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 for their albums. Megan Pierce was once a ‘playgirl’ who worked in Vegas, and now she’s a soccer mom with two children, a husband she loves, and a perfect home with a picket fence. Yet even with all of this, she’s beginning to feel very dissatisfied with her lot in life. Jack Broome is a detective who is just not able to let go of a ‘cold case’ regarding a man who disappeared seventeen years ago. Every year Jack spends the anniversary of the man’s death at a house that resides in the past, where the missing man’s family is still waiting for him to come home - his shoes still left by the recliner as if he will walk in the door at any moment.

One awful night, eighteen years ago, the lives of these three people were changed for all time. Now living lives they really don’t want, each one is hiding some very deep, dark secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect. Led by a past that will never go away, the trio return to the place of their trials to find out the truth at long last. As each one faces their own private hell, they soon find a story that has been lurking between the lines of their boring present and their dark, exciting past.

With Mr. Coben’s combination of thrills and intelligence, he leads readers into the ‘dark side’ of life and delivers his trademark style of exhilarating and captivating writing in a true novel of suspense.