The Innocent - Hardcover

Coben, Harlan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752867830 ISBN 13: 9780752867830

Publisher: Orion, 2005

Synopsis

Matt Hunter's life has already been blown away once. At the age of twenty, he got into a fight outside a party and accidentally killed someone. That momentary lapse of reason cost him four years in gaol, and a small sliver of his soul.

But when he got out he set about rebuilding his life. He carved himself a job as a lawyer and married a beautiful woman. The break in the road seems to have only made him a stronger person. However, when he receives a strange video message on his mobile phone and he realises that a very bad man is following him, his new existence is suddenly under threat. Why is this ex-con on his tail, and who really is this woman he has married? Suddenly Matt can't trust anybody - least of all those he loves...

About this title

Review:

Like Harlan Coben's other recent novels of suspense, The Innocent starts in the green suburbs of New Jersey and takes us off into the dark heart of the secrets and lies that often lie at the centre of American life. Matt has rebuilt his life after a brawl that left him serving four years hard time for manslaughter. He has clawed back some of the dreams of his young manhood--in particular, Olivia, the girl he met once, dreamed of and then found again. Now someone is sending him phone images of Olivia, in a blonde wig, with another man... Local cop Loren is trying to find out who smothered a teacher at the local convent, and why the dead nun had breast implants; over-the-hill stripper Kimmy is visited by the daughter of a long-dead friend...

This is a plot as well constructed as a good watch, yet as unpredictable as a fairground ride, but what gives Coben's books their unique quality is the fact that his writing always has heart. We care about even the most minor and venal of his characters, because Coben knows that often, what divides heroism from crime is the consequences of one bad day. ---Roz Kaveney

Review:

"Harlan Coben always has a good tale to tell, and he knows how to present it with elegance, pace and loads of tension." (Matthew Lewin THE GUARDIAN)

"The enjoyably intricate plot takes several turns before we are fooled for the last time and the villains and motive are revealed. A book to read in one gulp." (Susanna Yager THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

"A typically brilliant offering from Harlan Coben, with the storyline gripping you from the first line... another excellent thriller that you will be unable to put down. Highly recommended. Absolutely vintage Harlan Coben." (www.crimesquad.com)

"This is familiar Coben territory -- dark, twisted and gripping." (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL, 22 April)

"Unpretentious fun." (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 18 June)

"Another smash hit" (Janet Devlin THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 23 April)

"A narrative that springs a non-stop series of surprises on the reader and scabrously witty dialogue.." (Barry Forshaw DAILY EXPRESS, 3 June)

"Coben's forte is the creation of complex plots, peopled with characters that the reader likes and identifies with. He has a great talent for keeping the reader guessing as to what is really going on -- and turning the pages to find out." (DEADLY PLEASURES, Spring 2005)

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0752867830
• ISBN 13: 9780752867830
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384