Home

Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Suspense
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 385
Series: #11 in the Myron Bolitar series
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin Random House Canada)
First Published: September 20, 2016
First Line: "The boy who has been missing for ten years steps into the light."

Book Description from GoodReads: Ten years after the high-profile kidnapping of two young boys, only one returns home in Harlan Coben’s next gripping thriller, to be published in September 2016.

A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For ten years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for ten years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken? And most critically: What can he tell Myron and Win about the fate of his missing friend? Drawing on his singular talent, Harlan Coben delivers an explosive and deeply moving thriller about friendship, family, and the meaning of home.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

My Review:  Harlan Coben is the master, the Big Cheese or the Grand Poobah, if you will, of writing a fast-paced, twist filled story, keeping his readers engaged and providing multi-dimensional (often humorous) characters. Ya, he writes some great suspenseful fiction and Myron Bolitar is my favourite of all of his main characters.

One of my favourite things about this series are the characters, specifically the friendship between Myron and Win.  They are as close as brothers and have a wonderfully funny banter that gives the reader a sense of the depth of their long-term friendship.  This lightheartedness is much needed to balance some serious issues that are brought to light in this book, such as child abduction, prostitution ...  But make no mistake, while these two friends throw out some funny one-liners, they are smart, have each other's backs and are quite dangerous if you get on their wrong side.

While the book is mainly written in the third person there are several chapters that give voice to Win's inner thoughts.  I loved getting to know Win a bit better.  Win is very rich, knows people in dark places, has dry humour down pat and is oh-so-very dangerous even though he comes in a rather small and seemingly meek, well-heeled package.  When you add in secondary characters, Esperanza and Big Cyndi, it just gets even better.

The plot in Home is fairly intricate and has quite a few characters but Coben keeps everything clear for his readers.  He provides numerous red herrings to keep his readers guessing and the book ends with a rather awesome reveal that made me utter 'No WAY!'.

If Home is the first book of this series that you've picked up you'll still enjoy the twists and turns but I think reading many (or all) of the previous books will help give you real sense of what these characters have been through together.  This is the ONLY series I've ever read out of order and I plan to fill in some of the blanks by reading the books I've missed.  

This is a quick read with short chapters which will keep you thinking "I'll read just one more chapter ..." and then you'll find that you've read another 50 pages and still don't want to put it down.  This is a great addition to the Bolitar series.  

Highly recommended.