reviews
Nov 15, 2010
There were two parts to this book. Mind you, I have been anxiously waiting for Coben to come out with a new book. I absolutely love him and think he might be my favorite author of all time.
I always get wrapped up and into the story and literally finish his book within a day or less, and that was the case with this one. Like I said there were two parts to this book.
It kind of threw me because I'm not used to that style of writing from him. There was the dark anticipation a More...
I always get wrapped up and into the story and literally finish his book within a day or less, and that was the case with this one. Like I said there were two parts to this book.
It kind of threw me because I'm not used to that style of writing from him. There was the dark anticipation a More...
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Jun 16, 2011
I finished this book yesterday and as I read the last few lines I couldn't help remarking to myself that this had to be Coben's best one yet. The pacing was break neck, the characters though all different and some as dysfunctional as a human can get - were believable, some even sympathetic, and some NOT, which is as it should be. Our heroine is an investigative news reporter and a single mom who gets embroiled in job related issues (not good ones) and a murder mystery involving a major college,
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Jan 29, 2012
Caught opens with the life of Dan Mercer, social worker and all around good-guy, falling apart. Feeling what turns out to be a justified sense of unease Dan makes his way to an address at which one of the troubled children he counsels is waiting in apparent distress. When he gets there he is instead ambushed by a TV reporter who accuses him of being a paedophile who had gone to the house with the hope of having sex with an underage girl. Ugliness ensues. Concurrently in the same town the McWaid
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Feb 22, 2011
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 15, 2010
It really does not need to be said that this was an excellent read. One should only look at who the author is and then immediately would know that they are in for a treat.
This book (like all of this author's books) really packs a punch from the first page until, literally, the very last page. As promised, the author delivers another WTF ending that leaves you with adrenaline pumping and dizzy from excitement.
I absolutely LOVED the main character Wendy Tynes, although I ad More...
This book (like all of this author's books) really packs a punch from the first page until, literally, the very last page. As promised, the author delivers another WTF ending that leaves you with adrenaline pumping and dizzy from excitement.
I absolutely LOVED the main character Wendy Tynes, although I ad More...
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Oct 26, 2011
The Premise: Reporter Wendy Tynes operates a Dateline-esque sting of a probable pedophile named Dan Mercer. He insists he's being set up. When the case against him is thrown out, she questions her conclusions. When she witnesses Mercer's murder...she's not sure what the hell is going on. Of course, as she digs deepers, the troubles (job loss, death threats, etc.) mount up.
The Big Issue: This is one convaluted story, with subplots within subplots within subplots. While Coben walks a More...
The Big Issue: This is one convaluted story, with subplots within subplots within subplots. While Coben walks a More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Another great book from the master. I really enjoyed this one...quick and kept me guessing till the end!
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Nov 15, 2010
Harlan Coben's novels are a joy to read, in part, because they are so realistic that the reader can imagine the incidents happening to someone they know, or, to themselves.
Seventeen-year-old Haley Ward disappears and soon her parents realize they are experiencing a parent's worst nightmare.
Social worker, Dan Mercer, is a giving person, coaches girl's basketball and helps seriously troubled teens. Dan is in the midst of answering a young girl's plea to come to her home for More...
Seventeen-year-old Haley Ward disappears and soon her parents realize they are experiencing a parent's worst nightmare.
Social worker, Dan Mercer, is a giving person, coaches girl's basketball and helps seriously troubled teens. Dan is in the midst of answering a young girl's plea to come to her home for More...
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Nov 15, 2010
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and fun!, July 20, 2010
This review is from: Caught (Hardcover)
This was a fun summer read, a fast-paced suspense thriller without all the gore or grisly details that are often the hallmark of this genre. If you like Linwood Barclay (No Time for Goodbye or Never Look Away: A Thriller), you'll find that Coben writes similar tales. He writes mysteries about ordinary people faced with unexpected events that cause them to make decisions and perform he More...
This review is from: Caught (Hardcover)
This was a fun summer read, a fast-paced suspense thriller without all the gore or grisly details that are often the hallmark of this genre. If you like Linwood Barclay (No Time for Goodbye or Never Look Away: A Thriller), you'll find that Coben writes similar tales. He writes mysteries about ordinary people faced with unexpected events that cause them to make decisions and perform he More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Not one of Coben's best. For one thing, a character who speaks in the first person in the prologue immediately fades into the background after I had become intrigued by his story. I think it would have been stronger if he had been the protagonist, a man trying to get out of his own predicament. Instead, Coben switches to a new character and I couldn't quite get into her. (For one thing, the book changes from first person to third.) He briefly introduces a character from other books of his, but t
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Nov 15, 2010
This is Coben’s 17th novel. I have been lucky enough to have read them all. The awards he can claim as his, are the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award and the Anthony Award. Caught is his best work to date. It is a stand alone, not having anything to do with one of my personal favorites as far as characters go, Myron Bolitar and Win. Fortunately for us looking for a Myron fix, Win has a small part in the book. That is on the jacket; I am not trying to spoil anything.
