Wednesday, May 12, 2010

40. Gone for Good by Harlan Coben (audio)

This is the second audio version of Harlan Coben's book that I have listened to.  While both books were great, I really liked the narrator of this version better.  His voice is clear and easy to understand; and he is able to change his voice just enough so the listener can follow who is speaking.  Great job.
As for the story itself, it was full of twists and turns; had a nice romance without any gratuitous sex and the romance worked right into the story itself; and the characters were believable, some were a little too black and white:  Will was a bit too innocent and clueless but definitely a good guy, while McWayne was as evil as they come.  Other characters you think you know only to find what you thought may be wrong.  But they all grasped your interest from the start.  The mystery surrounds a murder that took place eleven years earlier when Will's brother was accused of killing his old girlfriend, Julie.  The brother disappears and there is a taint attached to the family from then on.  When his mother dies of cancer, Will's girlfriend disappears as well, and the action just escalates.  This was an abridged version of the book which contributed to my confusion of what was going on as well as the fact that I listened to it over the course of three days.  It would always take me a minute or two to remember what was going on or who someone was; sometimes longer than a minute or two.  Even so, I really enjoyed listening to this book  and was interested and surprised right up to the final sentence.  I have two Coben books sitting on the shelf.  I hope they are as much fun to read as they are to listen to.
Rating:  4.5

2 comments:

  1. I think I read this one, but I'm beginning to realize that most of Harlan Coben's books blend together in my mind, so I'm not positive. Eeks. Glad you enjoyed it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like Harlan Coben. Have you read his latset one called Caught? I reviewed it on my blog:

    http://seizethebookblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-review-caught-by-harlan-coben.html

    Thanks for your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete