Tell No One: A Novel

There were a couple of instances that seemed too easy to fit into the flow of this book, but this was a very good (typical Coben) read. I really liked the switching between first and third person narrative throughout. And a nice, although not completely surprising, twist at the end. More H.C. For me.

A very good read with a few plot twists and a decent ending . Highly recommend for others to read.

Harlan Coben is easily one of my favorite mystery writers. He has a knack for building suspense from the beginning of his books and building the tension until it’s almost unbearable. Tell No One is a perfect example of this skill. From the first page the reader knows something bad is going to happen. Even as Coben weaves a strand of romance through his introduction of Dr. David Beck and his wife Elizabeth as they go for an anniversary drive, there is an underlying note of danger that will make you hold your breath. As David remembers their thirteenth anniversary, glimmers of warning shift into the memories. By the end of the first chapter the foundation of the tale. I already felt as though I knew the happy couple. The story picks up eight years later as Dr. Beck cares for his patients in a low-income neighborhood. He’s everyone’s dream of a good guy, a doctor who cares more about his patients than making big bucks. He’s the kind of character you root for from the beginning. And when he is thrust into situations where painful memories are rejuvenated you ache for him. The good doctor starts receiving mysterious e-mails and they send him into a tail spin. Although warned to tell no one, he is desperate to talk about the bizarre occurrences. Is his beloved wife Elizabeth alive or is someone playing a terrible and cruel joke on him? And who can he trust? This is a brilliantly woven tale of dark secrets, deadly misunderstandings, and a love that won’t die. Even when things seem most bleak, David hangs on by a thread, desperate to believe Elizabeth has survived. But why has she been hiding for eight years and why won’t she come out now? Most people have favorite characters in the books they read. While all the characters in this book have solid personalities, my favorite is Tyrese Barton. The only thing I’ll say about him is he reminds me a lot of guys I knew growing up in New York City. I think Coben must know the people in the neighborhood where I was raised, and I thank him for representing Tyrese with a raw honesty that gives a genuine picture of New York “gangstas”. There is a delightful twist at the end of the book that I confess took me completely by surprise. There was a secret hinted at throughout the book and I believed I had figured it out. But Coben tricked me again and I’m grateful. Mystery lovers, readers who need suspense with the flavor of reality, and the kind of tension that makes you clench your teeth and stay awake all night reading, need to grab a copy of this book and settle in for a ride down a dark and dirty road.

Lots of turns and twists. Keeps you interested. The writer didn't drag it out by using repetitive info. I would definitely read another book by Harlan Coben.

This is my first novel I have read by Harlan Coben. Although it has been printed over 25 years ago, it just recently showed up on my books you may be interested list. This novel is fast piece, filled with mystery and suspense. The protagonist, David is a very likable young pediatric physician. In the very beginning of the book, we learn that David’s lifelong love, and Wife Elizabeth was murdered by a serial killer. Eight years later, in the present time, while working David receives a strange email with some information that only his late wife would know. This is the start of a roller coaster of emotions, leading him on a life changing week. After every strange piece of information he learns he seems to lean something even more perplexing. He questioned his sanity several times. I’m going to share some spoilers, lol but for others, I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers, suspense, mysteries, etc. SPOILER ALERT: David and Elizabeth have been nearly inseparable since they were seven years old. They had the kind of love that both their parents and friends always thought would not last, but yet it did. These two were clearly soulmates. My reason for knocking a star off the reading is simply because I feel things didn’t quite stay consistent throughout the book. For example, we learn later in the book that Elizabeth fled the country because she thinks her husband drowned, and the killers will seek her out in killer if she stays. Ok, that’s believable. However, at some point, she learns that her husband did not die, and eight years later, she decides to come back and send him cryptic messages to meet. Of course she has to do this believing the killers are monitoring her. my issue with this, is that when it appears it didn’t work and her husband, who has been grieving for the last eight years and never fully got over her, his life is now in utter ruins, as he’s facing a framed murder charge. He’s got killers chasing him and she’s willing to just leave to save herself? She even says those words. Self preservation. Those two people are not the same. A person that love someone that deeply does not act that way. Lastly, the very last page we learned that David is essentially the one that started the whole vendetta against the family by killing a man who rightly deserved to be killed. However, throughout the story, David can’t quite understand why these people are doing the things they are doing. Again, that doesn’t make sense. Maybe he wouldn’t know everything. But if you murdered a billionaire son. It shouldn’t take too much effort to think they may be after the person that did it. I realize the author probably wrote this way to add to the mystery, but it just doesn’t add up to me. All in all, it is still a good fast paced, and exciting read

