben is his latest stand-alone (as in, not one of his Myron Bolitar novels) mystery novel. It tells the tale of a few people who are trying to cope in life despite dark things happening in their past, seventeen years ago. We have Megan, mother of two and happily married in a perfect house with a perfect life – yet she’s unsatisfied, unable to move on from what happened. Once she was a ‘playgirl’ in Vegas, in love with Ray.

Ray was once a talented photographer, yet now he’s...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that's hard to describe without spoiling things, but I will do my best. Ray used to be a photographer (and a really good one) but now he's working as a fake-paparazzo for events (bar mitzvahs, etc.). Sounds pathetic, right? It is. He knows it. Megan is a suburban mom with a secret. Jack is a detective who is obsessed with a cold case---a married father of two disappeared and has never been seen again. So what's the connection?

Harlan Coben is one of my must-read author...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Paul Pessolano rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Stay Close” by Harlan Coben, published by Dutton.

Category – Mystery/Thriller

Ken and Barbie are not who you think they are.

Ray Levine is in a dead end job even though he is a highly skilled photojournalist. He is haunted by Cassie, who he fell in love with and lost. He is also haunted by a murder.

Ken and Barbie are dangerous.

Cassie, Now Megan, has left behind her life as a stripper, and has entered the world of the upper middle class. She has a loving husband, two young children, and a wonderful...more

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About Harlan Coben

With over 50 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben’s last six consecutive novels, SIX YEARS, STAY CLOSE, LIVE WIRE, CAUGHT, LONG LOST and HOLD TIGHT all debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and lists around the world. His first Young Adult novel SHELTER was just released in paperback, and the second in the Mickey Bolitar series, SECONDS AWAY, was released on September 18th....more With over 50 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben’s last six consecutive novels, SIX YEARS, STAY CLOSE, LIVE WIRE, CAUGHT, LONG LOST and HOLD TIGHT all debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and lists around the world. His first Young Adult novel SHELTER was just released in paperback, and the second in the Mickey Bolitar series, SECONDS AWAY, was released on September 18th. His books are published in 41 languages around the globe and have been number one bestsellers in over a dozen countries.

Winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – international bestselling author Harlan Coben’s critically-acclaimed novels have been called “ingenious” (New York Times), “poignant and insightful” (Los Angeles Times), “consistently entertaining” (Houston Chronicle), “superb” (Chicago Tribune) and “must reading” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE has been turned into the commercial and critical smash hit French film of the same name, starring Francois Cluzet and Kristin Scott Thomas. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in USA, won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music. To see the trailer, click here and for stills and to see Harlan appearing in the film, visit our gallery page. The movie is now available in DVD and Blu-Ray. An American/Hollywood remake is in the works.

In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly funny” (People). After seven books Coben wanted to try something different. “I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron,” says Coben. The result was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller TELL NO ONE, which became the most decorated thriller of 2001 – nominated for an Edgar, an Anthony, a Macavity, a Nero, and a Barry; winner of the Audie Award for Best Audio Mystery/Suspense Book (read by Steven Weber); and a #1 hardcover book on the Book Sense 76 list. Coben followed the success of TELL NO ONE with the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers GONE FOR GOOD (2002), NO SECOND CHANCE (2003), and JUST ONE LOOK (2004) and THE INNOCENT (2005). Bookspan, recognizing Coben’s broad international appeal, named NO SECOND CHANCE its first ever International Book of the Month in 2003 – the Main Selection in 15 different countries.

Coben was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications including the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.

Since his critically-acclaimed Myron Bolitar series debuted in 1995, Harlan Coben has won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allan Poe Award and was nominated for the Edgar two other times. Harlan also won the Anthony Award at the World Mystery Conference, was nominated for another Anthony Award, won the Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America, was nominated for another Shamus, and was twice nominated for the Dilys Award by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

In the United Kingdom, his novel ONE FALSE MOVE earned him the prestigious “Fresh Talent Award”, given annually by Great Britain’s largest bookstore chain, W. H. Smith, and GONE FOR GOOD won the W. H. SMITH “Thumping Good Read” Award. In France, TELL NO ONE (NE LE DIS A PERSONE) won Le Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle for fiction. His novels have been PEOPLE magazine Page-Turners of the Week and a Publishers Weekly Best of the Year pick.

Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College a political science major, Harlan worked in the travel industry. He no(less)

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