Prior to picking up “Hold Tight”, I had read one Harlan Coben novel and I was unconvinced. Therefore it was with some surprise that this novel turned out to be one of the best crime novels I have ever read. The plot is slick and consists of two loosely-linked crime stories, the common link being exposed only at the very end. You will not guess how. Each story is compelling. The plot is complex, but not difficult to follow: when characters are re-introduced, they are described in a context that makes them easy to place. This is useful if you’re not great at remembering twenty or so names first time round.



And it was the characters which take the book to a different level. Every major character has a degree of introspection and self-awareness. All these observations are highly personal and they continue throughout the novel – you cannot fail to be empathetic with most of the characters at some level. Mike wonders why he is uneasy at the thought of his “pre-pubescent daughter” staying with a friend and her single-parent father. Guy considers himself a failed parent because his wife had an affair. Betsy asks Tia if she also watches her children sleep and opines that “it’s because we can just stare at them and marvel at them and not feel weird about it. If you stare at them like that during the day, they’ll think you’re nuts.” Betsy knows she will lose her husband, not necessarily soon, but sometime, following their son’s suicide. The common theme for these characters is how long they can hold their children tight. But there may be a simpler source for the title. Towards the end, the characterisation comes to an end. That just leaves the plot, and the last fifty pages or so are high-octane stuff: so hold tight.