Caught is all the right More...
Caught is all the right More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Harlan Coben’s latest book “Caught” completely captivates. From the first page of the prologue you will be “caught” by Coben’s intricate weave of lies and truth. I couldn’t put the book down; I was stuck to it, reading from the first page to the last in less than twenty-four hours.
Local news reporter, Wendy Tynes, has become quite famous in her New Jersey town for her “caught in the act” reports catching pedophiles as they attempt to meet young girls. Her latest target, Dan Mercer, More...
Local news reporter, Wendy Tynes, has become quite famous in her New Jersey town for her “caught in the act” reports catching pedophiles as they attempt to meet young girls. Her latest target, Dan Mercer, More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Caught starts out with Dan Mercer opening a red door to a house after being receiving a call from a trouble teen he has been mentoring. Dan feels that it is a mistake, but he goes in anyway. Dan works at a community center with troubled teens. TV reporter Wendy Tynes and her crew are at the house for a sting operation to try to trap Dan Mercer, who Wendy believes is a pedophile. Wendy airs this “capture” of a pedophile and the series of events that unfolds in Dan’s life leads to unfortunate
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Nov 15, 2010
A decent summer thriller that both played out my gut instincts but kept me guessing until the end. A teenage girl disappears and a divorced do-gooder is caught in one of those online underage "sting" operations by an enterprising TV reporter and found to have an even more pedaphilic bent. However, all is not what it seems in suburban New Jersey. As the reporter, Wendy Tynes begins to suspect that she and her subject, Dan Mercer, were both set up, things get even more complicated.
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May 30, 2011
A lot of interesting little sub-themes in this one, including viral marketing, internet lies, and fake reviews to sell books. There's also a message about forgiveness (of all things!).
Coben does a great job of conveying the parents' love for their daughter. He incorporates complex emotions, philosophical conundrums, and social ills into the story, as well as humor, wit, and sarcasm.
This is not Coben's tightest story. There's a dead giveaway about Dan right in the prologue More...
Coben does a great job of conveying the parents' love for their daughter. He incorporates complex emotions, philosophical conundrums, and social ills into the story, as well as humor, wit, and sarcasm.
This is not Coben's tightest story. There's a dead giveaway about Dan right in the prologue More...
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Nov 15, 2010
When "perfect" daughter Haley McWaid fails to return one night to her suburban home the whole community is shocked, and her parents are absolutely devastated. How could such a thing happen to a girl who had everything going for her?
Investigative reporter Wendy Tynes, who's had quite a bit of luck tracking down pedophiles, is determined to find the answer and embarks on a journey that could be dangerous, not only to herself but to her beloved son Charlie. However, in h More...
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Nov 15, 2010
I've read several of Harlen Coben's novels, and he never seems to disappoint. I needed a book that I could really sink my teeth into and get caught up in, and Caught definitely fit the bill. The action starts almost immediately, and there were enough plot twists to keep my attention throughout the book, while still maintaining some level of reality. The story did get a little convoluted towards the end, but it remained plausible enough for my taste.
This book was a 'standalone' stor More...
This book was a 'standalone' stor More...
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Dec 11, 2011
Haley McWaid is seventeen years old. She is a good girl, pride of her family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year. One morning, her mother wakes up and finds out that Haley never came home the night before.
Three months later, Haley McWaid is still missing. Everyone in the community, hopes for the best, but assumes the worst.
Wendy Tynes is a reporter. She works to identify and bring down sexual predators. Her news program is called Caught in the act. More...
Three months later, Haley McWaid is still missing. Everyone in the community, hopes for the best, but assumes the worst.
Wendy Tynes is a reporter. She works to identify and bring down sexual predators. Her news program is called Caught in the act. More...
Feb 17, 2012
Definitely a book that will keep you guessing till the end. In some of my recent reviews I have written about books in the same genre, I mentioned the fact that nothing seems to surprise me any more in these book and that everything has become so predictable. I was beginning to loose faith in this genre and was developing serious reservations about picking up another book of similar theme but that's all changed now.I am glad to say that HARLAN COBEN has turned around my earlier convictions by de
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Jan 07, 2012
Happy New Year friends..its been a complicated and busy past several weeks and I havent had time to read (boo), but am getting back to it and definitely plan to stick to my goal of 55 books this year reading any and everything I can..Everyone always asks me my favorite book but depending on the day and my mood it is constantly changing..And then I have so many different genres that I like--for example this book here is a mystery/thriller-philosophical inspirational family drama and I liked it bu
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Sep 25, 2011
Evet, kısaca bir özet geçmem gerekirse Coben her zamanki gibi yine yapacağını yapmış der bitirirdim. Ama biraz daha bahsedeceğim kitaptan. Öncelikle kitap Dan Mercer adlı karakterin kırmızı bir kapıyı açmasıyla başlıyor. Yardıma gittiğini sandığı binada bir televizyon şovunda tuzağa düşürülüyor ve bir anda pedofil damgası yiyor. Bu şovu düzenleyen muhabir ise Wendy. Kitap birkaç koldan ilerliyor, bu esnada kayıp bir kızdan bahsediliyor. Kitap ilerledikçe işler karışıyor, ben de bütün bunlar nası
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Jun 30, 2011
Harlan Coben is a prolific thriller novelist and author of the Myron Bolitar series -- Caught is one of Coben's latest stand-alone novels.
