Winning combination of crime and conspiracy

AUTHOR: Harlan Coben PUBLISHER: Penguin RRP: $32.99 REVIEWER: Meghan Harris A PRESENT-DAY murder is bringing back the past for New Jersey police office Nap Dumas who is still mourning the loss of his twin brother who died 15 years ago.

Nap hasn’t been the same since high school when his brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the town’s railroad tracks. Was it a suicide pack or murder? To make the situation harder on teenage Nap, his girlfriend Maura broke up with him and mysteriously disappeared the same day.

He hasn’t been able to let Leo or Maura go for 15 years and now a fresh murder may link them all together.

Harlan Coben is the king of crime and mystery novels, having written about 30 books in his career. But Don’t Let Go takes on a different spin, with a focus on conspiracy in a small town.

Mr Coben’s author’s note in the beginning of the book lets the reader know the story is inspired by rumours from his hometown as a child – one in particular which revolved around a nuclear missile base hidden in plain sight.

Mixing crime with conspiracy is a winning combination and although the reader will be eager to finish the novel to solve the mystery, the combination of great characters and addictive plot makes you wish it lasted a little longer.

Mr Coben often reuses characters across his novels, making his world of crime in America seem even more real, tying in names and faces readers are familiar with.

It would be fantastic to see Nap feature in more of Mr Coben’s books but when Don’t Let Go comes to an end, it feels as if he has been given closure and it appears we won’t be hearing from him again.

Mr Coben weaves in twists and interesting characters throughout, making it a novel you can’t put down.

Mr Coben weaves in twists and interesting characters throughout, making it a novel you can’t put down.