Sunday, May 15, 2011

Caught, by Harlan Coben ***

17 year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.

Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborate—and nationally televised—sting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined.

In a novel that challenges as much as it thrills, filled with the astonishing tension and unseen suburban machinations that have become Coben’s trademark, Caught tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can’t trust her own instincts about this case—or the motives of the people around her



There are two kinds of mysteries, I think. There are the mysteries with foreshadowing and clues that are subtly hidden throughout the story that inform the reader, à la "Sixth Sense". These clues shouldn't be enough to solve the mystery, but once the answer is given, they should be enough that the reader understands exactly what happened and why.

Alternatively, there are mysteries where the readers follow the protagonist through the various steps as they solve the mystery. Done well, the reader can figure out the whodunit with the main character. Hidden clues throughout the book would lead up to the answers, and once exposed, tie everything together.

What I'm not a big fan of are the second type of mysteries, when the reader follows the protagonist through the various steps to solve the mystery, only to have the answer come out of left field with little to no warning. If the author needs to explain him or herself for 15-20 pages after the mystery is solved, they haven't done their job in my opinion.

This was that kind of book. There was a mystery. There was a character with a supporting cast who intended to solve the mystery. She ran around to check things out. Possibilities were tossed out. Red Herrings were provided. When the mystery was solved, the answer came out of the blue. The explanations then had to be spoon fed to the reader, because there hadn't been enough information provided earlier in the book.

I found myself getting into the story as I read this book, but not to the extent that I had any trouble putting it down. The main character was believable, but some of the supporting characters were beyond weird. As for the mystery - this is where it failed, in my opinion. I didn't read the last few pages. I read until the mystery was solved. I read 10-15 pages of explanation of how the solution came about, and then I'd had enough.

2 comments:

  1. can I offer a book to try out. Danny Langone's book titled "Flybait's Lament" a (little) crude humor ,a BUNCH of hilarious humor and a murder mystery. He's my friend from Wisconsin and he is a poet and author, as yet not totally discovered. I think he is so witty and interesting with his stories. Can I interest you in his book? you can see a review of it on Amazon.com web site (search his name)

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  2. Hi Kat,

    Thanks for stopping by. I actually read your review of Flybait's Lament a while ago on your blog and went looking for it. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available in Canada (at least from Amazon or Chapters.) I'll keep it on my list of books to keen an eye out for, and if I find it I'll definitely let you know.

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