Dan Mercer is well-liked and popular, especially among teenagers whom he helps as a social worker. When Dan is called to the home of a teenage girl to help her through a crisis, he is surprised to find a news crew waiting for him instead and learns he has been set up. Within just a few minutes, Dan has gone from being a neighborhood saint to having a More...
Dan Mercer is well-liked and popular, especially among teenagers whom he helps as a social worker. When Dan is called to the home of a teenage girl to help her through a crisis, he is surprised to find a news crew waiting for him instead and learns he has been set up. Within just a few minutes, Dan has gone from being a neighborhood saint to having a More...
Jun 12, 2011
Caught is the first book I have read by Harlan Coben. I had high expectations because of the popularity of his books and was initially disappointed. By the end it did greatly redeem itself for me, though there are still aspects of the story and writing that I still don’t care for. From what I’ve seen in other reviews, some Coben fans felt this book did not accurately represent what they have loved of his past books.
In the beginning there appeared to be a variety of storylines; their re More...
In the beginning there appeared to be a variety of storylines; their re More...
May 11, 2011
Harlen Coben does a good job with twisty unexpected plot lines but I especially like the way he values relationships and families and moral values. The story of Caught begins when Dan Mercer is "caught" by a television reporter, Wendy Tynes, who has set up a sting operation to catch a sexual offender. The prologue opens from Dan's point of view and he's seems so sympathetic that you just don't believe he really is a pedophile. Wendy Tynes begins to question it too, even though she is t
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Mar 21, 2011
My disclaimer - I love Harlan Coben. I've read everything he's written - well maybe not his private diaries but you know what I mean. I was a little thrown at the start because we were immediately in the head of a guy I assumed would be the MC - but that turned out to be intrepid reporter Wendy. Mr. Coben made Dan such a loveable guy it was hard to accept he might have done what was claimed. So I didn't. I think that was in a way a weakness but having thought about it in light of the novel's con
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Mar 06, 2011
It's hard not to compare this stand-alone story to Coben's Myron Bolitar series--especially since some of the Bolitar characters appear in this story. This book had some funny moments in it, but not nearly as many as Myron provides, and Caught has an emphasis on sports that's reminscent of Bolitar. But the protagonist in this book, Wendy Tynes, is not nearly as likeable as Myron. In fact, she's often not likeable at all. She's a reporter and she has a get-the-story-at-any-cost mindset that often
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Feb 02, 2011
I have always told readers that if they are looking for a good mystery, they should try Harlan Coben, and even better, you can close your eyes and just pick one off the shelf and be assured of a great read. The same holds true with his "Caught".
"Caught" starts strong and finishes strong.
Wendy Tynes is a reporter and has been running a "sting" operation against sexual predators. When Dan Mercer, a respected social worker working with young p More...
"Caught" starts strong and finishes strong.
Wendy Tynes is a reporter and has been running a "sting" operation against sexual predators. When Dan Mercer, a respected social worker working with young p More...
Dec 22, 2010
Coben scores again with a page turning thriller with a powerful statment about the power of the internet. Coben, once again pours in a riveting cast, though the characterization was a bit weak this time around. He telegraphed a portion of the ending early on, but still it didn't disappoint.
Dan Mercer shows up to help a young foster child in trouble and is immediately accused of showing up to meet her for sex. He is ambushed by Wendy, a television reporter who has made a whole care More...
Dan Mercer shows up to help a young foster child in trouble and is immediately accused of showing up to meet her for sex. He is ambushed by Wendy, a television reporter who has made a whole care More...
Nov 23, 2010
I should start by saying that I have been a big fan of Harlan Coben and have read all of his books. I bought this one as soon as it came out but set it aside for a while in order to finish whatever I was reading at the time. When I did finally pick it up to start reading it (which happened on several occasions), I found myself putting it down because I just could not get into it. Which really is odd because I usually go through his books very quickly because he's such a good suspense writer. Wel
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Jan 06, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It's very compelling and definitely a page-turner. The only real issues I had with it were minor. There were some consistency issues, such as Wendy & Charlie's dog. The author only mentioned the dog during the characters' exposition, and then it was never mentioned again. Without getting into any detail (I don't want to accidentally spoil key scenes), there were times when a dog in the house would've made a difference in a scene. Just little things like that.
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