Reviews

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

godofwar's review against another edition

2.0

two-dimensional characters running circles around a contrived plot that's trying too hard to be unpredictable, only to end up so confusing that the characters need to spend the last ~50 pages just stating everything in dialogue because there's really no way for the reader to sort everything out on their own. it's also horribly dated, in a way that makes for a painful reading experience; i get that certain tech must have felt futuristic at the time of publication, but it's just a little cringe to read in 2023 about the wonders of a "camera phone."

Spoiler

one of the 'twists' also feels vaguely transphobic. the main character's wife had faked her death years earlier, and the reason some people found out she wasn't really dead is because the woman whose body she passed off as her own had AIS, but the language used regarding this character and her condition becomes pretty gross. it's not handled well at all.

i'm a fan of a few of coben's shows, so it's disappointing to hate the first book i've read by him. but, i'll give him a couple more chances. hopefully this is just a one-off.

lynxman_44's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

kessler21's review

3.0

This is three stars because of the suspense and edge of your seat story. The writing is okay and the story had several plot holes, but it was exciting.

An ex-con gets a video from his wife's phone of her in a hotel room with a blonde wig and another man. He also receives a close up selfie of the supposed man. Then the adventure begins.

decoachwife's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

liakeller's review

3.0

Interesting story filled with Coben's fun twists and turns. Enjoyable summer read.

fricka's review

2.0

Audio

bookloverqueen's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jemma_wag's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sianw1992's review against another edition

3.0

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben is one of my favourite authors, but this book isn't one of his best. It started off, like all brilliant Coben books with several starts, all to be revealed at the end. I enjoyed the chapters in second person ('you do this...'), it made it much easier to see it from the main character, Matt Hunter's, point of view. I liked Matt and sympathised with him, but the story wasn't really about him, it was about his wife Olivia and all her secrets. I felt the book lost 'the pull' about halfway through and I guessed some of twists before they happened, especially the last one. There were also far too many characters. I had to stop and think about who was who and how they related to the case. However, saying that, I enjoyed reading about Loren Muse. She's appeared before in another book.
Overall three stars, a good book, but not as good as the others.

ellie_2's review against another edition

mysterious tense

4.0