I finished reading TELL NO ONE by Harlan Coben this past Friday, August 16th, and I am glad that a coincidental confluence of circumstances led to my finally sampling this popular and best selling author's works. I had been occasionally reading the Comments that were posted on Goodreads' discussion topic (the 100 best thrillers of all time? you be the judge) THE MYSTERY, CRIME, AND THRILLER GROUP. One day, I took the time to briefly peruse the list in question, and I noted that Coben's TELL NO ONE was included. Naturally I have seen Harlan Coben's name and read reviews by readers that are convinced that his thrillers are simply unsurpassed by any other author writing today. I have also seen customers allege that he deploys a formulaic plot and if you've read one, you've read them all. The fact is, I'd been toying with the idea of reading a book of his in order to form my own opinion. Then, again coincidentally, I stumbled across a sale on Amazon for one of his books. Yeah, you guessed it, TELL NO ONE. First of all, the author was able to get my attention from the first page, and I knew immediately that this was a book I was definitely going to finish reading. This standalone novel from Coben was published a decade ago if I recall (2009), thus I really can't see the point in regurgitating a brief synopsis of the story line, or similarly revealing any "spoilers" that may inadvertently be read and spoil some future reader's enjoyment. It was a quick, and generally interesting read which is why I am unable to go below a rating of Three Stars. By the time I read the last line of this book, I felt a blend of disappointment, puzzlement, and irritation. I knew that I had to think about it in order to put my finger on what it was that really put me off the novel and the author. I picked up on a liberal bias or slant at the outset, that is our two protagonists David and Elizabeth were the quintessential young liberals in both attitudes and actions. We then add a liberal sister who manages a charity for the underprivileged and downtrodden young people in the streets, and a gay lover in the fashion industry (also our main hero's best friend). The father-in-law and his brother (both in law enforcement and comfortable with firearms) were not depicted with the charitable, loving nobility of the characters populating this book. The billionaire with a blind eye to the faults of his boy, and his two primary henchman, lacked depth, and WU (the lethal villain) was right out of Ian Fleming's foes pitted against 007. It finally came to me what I was so disgruntled about. The author wrote a novel chock full of stereotypes! The whole cast of characters were good hearted wholesome liberal do-gooders and the bad guys were "typecast" as well! One self-reflection made me want to gag---it was when David pondered whether his beloved Elizabeth would maintain her idealistic, giving nature, seeing everyone as basically good---up until the very end of her life at the hands of a sexual sadist. I wasn't able to relate to David, or to any of the protagonists. They did not come across as genuine or real people to me. In my 20's I held many lofty notions about many serious issues in society, and coupled with an alternative life style it is safe to say that I can understand a liberal point of view. However, all of us are inherently human and three dimensional, not cardboard characters with scripted ideals. This book satisfied my curiosity about Cohen's writing and I am glad I read it.

This was a thriller I could not put down. It was engaging, thrilling and so many twist and turns to the very last page. David is morning the loss of his soulmate, even 8 years later. He is just going through the motions of life until he gets an encrypted email with knowledge and information that only his dead wife would know. The very last phrase, “tell no one.” He then embarks on a journey to find the truth about his wife’s death and possibly her “resurrection.”

In this mystery/thriller, Coben displays his storytelling talents as well as his character building skills. Is it a perfect novel? No. But it is certainly a great page turner with a strong romantic flavor. The reliable characters are not necessarily wearing cop uniforms. And one can sometimes count on bandits more than on cops; on family friends rather than on direct family. For Dr David Beck, who lost his wife eight years ago, it is impossible to start over. Perhaps because a sixth sense tells him something no one else wants to hear, that his wife may not be dead after all, that his obsession with her might not be ghastly or even ghostly. From then on, a new truth unravels and puts him in danger. This author is very agile with twists and turns, as well as with the handling of redemption when it comes to some characters with bendable ethics. Managed by less adroit writing, this could have easily become too heavy or religious, but Coben dodges most of this by using drama where drama is needed. This said, he might have handled one circumvolution too many in the end. The surprises that keep adding up at the very end, while deviant and exciting, make the plot a bit too baroque perhaps. His supporting characters are, in my view, stronger than the main ones. The lesbian couple—one member in particular—adds much spice to this novel. So does the sexist drug trafficker with a sick child who, ironically, is more helpful to the innocent than the police. The corrupt cop could inspire scorn, but he’s too powerful and complex a presence not to exhort pathos instead. There is much to say here about Cohen’s social and racial commentaries as well. But I’ll just add this: Cohen tells and he entertains, which is what a self-respecting novelist is supposed to do. Stimulate the reader’s brain, whether or not the reader is aware of it. This is my first Cohen experience, but I suspect it won’t be my last one.