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| Hold Tight | 
 enlarge | Author: Harlan Coben
Creator: Scott Brick
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged Lib Ed
Category: Book
List Price: $102.25
Buy New: $63.75
You Save: $38.50 (38%)
New (17) Used (3) from $63.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  128 reviews
Sales Rank: 3499687
Format: Audiobook, Cd, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Library
Number Of Items: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 6.4 x 1
ISBN: 1423327497
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781423327493
ASIN: 1423327497
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new audiobook! Delivered direct from our US warehouse by Expedited (4-7 days) or Standard (usually 10-14 days but can be longer). Expedited shipping recommended for speedier delivery. Over 1 million satisfied customers
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Product Description
Mike held his son’s hand and told him to “hold tight,” and he could feel the little hand dig into his but the crush got bigger and the little hand slipped from his and Mike felt that horrible panic, as if a wave hit them at the beach and it was washing his baby out with the tide.
The separation lasted only a few seconds, ten at the most, but Mike would never forget the spike in his blood and the terror of those brief few moments.
Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill - the latest in a string of issues at school - they can’t help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer, and within days they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son: “Just stay quiet and all safe.”
Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son’s death…and he wasn’t alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera’s range; but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community. For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this: When it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 123 more reviews...
 A complex jigsaw that marks a change of pace May 6, 2008
41 out of 48 found this review helpful
Harlan Coben specializes in writing intricate and suspenseful mysteries that keep you turning pages late into the night. His first (and to my mind, his best) standalone murder mystery was "Tell No One". Since then he has written several more novels which have been increasingly similar in plot. I was pleasantly surprised that "Hold Tight" marks a departure in formula, in that it doesn't center on an ancient murder case or the long ago disappearance of a family member. While this does mean that the book struggles a little to find its own momentum, at least Coben is trying something different instead of giving us more of the same.
"Hold Tight" juggles a number of different stories, all of which in some way center on the theme of parents trying to protect and/or understand their children. While initially they seem to be quite disparate plotlines, eventually the connections between them become apparent and it is this process of putting the jigsaw pieces together that is the most satisfying part of reading "Hold Tight". One of the things that I really like about Harlan Coben's writing is that there are never any loose ends or things that get left unexplained.
"Hold Tight" is a little slower in pace than his other novels and at times it gets confusing keeping track of so many people, but it's still is a satisfying mystery that keeps the suspense going right until the final pages.
Coben can do much better April 21, 2008
31 out of 48 found this review helpful
Hold Tight, Harlan Coben's newest entry into what can now be considered a fairly sizeable body of mystery writings, is a disappointment. Actually, it is more that that - it is seemingly a total sell out by an author who had previously developed fun and interesting characters and wove them into a very good and taut story line. Now it appears (and one can obviously never be sure) that Coben is on some 5 book contract and he is just pumping them out. Hold Tight is all plot, and plenty of it. In fact - way too much and the author contrives to weave multiple sub-plots into an often disjointed main "theme". For those who have enjoyed his rich development of both characters and plot - keep hunting or read an earlier book. Coben is going the way of Grippando, but I remain hopeful and will give him one more book. After that his books will go on the shelf at my summer house that allows, nah, encourages visitors to bring the books home with them - no need to ever sent them back. Mr. Coben, you can go the way of Crais and Connelly or the shameless way of James Patterson. Your fans are holding tight.
 4 1/2 Stars...Modern Technology, Age-Old Values April 18, 2008
24 out of 38 found this review helpful
Over the last few years, Harlan Coben's name has become synonymous with plot twists and family issues and pulse-pounding storytelling. His last book, "The Woods," was no exception, yet it moved toward caricature and implausibility. Apparently, though, he listened to the naysayers and came up with "Hold Tight."
Imagine you're a parent. Your teen son has lost a friend to an overdose of prescription pills. You worry that your son is headed down a similar path. And so, to alleviate your concerns, you have someone install spyware on his computer to monitor his activities. Soon, his activities have everyone spiraling toward confrontation, and no one is to be trusted.
Coben, once again, has mixed the ethical questions of modern technology with age-old values of family and trust. He touches on many angles of this, using plot-relevant dialogue to address parenthood, nature vs. nurture, as well as teen rebellion and Internet temptations. He blends these issues seamlessly into a fast-paced mystery. He provides his expected--or unexpected!--twists and turns, and he unravels them as clearly, yet as satisfyingly, as he's ever done. This makes the story more believable than his last effort, while somewhat taming its overall shock value.
For those familiar with "The Woods," there are fun surprises throughout, involving Paul Copeland and Loren Muse, not to mention a reference or two to characters from the Mylon Bolitar series. Coben continues to take current concerns and make them not only entertaining, but also thought-provoking. His writing has pared down a bit, with some loss in overall character depth, but there's a reason Coben has risen to the top of the bestseller lists. With stories such as "Hold Tight," I expect he'll stay there for years to come.
Fasten The Seatbelt On Your Favorite Reading Chair And Get Ready For A Roller Coaster Of A Read! April 15, 2008
23 out of 31 found this review helpful
Hold Tight is definitely one of Harlan Coben's top three books -- and it may be his best yet! It is a book that grabs your attention from page one and never lets go until the last word on the last page. Hold Tight is largely plot-driven, although Coben's characters are mostly interesting and ones that people, and particularly parents, will be able to relate to. They are not characters, however, whose visual profiles came strongly to life for me. Further, if you have read Coben's Myron Bolitar series, I think you'll consider the characters of Mike Baye and his friend Mo to be pretty reminiscent of his characters, Myron Bolitar and his friend, Win. As I said, the strength of this book is its plot, not its character development. But what a plot it is! Basically, the book revolves around two story lines: (1) Mike Baye and his wife trying to deal with the increasing withdrawal of their 16-year-old son after a friend's suicide, and (2) a pair of brutal, seemingly unrelated killings, which serve to highlight the domestic troubles that ensue and draw the Baye family, their friends and neighbors in a sea of tragedy. In addition to Hold Tight's exciting plot, Coben wraps the story around the following highly relevant ethical questions that most parents have to wrestle with: How do you weigh a child's privacy against a parent's right to know? How do you differentiate normal teenage rebelliousness from out-of-control behavior? When and how do you intervene if suicidal signs appear? Be prepared to put off whatever you were planning to do once you start Hold Tight, as you won't want to put this book down. I highly recommend Hold Tight to all readers of exciting, suspenseful plot-driven thrillers.
Great Thriller By a Master of the Genre May 29, 2008
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
Harlan Coben has a tendency to create mulitiple plot threads that never seem like they will ever come together. This book is no exception.
In his new book, Coben, explores a problem in today's society. Privacy. He explores how the internet changed everything. Now, that anyone can post anything they want about you and there isn't much you can do.
At the center of these themes is the Baye family (pronounced "by"). Mike and Tia have recently installed a spy program to keep an eye on their sixteen-year-old son, Adam. They do this after a friend of Adam has recently commited suicide. After a cryptic IM, Mike tries to keep Adam home but then he runs away. So begins the search for the teenager. The search takes Mike into the seedy part of the Bronx.
Meanwhile, a killer is at large and killing what seems to be random women. The reason behind it all will keep you guessing until the end. Also, a patient of Mike and his partner needs a kidney transplant and the mother holds a devestating secret. A father tries to come to terms with the fact that he cannot keep his daughter from harm after a popular teacher embarrasses her in class. We also see the police working the killer's case.
All threads converge very nicely into a sweet bow. Some are a little too forced but all in all, the suspense never relents and Coben once again keeps you guessing until the very end when the final secret is revealed.
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