No Second Chance by Harlan Coben (2004)

I came upon Harlan Coben by chance, picking up One False Move in paperback, primarily because of its interesting cover and good reviews. The Myron Bolitar series is one of the finest, mixing gravity and humor in an appealing mix that was always a pleasure to read and had enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned mystery readers guessing.

A few years ago, Coben decided it was time to retire Bolitar for awhile. Maybe he decided to give himself a break before he became like Robert B Parker, writing yearly paychecks that were very familiar, but very stale.

However, after reading No Second Chance, I have to wonder if maybe creating a series of standalone books hasn't led him into an even worse rut.

No Second Chance is about Marc Seidman a physician who wakes up after a violent incident in which he's seriously injured, his wife is dead, and his baby is missing. His search for his missing daughter leads him to question his relationships with his wife, sister, ex-girlfriend, and best friend, and wonder how much he really knows about each. Sounds intriguing enough, but look at the premises of his last two novels.

Gone for Good -- Protagonist has a brother who disappears and is presumed to be dead after he apparently murdered his girlfriend. Search to figure out the truth leads him to question how much he knows about the ones he loves.

Tell No One -- Physician thinks his wife died long ago in an incident where he is knocked unconscious. A message on the computer indicates she may be alive. He has to unravel the truth while facing the fact that his family may have secrets he didn't know.

No Second Chance's biggest problem is that it is all action from the beginning. While it certainly makes a good thriller to jump right into the action, Coben forgets that we have to care about the characters in order to care about their quest. As the book begins, his wife is dead and baby is missing. The problem with this is that we never really know or care (beyond the obvious wanting to see a kidnapped baby returned) about the people Seidman's lost, nor do we really know enough about any of the characters in the book to make Seidman's revelations about them generate any real feelings. The ending takes twists and turns that you don't necessarily see coming, but lead to an ending that's disappointing and, if memory serves, is very similar to a Dennis Lehane novel.

Here's hoping that Harlan Coben gets out of the cookie cutter John Grisham mode and starts writing great books again.