Review by Seeley James
Stay Close – Author Harlan Coben ~105,000 words, $27.99 HC / $14.99 E
According to his website, Harlan Coben has 50 million books in print worldwide, making him the most underappreciated author of our time. If readers truly appreciated the man, he’d have four or five times that many books in print. Until now I was one of those who did not appreciate him. My wife recommended his books to me several times over the years. So did a friend of mine. For one reason or another, I never read one until just now. I’m a convert. I get why he does so well despite having half of his works published as stand-alone books (10 Myron Bolitar books, 2 Mickey Bolitar books, and 11 stand alone.)
There has long been a debate among book snobs about plot-driven versus character-driven novels. The former often being code for ‘commercial’ fiction and the latter being code for ‘literary’. College professors and MFA graduates turn up their noses at commercial fiction and preach the higher arts. Patterson, Child, Grafton, Cussler, Roberts, Deaver, et al, just write to entertain. Guess which one is more exciting to read? Guess which types of authors live well? Shakespeare was considered ‘commercial’ in 1599 (he was not revered until the 19th Century when the Victorians ushered in popularity that George Bernard Shaw called ‘Bardolotry’). However, before we dismiss the beauty and reading pleasure of literary, we should note that character depth gives the reader more emotional investment and heightens the tension of a story. We don’t see it as often as we might because it also slows down the pace of a thriller.
Mr. Coben straddles that fence like a world class tightrope walker. He brings the balance to the highest plain currently available. From the opening page the reader is taken deep inside the character’s head. This is from page one:
That horrible moment—the moment Ray’s life changed completely, transforming him from a man with a future and aspirations into this Grade-A loser you see in front of you—never visited him in his dreams or when he sat alone in the dark. The devastating visions waited until he was wide-awake, surrounded by people, busy at what some might sarcastically dub work.
Sure, that is one of the opening grab-ya statements we mystery/thriller authors are always throwing at you on page one. And it is a great example of just that. However, it keeps going, page after page. You get deeper into the story and find beautiful passages of realism that any parent, having weathered a few teenage years, will tell you rings the ‘yep, been there, said that’ bell:
Out in the backyard, Kaylie, her fifteen-year-old daughter, was picking on her younger brother, Jordan. Megan sighed and opened the window. “Cut it out, Kaylie.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I’m standing right here watching you.”
Details in the minutia paint a more complete picture that brings us closer to the characters. When we’re closer, we care more. Despite the fact that this story is populated with lower-class people who fought or forged their way out of the strip clubs and seedy side, we care about them and want them to succeed. (Wouldn’t it be great if real life were like that? Where we actually cared about losers? Yeah. Well.)
We even care about the killer, right up, and maybe even through, the end. The killer is a murdering swine of course. But one who, in certain circles, could be viewed as having done the right thing. Only a brilliant writer could have readers scratching their heads at the ending: Was that OK? Was there a certain type of justice in that? Or was that just a sick society creating another celebrity to satisfy our bizarre and conflicted needs?
Definitely worth reading. I’m even going back to read his back list.
Peace, Seeley James
