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 fine line here, I think he basically pulls it off. Any of the plots/subplots separately would've made an interesting book - after all, most of them have graced the headlines of national newspapers. And, in my opinion, that's the weakness of the story. I can buy Wall Street traders ripping retirees out of their retirement. I can buy a reporter questioning her headlining pedophile story. I can buy shadowy figures out to seek revenge for any of the following: a child who has been abused, a man falsely accused, or kidnapping a teenager. I can buy a schizophrenic man holding the clues to everything in his broken psyche.

Way harder to buy all of that in one novel. And, oh yes, the above situations are all in there, plus some that I haven't mentioned....But I'm not giving anything away. I'd have to rewrite the book in order for anyone reading here to understand the different levels going on.

In the book's defense, however, the various layers - which make the story rather incoherent when you try to explain it to a stranger - do not let you put the book down. The pages keep turning. I finished this book in a one-page-turn-after-another day. But, if you're anything like me, you'll be left with a little tinge of: Really?

Lesser Issues (a.k.a. My Personal Pet Peeves): The way technology is presented. For example, I don't buy for one iota of a second that any reporter - local, national, international, or alien - worth their salt (as main character Wendy is portrayed) does not have a Facebook account...or that they would not know, at the very least, how to use the world's largest networking site. And I'll leave it at that.

The Good Stuff: The side characters rocked my world. I loved the "Fathers Club." I'm probably with the vast majority of the music business when I say that I don't think middle-aged white men should be trying to break into the rap sector, but as a reader I appreciated that Ten-a-Fly made the effort. (Yeah, I didn't list it above, but middle-aged-white-man-rapping is in this book too! Huzzah!)

Some of the other reviewers have mentioned Win. Only a few pages, but he's there and he makes an impression.

I adored the cartoony lawyers: Flair Hickory and the Judge Judy-esque Hester Crimstein. (Though I do have an issue with how Crimstein is portrayed as rather 'brilliant'. Mostly she was like a bulldog - any police department would've pushed charges with the evidence stacked against her client...so it struck me as strange that her questionable arguments had the cops in awe.)

Overall: Enjoyed this one. It's a good, quick read with (literally) a million points of interest. Definitely worth your time if you're in the market for an entertaining weekend.

~Jenny
Place for the Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project