Hold Tight – Harlan Coban

There were two cops who looked almost comical together. One was a tiny Latino in uniform named Guttierez. The other was a tall black woman who introduced herself as Detective Clare Schlich. Schlich was the one who replied to her question: “Your son doesn’t meet the Amber Alert criteria.” “Why not?” “There has to be some evidence he was abducted.” “But he’s sixteen years old and he’s missing.” “Yes.” “So what kind of evidence do you need?” Schlich shrugged. “A witness might be nice.”

“Not every abduction has a witness.” “That’s correct, ma’am. But you need some evidence of an abduction or threat of physical harm. Do you have any?” Tia wouldn’t call them rude; “patronizing” would be the better word. They dutifully took down the information. They did not dismiss their concerns, but they weren’t about to drop everything and put all their manpower on this one.

Clare Schlich made her position clear with questions and follow-ups on what Mike and Tia told her: “You monitored your son’s computer?” “You activated the GPS on his cell?” “You were concerned enough about his behavior to follow him into the Bronx?” “He’s run away before?” Like that. On one level, Tia didn’t blame the two cops, but all she could see was that Adam was missing.

Guttierez had already talked to Mike earlier. He added, “You said you saw Daniel Huff Junior—DJ Huff—on the street? That he might have been out with your son?” “Yes.” “I just spoke to his father. He’s a cop, did you know that?” “I do.” “He said his son was home all night.” Tia looked at Mike. She saw something explode behind his eyes. His pupils became pinpricks. She had seen that look before. She put a hand on his arm, but there was no calming him.

“He’s lying,” Mike said. The cop shrugged his shoulders. Tia watched Mike’s swollen face darken. He looked up at her, then at Mo, and said, “We’re out of here. Now.” The doctor wanted Mike to stay another day, but that wasn’t going to happen. Tia knew better than to play the concerned wife. She knew that Mike would get over his physical injuries.

He was so damn tough. This was his third concussion—the first two he’d suffered in a hockey rink.

Parents will find this compulsive page-turner from Edgar-winner Coben (The Woods) particularly unnerving. A sadistic killer is at play in suburban Glen Rock, N.J., outside New York City, but somehow he’s less frightening than the more mundane problems that send ordinary lives into chaos. 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? Other issues include single parenting; career versus family; marital honesty; and how much information you should share with a child at what age. Coben plucks each of these strings like a virtuoso as Mike and Tia Baye try to deal with the increasing withdrawal of their 16-year-old son, Adam, after a friend’s suicide.

A pair of brutal, seemingly senseless killings, punctuate the unfolding domestic troubles that ratchet up the tension and engulf the Baye family, their friends and neighbors in a web of increasing tragedy. The this could be me factor lends poignancy to the thrills and chills. OceanofPDF.com Hold Tight Harlan Coben OceanofPDF.com In loving memory of my children’s four grandparents: Carl and Corky Coben Jack and Nancy Armstrong We miss all of you very much OceanofPDF.com 1 MARIANNE nursed her third shot of Cuervo, marveling at her endless capacity to destroy any good in her pathetic life, when the man next to her shouted, “Listen up, sweetcakes: Creationism and evolution are totally compatible.”

His spittle landed on Marianne’s neck. She made a face and shot the man a quick glance. He had a big bushy mustache straight out of a seventies porn flick. He sat on her right. The overbleached blonde with brittle hair of straw he was trying to impress with this stimulating banter was on her left. Marianne was the unlucky luncheon meat in their bad-pickup sandwich. She tried to ignore them. She peered into her glass as if it were a diamond she was sizing up for an engagement ring.

Marianne hoped that it would make the mustache man and straw-haired woman disappear. It didn’t. “You’re crazy,” Straw Hair said.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: ec974defaab88d95
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,519,431 bytes (1.449 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 333
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 518.3 minutes
• Total Words: 103,661
• Total Characters: 567,741
• Average Words per Page: 311.29
• Average Characters per Page: 1704.93

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