Critical Mick

Reviews Free of Rules.

Reviews by the Clown that All Other Critics Want to Strangle with a Black Turtleneck

No Second Chance
Harlan Coben
Signet, 2004

"Vintage Coben" is Right

Last year, Tell No One's absence of hardboiled clichés put it on the Critical Mick Best 2004 shortlist. I found Coben refreshingly original in his approach to the thriller. Example: one of the big baddies didn’t even get killed in the end. That’s a change.

No Second Chance is straight up that Tell No One alley. Directly, dotted-white-line straight up the middle. Both novels have a thirty-something doctor as their main character. Both open with this character suffering horrific injuries in the seemingly-random attack which takes the life of his spouse. Much later, it comes to light that this horrific event was no accident. The doc becomes an unlikely detective, dodging the cops while delving into a world of callous yet colourful psychopaths, missing millions, high action and unusual allies.

Both stories reunite the doc with a long-lost love. And share the settings of New York/New Jersey. And have a similar approach, mixing first and third person. The pace is the same. And... hmm. I won’t give any more plot twists or details away, because No Second Chance deserves a read of your own. Preferably if you’ve never read Tell No One.

If you have read Tell No One, avoid déjà vu and spend your dough on something that is completely fresh and different. (Motherless Brooklyn! Motherless Brooklyn!)

In summary: this is the type of book that's easy to devour. Enjoy Coben, but enjoy him like you would a Supermac's Super Mega Family-Sized Combo Meal. The first one is tasty, but if you order a second straight again, it's just not as great.

Harlan! What the hell were you thinking, giving Dan Brown a rave like that? Critical Mick lost a lot of respect.

Yo! This review and all content on the DFA Guide site are copyright 2005 Mick Halpin. All links to other sites and documents are copyright to whatever source wrote something cool enough for Mick to give it a referral. Try to claim them as your own work and bad karma will catch up with you, baby. Believe it.

Irate, huh? Managed to piss off another one? Direct your hatemail to mick @ mickhalpin dot com.

This Page Was Last Updated On 21 October, 2005.