{"id":2448,"date":"2024-08-23T22:29:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T20:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/?p=2448"},"modified":"2024-08-23T22:29:43","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T20:29:43","slug":"gone-for-good-by-harlan-coben-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/2024\/08\/23\/gone-for-good-by-harlan-coben-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Gone For Good by Harlan Coben \u2013 Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Gone<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I think I’ve found the most accurate three sentences that I will use from now on to start every review of a Harlan Coben book. They go like this: “There are two types of Harlan Coben. The brilliant author of the Myron Bolitar series. And the other one, who writes all his other books.” The Klein family’s past, marked by a brutal murder and a brother who disappeared a decade ago, belongs to the other<\/em> Coben’s works. However, with Gone For Good<\/em>, it\u2019s not something you can clearly decide until almost the very end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harlan Coben, Master of Suburban Thrillers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indeed. That\u2019s why I usually stop reading all his books after a few pages. Except, of course, for the aforementioned series. The cynicism, coolness, and darkness of the Bolitar books are so sorely lacking in his other works that they all come across as uninteresting. Fortunately, Gone For Good<\/em> is a different case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trials of the Klein family, plagued by grief and ostracism, set a sufficiently grim tone right from the start. This is compounded by a mystery that has remained unsolved for 11 years. But it’s obvious that things didn\u2019t go down the way the police portray them; after all, there\u2019s no way Ken would kill his beloved younger brother\u2019s ex-girlfriend and then disappear without a trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What more does a book need to captivate you even more? Love, of course! And the love between Will and Sheila certainly seems like something made in heaven.

At least, until everything falls apart even more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Will Klein, the Amateur Detective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no shortage of thrillers where ordinary people set out to solve crimes, but there are very few that actually work well. Amateurs are often clueless about things that a seasoned crime reader is well aware of. As a result, they make amateur mistakes. They stumble, they fumble, and they get into even bigger messes than they were already in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harlan Coben deserves credit here because Will Klein, the protagonist of Gone for Good<\/em>, isn\u2019t like that at all. Well, maybe just a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But considering that Will admits he\u2019s not particularly brave, he handles things pretty well. (Of course, it helps that he has the solid support of Squares, the book\u2019s second-best character.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, such daring ventures tend to go awry when the protagonists encounter their first serious adversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ghost in the Suburbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The greatest strength of Gone For Good<\/em> is John Asselta, aka the Ghost. With the Ghost, Coben has created not just a formidable opponent but an entirely unbeatable enemy, against whom no one stands a chance. Least of all the unlucky Will Klein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ghost\u2019s very introduction is so impactful that it could belong in any action thriller or spy novel. But here, Coben immediately commits one of the few flaws in his book: he sacrifices plausibility for effect. After all, who in their right mind would want to kill their best\u2014and likely only\u2014friend and business partner at the exact moment when they most need to cooperate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Coben might know the answer\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mafia Moves to the Suburbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, wherever the mafia shows up, they generally operate under the same strict principles. Anyone who crosses them will sooner or later be chopped into little pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The excitement factor in Gone For Good<\/em> is naturally heightened by the fact that what starts as a simple small-town murder gradually, through many twists and turns, transforms into a mafia thriller. The transition is smooth, with the relatively small cast of characters skillfully maneuvered. There\u2019s always something happening that overwrites or casts new light on the events so far. This makes Harlan Coben’s book gripping. The reader sometimes ends up biting their nails in suspense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harlan Coben is Still a Softie<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everyone knows how important the ending of a story is. A good ending can elevate an otherwise mediocre book. A weak one, however, achieves the exact opposite. Um. Well.

The ending of Gone For Good<\/em> is awful. It’s dull and boring. And also unbelievable. Forced sentimentality rarely ends well, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this is what happens when an author insists on a happy ending at all costs. Even when his characters have been speeding toward a cliff at the pace of an express train throughout the story. No wonder it feels like the whole thing was a con. But maybe that\u2019s an exaggeration. Maybe you\u2019re just bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Harlan Coben writes crime novels effortlessly, the kind that other authors can only produce through blood and sweat. The protagonist of Gone for Good<\/em>, Will Klein, fights against family secrets, the FBI, and the most ruthless enemy imaginable, with little to no hope of success. The result is a thriller that genuinely manages to create spine-chilling tension. If only the ending weren\u2019t so terribly saccharine!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: 8.2\/10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gone for Good<\/em> by Harlan Coben
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published in 2003 by Dell<\/a>
—
You my also be interested in:
Win by Harlan Coben<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think I’ve found the most accurate three sentences that I will use from now on to start every review of a Harlan Coben book. They go like this: “There are two types of Harlan Coben. The brilliant author of the Myron Bolitar series. And the other one, who writes all his other books.” The … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[25,163,150,115,55,32,179,83,39],"class_list":["post-2448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book","tag-crime","tag-domestic-thriller","tag-family","tag-mafia","tag-mystery","tag-psychological-thriller","tag-revenge","tag-suspense","tag-thriller"],"yoast_head":"\nGone For Good by Harlan Coben \u2013 Book Review - minimal-Critiques<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gone for Good evolves from a small-town murder into a tense, twist-filled mafia thriller. 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