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| Hold Tight | 
 enlarge | Author: Harlan Coben
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy Used: $1.98
You Save: $24.97 (93%)
New (85) Used (117) Collectible (13) from $1.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  135 reviews
Sales Rank: 2749
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0525950605
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780525950608
ASIN: 0525950605
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Former library copy with all the usual markings, stamps and stickers. Pages in good condition with exception of wear/curl/folds/staining to edges/corners. Mylar cover shows wear. Great book at a great price!!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Another Addicting Masterpiece! April 15, 2008
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
Mike and Tia Baye are worried about their son, Adam. Ever since Adam lost a good friend to suicide, he has withdrawn from the family. After much deliberation they decide to install spy software on his computer to keep track of his internet activity. Everything seems normal until an instant message from a mysterious source turns the Baye's world upside down.
Betsy Hill mourns like any mother would over the loss of her son Spencer. As troubled as he was no one thought he would ever take his own life. While reading her son's Myspace memorial page she comes across a photo that changes everything she thought about her son's death. Now she must confront Spencer's best friend, Adam, who is the only person who may really know what happened the night Spencer died.
Soon both families are intertwined in a desperate search for truth that will reveal shocking answers. As the questions are answered more families become involved and connections to a baffling police case come to light. Now Mike and Tia must dig through all the layers of secrecy if they hope to save their son before it's too late.
Harlan Coben holds nothing back in his latest offering. This is high caliber suspense, gut-wrenching drama, and engrossing mystery all rolled into one. Coben brings the thriller genre full force into suburbia and gives us an eye-opening glance into the very real dangers that threaten families in our society. In Hold Tight we are effectively thrown into the middle of every parent's worst nightmare and what a scary and sobering experience it is. As always Coben's writing proves to be second to none as he effectively weaves several storylines together and somehow manages to link them all together without ever revealing where the story is heading. Coben's fans will also enjoy some character cameos from his last novel, The Woods. Hold Tight can certainly be read as a stand alone title, but I highly recommend readers pick up a copy of The Woods to get the full effect of both stories.
Coben has not only created another addicting masterpiece, but he has blessed us with an unforgettable cautionary tale about parenthood. This one will no doubt keep you up all night nervously flipping through the pages. However, in the end you will want to hug your kids tightly and tell them how much you love them. If you haven't read Coben before you will indeed wonder why after this one.
 Not his best work April 25, 2008
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
This is not Coben's best work. Very preachy - sometimes spending several paragraphs to beat us over the head with his theme, sometimes having his teenage characters engage in unbelievable conversations. The two main story lines - otherwise unconnected - come together in the Baye family: way too much coincidence. Then he throws in a third story line with the neighbor's son's medical problems and that - of course - also ties in. Give me a break.
Another great thriller by Coben! April 29, 2008
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
HOLD TIGHT is another great thriller from one of the best in the business, Harlan Coben. I've read all of Coben's recent work and but only two Bolitar novels. I'm an aspiring novelist, and Coben is one of the few authors that truly inspires me. I love the feeling and emotion he instills into a story. His novels follow a familiar formula. A good man is thrust into some incredible circumstances where his life is turned upside down. The hero always prevails in the end, usually after living through some incredible twists in turns.
In HOLD TIGHT, Coben has taken a slightly different approach. The complex plot revolves around a group of families living in the same neighborhood. They all have their own problems and as the plot unravels, the problems of the families come together, resulting in an exciting climax.
Mike and Tia Baye are concerned about their son Adam. He's changed since his friend Spencer's suicide. Mike is distraught that the once greate relationship he had with his son is unraveling. They decide to install software that will allow them to spy on Adam's every move. These leads them to areas they could never imagine. Susan Lorriman is the Baye's next door neighbor. She is beautiful but holds a dark secret. She is also fighting to save the life of her [...], who needs a kidney transplant.
In a photo memorial for Spenser, his mom Betsy Hill discovers a picture that indicates she might not actually know everything about the night Spenser died. She does some digging and finds out Adam might know more that he is letting on. Then there is Guy Novak, the single dad who is trying to help is daughter recover from a devestating insult hurled by her fifth grade teacher.
To top the plot off, there is a pair of crazy demented souls kidnapping women and killing them. The women also live in the neighborhood.
HOLD TIGHT is a really good book, but it is defnitely not one of Coben's best. I applaud his effort to create more of an ensemble novel that spans a short time period. The characters work, no problem there. The problem lies in the plot twists. It is believable for Coben's crazy plots to happen to one person. Here, he takes just as many crazy plot twists, has them all happen to separate families, yet ties them all together in the end. There were just a few too many coincidences to be believable. Still, that doesn't change the enthusiasm I had for this novel. Coben is at the top of his game and has once again written a great thriller.
 Not Coben April 27, 2008
12 out of 19 found this review helpful
I am a Harlan Coben fan; I've read and enjoyed most of his books. I am convinced this book was not written by the Harlan Coben I am a fan of. It lacks his humor and pacing. It lacks his feel for place, character and nuance. It lacks his workmanship and attention to the subtleties of language. This Coben's cops aren't real; his kids aren't real; his suburbanites aren't real.
The dialog is wooden, uninteresting, unfunny and untrue. The narrative is windy; it is filled with pseudo-philosophical excursions that contribute nothing to the plot. The characters are two dimensional, dull and drawn without care or art.
A lot of the exposition is aimed at establishing the author's intelligence and specialized knowledge; it lacks Coben's usual self-confidence. A lot of the exposition attempts to explain the obvious; it lacks Coben's usual trust and respect for his readers.
Normally I finish Coben books in one or two sittings. I am struggling with this one, wading through the poor writing to find out what happened.
This book was not written--it was assembled from used parts--and not by a master craftsman.
Coben delivers once again; a real nail-biter April 18, 2008
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Harlan Coben is skilled at devising very unusual thrillers with twists and quirks that take the reader all over the emotional and psychological map, and this book is no exception.
This time around, the parental nightmare of a teen suicide is the launching pad for an excursion into the world of adolescent angst and the dilemma parents face in how to deal with it, particularly when it spirals terribly out of control. Throw into the mix a psychotic killer trying to appease his own demons, and you have Coben's portrayal of a middle-class neighborhood that could almost be set in a Bosch landscape.
What really goes on behind the placid facade of our neighbors' public personas? This is essentially the question Coben poses in this engaging novel.
Vividly-drawn characters, taut pacing, and clever plotting help drive this work, and deliver a very fun and satisfying experience for the reader.
The only reason I held back that fifth star was that the ultimate fates of a couple of the "bad guys" were somewhat vaguely resolved, and this detracted a bit from the satisfaction factor of the book's finale. But it's a minor point, and doesn't at all affect my recommendation for this work.
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