No Second Chance - Hardcover

Coben, Harlan

4.09

39,958 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752852566 ISBN 13: 9780752852560

Publisher: Orion, 2003

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'When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter.'

Dr Marc Seidman is living in a classic American suburb in New Jersey with his new wife, Monica, and their baby daughter, Tara, when the shocking attack occurs. Marc is left barely clinging to life. When he wakes up at the hospital, he learns that Monica is dead - and that their daughter Tara is missing from her crib.

For two weeks there is no word. Then a ransom demand is made for Tara's return. But Marc makes a mistake. Something goes terribly wrong during the money drop. The ransom money vanishes. The kidnappers get away.

Crushed, Marc waits by the phone for another call. Days turn to weeks as Marc remembers the ransom note's ominous warning: THERE WILL BE NO SECOND CHANCE. The police, believing that Tara is probably dead, start to move on.

Eighteen agonizing months pass with no word and no new clues. And then, when Marc has just about given up all hope of seeing his daughter again, he gets a package with a chilling note attached: WANT A SECOND CHANCE? And inside the package the kidnapper provides proof that Tara is still alive...

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Review:

No Second Chance is yet another of Harlan Coben's terrifying explorations of the worst of fears--Marc Seidman wakes in hospital after narrowly surviving a shooting in which his wife died and their baby daughter went missing. The handover of a ransom from his rich in-laws goes wrong and Seidman realises that he is not only without wife and daughter--and the sister who may have been an accomplice--but he is also the principal suspect. The reader knows even more than Seidman just how much jeopardy he is in--Coben does a brilliantly disturbing job of introducing us to a pair of psychotics who are in charge of the ransom plot and who plan to take Seidman and his in-laws for another ride into insecurity and hell. Marc turns to the one person he thinks can help him--the ex-girlfriend who still has a place in his heart and used to be a senior Federal agent. The problem is that Rachel comes with baggage, and enemies, all of her own...

This is an impressive book about suspicion and how easy it is to make the wrong guesses; it is a triumph of misdirection. It also has that particular Coben touch--people are capable of behaving worse than you can possibly imagine, but also of acts of surprising grace. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

Harlan's tour (27-30th May) was a great success. EVENTSHarlan's evening talkand signing at OTTAKAR'S PUTNEY was attended by around 50 people, and OTTAKAR'S MILTON KEYNES attended by almost 100 people. He also completed two busy lunchtime signings at WHSMITH in NOTTINGHAM and MURDER ONE both of which attracted around 50 people. Harlan also signed stock at CRIME IN STORE. MEDIATHE GUARDIAN lead review on 14/6/03Review in SUNDAY TELEGRAPH on 10/8/03Review in TIME OUT 'Page-turning tension make this one of the top thrillers of the summer.' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Coben is surely one of the best crime writers around,notable for constistently good characterisation and tight plotting. A real page turner, No Second Chance will delight new readers and give old hands a familiar sense of renewed pleasure.'WATERSTONE'S ENIGMA, Jude Davies 'his best yet' MORNING STAR, Mat Coward 'No Second Chance has a terrific opening.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'a first class thriller' iloveamystery.com 'a swift and satisfying read' Mark Campbell, CRIME TIME Profile interview in THE TIMES MAGAZINE by Paul Connolly on 7/6/03. Harlan has been interviewed for RELAXWITHABOOK.COM to be used as an interactive clip in-store at Sainsburys. He has also been interviewed by BBC RADIO HEREFORD & WORCESTER, BBC RADIO NEWCASTLE, BBC RADIO NOTTINGHAM, MOD FOCUS magazine CRIME TIME are dedicating issue 36 (July/August) to Harlan, featuring an interview by Matt Levy and an interview will be featured in VERDICT magazine More reviews have appeared in THE MIRROR, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, RADIO CLYDE, Sky Digital Text, Essex Magazine & Anglian Life, CAMBRIDGESHIRE JOURNAL, NORFOLK JOURNAL, SUFFOLK JOURNAL, PRIZES GALORE, PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH, STANSTEAD OBSERVER, SAFFRON WALDEN OBSERVER, HERTS & ESSEX OBSERVER, DUNMOW OBSERVER, GOOD BOOK GUIDE, SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE, BOURNEMOUTH DAILY ECHO, YORK EVENING PRESS, GLASGOW HERALD, DOMINIONPOST (NEW ZEALAND) and PRIZES GALORE. TRADE PRESS/EVENTSA full-page profile interview with Harlan ran in THE BOOKSELLER on 14th Feb. Whilst he was in theUK he met customers from BCA and Cork in Nottingham and joined a group of key accounts customers to a Springsteen gig at Crystal Palace. THUMPING GOOD READ COVERAGEDAILY TELEGRAPH, 'A WRITERS LIFE'DAILY MAIL - piece about the awardsPUBLISHING NEWS - piece about awardsLINCOLNSHIRE ECHO - review

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