Caught

Harlan Coben has just unleashed a rocket of a book titled CAUGHT. Coben has reached the point in his brilliant career where he has become a genre unto himself; his name comes up in conversation even with casual readers, so that browsing the shelf in any home that has books prominently displayed will more often than not reveal at least one or two Coben titles. But whether you are a longtime fan of his, have a passing familiarity with him, or have never read a word he has written, you need to check out his latest novel. Take two of a parent's major fears --- child abduction and sexual predators --- combine those with the hot button topic of teenage drinking, and you have a book that is as current as tomorrow's newspaper and your favorite news website. Perhaps CAUGHT should have been titled "Caught Up" because that is what you will be from the first paragraph of this book, which begins when Dan Mercer is caught up in a child predator sting. Mercer, who works with foster children, seems to have been caught dead to rights by Wendy Tynes, a fireball investigative television reporter who has been making a career of investigating and catching child molesters. But Tynes winds up with egg on her face and out of a job when the charges against Mercer are thrown out, and he suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old named Haley McWaid has mysteriously vanished from her comfortable home in the New Jersey suburbs. Everyone fears the worst, since Haley, a star lacrosse player who was heading for college in a few months, seemed to have everything to live for and no reason to run away. But when a startling incident involving Tynes occurs, a subsequent investigation provides an unexpected and shocking link between Mercer and Haley. Tynes, given a chance to salvage her career, begins investigating Haley's disappearance, as well as Mercer's background. What she discovers leads her to Mercer's college friends, who all seem to have experienced a dramatic comedown in life within a year of each other. Tynes soon finds that she may well have been wrong about Mercer, as well as many other things, which will have important consequences for herself and others. CAUGHT is a stand-alone title, though there are a number of characters within (Tynes among them) who readers would be welcome to encounter in a future novel. It is arguably Coben's fastest paced and most intricately plotted work. Those familiar with the thriller and mystery genres in general and with Coben's books in particular may guess some of the twists that unfold here. But it is doubtful that they will catch all of them, particularly the ones related to Haley's fate. There are bombshells aplenty, and the storyline is so intricate that it is difficult to describe much about the plot without making major revelations that are best saved for discovery within the covers of the book. Coben's trademark ability to navigate sure-footedly through a complex forest of twists and turns is once again present, and its top

The strength of a Coben thriller is how he mixes the thriller into the everyday and looks at themes from modern life. Typically his stories takes the common man or woman and puts them in a extraordinary situation. When I started this book and saw that it was going to deal with pedophiles I was a little worried at where Coben was going to take me. I do not care to read any detailed descriptions on that subject. No worries though, the story looks at the subject from the standpoint of false accusations, fear and the power of being found guilty in the court of public opinion. Imagine a crime so heinous that your reputation is destroyed whether you are found guilty of the crime or not. In the story you meet Wendy Tynes a Junior reporter who is covering a sting set up to catch pedophiles. This is similar to The Catch a Predator shows on NBC where men are lured to a house thinking they are meeting an under aged girl. But what happens when you catch the wrong guy in your trap? Wendy finds out this maybe the case, but then things begin to spiral out of control and the story whips you around to place you did not see coming! Typical Coben! A wild ride down a mountain road with more twists and turns and finally reaching a "I did not see it coming conclusion!" For another Coben style thriller with a cant' see it coming ending check out Tourist in the Yucatan.

What happens when the consequences of well-meaning choices inadvertently result in the cost of human life? What happened to just trusting your instincts? Wendy Tynes is a new reporter doing a story on pedophiles who prey on young children on the Internet (think To Catch a Predator.) Pretending to be a teenage girl, Wendy lures Dan Mercer, a social worker with no family and very few friends, to the decoy house, springing the cameras and accusations at him. Dan, thinking he was coming to the aid of one of the children he counsels, flees the scene. At the preliminary hearing Dan's lawyer does some fancy footwork and gets the charges dismissed. Meanwhile Wendy is approached by Ed Grayson, the father of one of Dan's "victims". He wants Wendy to help him find Dan so that he can seek his own brand of justice. Because he knows the town hates him, Dan goes into hiding. While in hiding, Dan contacts Wendy and asks her to meet. He tells her that he was set up and wants her help in figuring out who set him up. Because she starts to have some doubts about Dan's guilt, Wendy agrees to the meeting. But unbeknownst to her is followed by Ed Grayson. What happens next will rock her to her core, yet at the same time will be very hard to prove. Hailey McWaid is a beautiful, popular, happy teenager who vanishes one night. The anguish her parents feel is palpable throughout the pages of the book. How can a girl with everything going for her just disappear? They do their best to convince the police that she is not a runway and that something terrible has happened to her. Not only is the community devastated by the actions of Dan Mercer, they are trying to understand how a 17 -year -old girl can just disappear. Her parents struggle to go on for the sake of their other children, but can't live without knowing what has happened to their beloved Hailey. Jenna Wheeler is Dan's ex-wife and closest friend. Dan is the g-dfather to her youngest child and babysits often. When the charges against Dan are leveled, she is the first one to defend him at the expense of her own reputation. She knows that he is not capable of the horrific things they are accusing him of. Will defending her ex force Jenna to flee to a place where no one knows her and what she's been through? Something about both the Dan Mercer story and Hailey's disappearance bothers Wendy. And when Hailey's phone is found in Dan's motel room, she thinks maybe her instinct was wrong and she is missing something. So, being the investigative reporter she is, she starts digging. She finds a sinister connection between Dan and his former college roommates. All of whom have had their lives destroyed in one way or another and all who claim they have been set up. Could Wendy have been so wrong about Dan, causing the vigilante execution of an innocent man? The shocking information Wendy turns up will bring both closure to some while destroying others. Caught is filled with so many twists and turns you will swear you're on

Coben has never written a truly disappointing novel, but his last few efforts--beginning with "The Woods"--veered away from the twist-a-minute storytelling that made his earlier novels so compelling. The twists and accelerated pacing were still there, but to a noticeably smaller degree, and long-time readers couldn't help but feel that they had been treated to two seperate Cobens: Pre-"The Woods" Coben and Post-"The Woods" Coben. "Caught" is a definitely a return to form for this astonishing thriller writer. The twists are back, the characterizations are as well-drawn as in previous works, and Coben's trademark "everyman slice-of-life suburbia" ruminations are as poignant and spot-on as ever. More please.

Harlan Coben's latest novel, Caught, is a bit different than some of his earlier works. I'm an off and on fan, choosing to read some of his books and passing on others. Caught is one of those books that you'll remember reading for a long while. Haunting doesn't quite fit, but it will leave an impression. Caught is timely. How many children have we seen fall into the clutches of unrepentant pedophiles lately? It seems that hardly a week goes by that the national news isn't covering the loss of some innocent child either snatched from their home or grabbed while playing, walking, or jogging. Caught is an interesting compilation of storylines and sub-stories. Front and center is Wendy Tynes, a television reporter set on getting to the big time. To do so, she hosts a program to lure pedophiles into televised traps where they are caught red-handed. (How many of us watched this on tv for real?) Her trap nabs Dan Mercer a social worker who works with children who come from dysfunctional or abusive backgrounds. Talk about the fox in the hen house. The community's anger is immediate and earth shaking. Superimposed on this story is the missing Erin and the country's attempt to find her. Harlan Coben writes a lot of dialogue in Caught. The story moves rapidly. The characters are vivid, well defined, and memorable. I had no problem identifying with Ed Grayson. Caught may be a turning point for Coben. Caught is a book well worth your time to read. I recommend. Peace.