A few surprising plot twists and prospects for more can hold readers spellbound. But American thriller author Harlen Coben inserts too many in Gone For Good (2008 edition, Bantam Dell, 420 pages).
The plot in this murder-mystery-love story (first published in 2002) doesn’t twist and turn, like a country road. It wiggles and gyrates, like a combative python.
Protagonist Will Klein appears honorable, kind and devoted to his job helping troubled New York teenagers. By no coincidence, the love of his life, Sheila, a woman deceiving him, has a troubled past too.
Eleven years ago, Will’s older brother Ken had vanished amid accusations that he brutally murdered a young woman, a neighbor in New Jersey, who also happened to be Will’s first love. Where did Ken go? Is he still alive?
A family funeral leads to solid evidence that Ken survives. “The picture was taken atop a field or hill or something. I saw no houses in the background, just snowcapped mountains like something from the opening scene of The Sound of Music. The man in the picture wore shorts and a backpack and sunglasses and scuffed hiking boots. His smile was familiar. So was his face, though it was more lined now. His hair was longer. His beard had gray in it. But there was no mistake. The man in the picture was my brother, Ken.”
The wayward sibling may return home, a prospect that revives violence, threats and grudges. Then Sheila vanishes too. Worse, her corpse appears at a distant roadside. How much tragedy must Will endure?
“The wall of denial began to buckle and crack. Grief spread over me, ripping the breath from my lungs. I collapsed into a chair and hugged my knees against my chest. I rocked back and forth and started to cry, really cry, gut-wrenching, soul-tearing cries. I don’t know how long I sobbed. But after a while, I forced myself to stop. That was when I decided to fight back against the grief. Grief paralyzes. But not anger. And the anger was there too, lingering, looking for an opening. So I let it in.”
The plot thickens and thickens. Obvious villains transform into heroes, vice-versa and sometimes back again. Will discovers surprising courage. “I wondered where I’d unearthed this newfound bravery and I realized that it was simply a matter of having nothing more to lose. Maybe that was what bravery always is – being past the point of giving a rat’s ass.”
Too many characters lead lives of deception. Is no one trustworthy? As the plot veers too often, it loses credibility. The veneer of realism fades. So does readers’ interest.
From New Jersey, Coben consistently writes good novels. His others include Tell No One, Drop Shot, One False Move and The Final Detail.
This author may take pride in testing the limits for plot twists. But he needs to remember that too much of a good thing can do damage.
Approval rating: 59 per cent.
For more information: www.harlancoben.com or www.bantamdell.com.
(February 7, 2010)
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