Book Review: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben knows how to ratchet tension quickly. In Hold Tight, he begins with a woman's kidnapping and murder. Then we meet Dr. Mike Baye, his wife, attorney Tia, teen son Adam, and pre-teen daughter Jill - seems like the perfect family. However, the parents are monitoring their son's computer. His behavior's changed and his "best" friend Spencer Hill committed suicide. Adam's uncommunicative. Lots of worry and tension.

Plus Coben has his reader witness another woman's kidnapping and murder. What's going on? Is all of this connected? Should we be worried for Adam, who's gone missing? Yowza!

Harlan Coben writes a tight paced mystery thriller. He throws a lot of balls in the air, keeps his reader guessing, and then slowly catches each ball and shows us more clues. Hold Tight is a very fun quick read. Interesting characters, sharp dialogue, some red herrings, and a taut finish.

I'm not going to say anymore, as I don't want to spoil anyone's read. Just hold tight and grasp at clues!!

Plot Place: Motel Musings

Pulled into the Bent Tree Motel parking lot July 3rd. It looked clean and respectable. Pavement sizzled underfoot. No bars on the windows or empty broken beer bottles at our doorstep. No neon signs flickered, nor did any nefarious characters hover in the shadows. (Chances of a noir novel are fading fast.)

We were as incognito as you can get in a cherry red Dodge Ram rental truck.

Room 122. Door wasn't kicked in. Shades were even, without dust or residue. Bright bluish green carpet showed fresh vacuum tracks. There were no cigarette butts in the trash and no sign of a lipstick stained glass on the counter. The television displayed ESPN and the phone had a dial tone. C'mon, I need something to work with here - a trace of blood, a phone number written on a torn business card.

At least the window unit airconditioner lent a hum of despair. Could it keep cranking against 100 plus temperatures?

If we were on a stakeout at this motel, we could run next door for some greasy chicken. At least this offered local flavor versus the Dairy Queen or Arby's further up the block.

As night fell, the insects buzzed, an occasional firecracker popped and we jumped. A car backfired in the distance. Footsteps approached and we held our breath, but they trod to the next room. A key rattled, the door creaked open, and

a gunshot reverberated. We heard a cry and then silence .....

maybe I do have something to work with here. Nothing like a non-chain motel stay to fire the imagination.

Review: A Red Herring Without Mustard

Flavia de Luce is back in A Red Herring Without Mustard, and she has reason to heat up the Bunsen burners in her laboratory. A precocious eleven year-old sleuth, she has her fortune told by a gypsy at a local fair in Bishop's Lacey. Hours later, she finds the woman bludgeoned, barely alive, but perhaps part of an old child abduction scandal. For a wee town, there's a lot smoldering under the surface.

A local ne'er do well, Brookie Harewood is found dead, hanging from the Poseidon statue on de Luce property. Any connection to the gypsy? The Inspector is not pleased at the multiple trips needed to contain Flavia, recover evidence, and put together pieces of the puzzle. All the while, our young lady is two steps ahead of him and outwitting her older mean sisters, too.

From the back cover - As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.

Alan Bradley introduced us to Flavia in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. He has a winning heroine, an enchanting writing style, tricky clues, and an exciting page turner. He's imbued Flavia with a wicked sense of humor and you'll enjoy her exasperation at life in Bishop's Lacey. Even under house arrest, it is hard to contain this delightfully dark yet winning young lady.

I highly recommend A Red Herring Without Mustard. It is a superbly entertaining summer brain twister.