Hold Tight

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In Coben's world, the consequences are dire, but in some ways that makes his plots more believable. What happens to his characters, who are usually in thier 30s and 40s leading normal lives and have families, could happen to nearly every one of us. Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his best friend Spencer Hill, they can’t help but worry. Within days of installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer, they are jolted by a cryptic message from an unknown correspondent that shakes them to their core “just stay quiet and all safe.” Perhaps my scathing criticism is a product of my tastes, but with nearly every mystery I've ever read, the author seems to simply be going through the motions. Mr. Coben is particularly guilty of a class 1 felony, Failure to Develop Characters. The only––and I mean only––reason I can muster as to why people read a book like this is simple.

Very mediocre thriller. Ridiculous plot (the "crazed" killer was laughable), and very cardboard characters - the parents trying to decide in a very stagey way whether or not to install spy software on their son's computer and then discovering a strange exchange of instant messages, the bitch lawyer who has never had kids, blah blah blah. I wonder if he had taken out some of the subplots and characters, if the main story would have flowed better and the plot would have been tighter than it was. It would have been nice to see this go through another edit that replaced all the infodumps with action and showed what happened instead of telling it to the reader. The daughter of Marianne and Guy, Yasmin, is being bullied at school because her teacher (Joe Lewiston) commented on her facial hair in front of the class. Yasmin shows her only friend Jill Baye (Mike and Tia's daughter) her father's (Guy) gun, which is already loaded and hidden in a drawer in their house. She tells Jill how she dreams of getting revenge on Mr. Lewiston. An affluent neighbourhood where the residents seem to live privileged prosperous lives but is it a happy prosperous life? Behind closed door the veneer of the privilege is stripped bare. There is the young girl whose life went down the toilet after an off hand, callous comment by a much respected teacher.One of the other heavy topics that comes up in this book is teenage suicide. One of the characters commits suicide before the story begins. Coben gives the reader a glimpse of the effects this event has on both parents as well as the character's best friend. I've not had a child commit suicide, but I could definitely connect with Betsy Hill after this insight: A devastating tragedy has triggered Nash's 'crazy' to emerge again. He seeks to squelch his itch under the guise of keeping a promise to the former love of his life. While several of Coben’s works have made it to the screen over the years, his first title to hit Netflix was Safe in 2018 — an original series created by Coben and set in Britain, starring Michael C. Hall as a widowed father struggling to connect with his two teenage daughters after the death of their mother — until one of them goes missing. Crime thrillers are universal — tense plotting and suspenseful reveals are exciting in any language, and (unfortunately) the dark side of human nature is present in every culture. Which is why many of bestselling American author Harlan Coben’s novels have been adapted into series in several countries. The latest, based on 2008’s Hold Tight, is his second Polish-language original Netflix series (after 2020’s The Woods). Debuting in April 2022, Hold Tight follows a woman on a harrowing search for her son, who disappears after his friend is found dead. The series is a sequel of sorts to The Woods — it shares multiple characters — and is the sixth of Coben’s books to be adapted for Netflix. Want to know more about the series? Below, we'll introduce you to everything you need to know about Hold Tight, its cast, its connection to The Woods and the rest of Harlan Coben's works on Netflix. What is Hold Tight about? Everyone I’ve related this story to has asked why I put up with it. And that’s a pretty good question, isn’t trust supposed to be an integral part of a healthy relationship? At the same time, I also seem to see the sense in her assertion that if I have nothing to hide, what’s the big deal? These two points of view have proved irreconcilable over the years, and needless to say, my desire for continued intercourse with her has trumped my moral standings on the issue. Also, I do have to say that if there was anything of a computer-related nature which could have resulted in my behaving badly, constant fear of Big Brother keeps me in line (even though I’m still routinely bitched out at for things, which never ceases to amaze me, such as accepting a Facebook friend invitation from people I’ve never gotten my freak on with).

All in all this was quite an enjoyable read and I was really impressed with how the author tied everything together. It kept me guessing with it twists and turns until it's unexpected but satisfying ending.If you're a parent, this book might just scare the bejeebers out of you. The obvious question threaded throughout the entire book is "should you spy on your children?" And Coben doesn't give you his opinion one way or the other. That's the point of the multi-dimensional plot. He gives you a look at the evils of both options.

AND the plot continues to layer with the abductions and murders of two women connected to this same neighborhood. Those murders tie into a whole separate element of the novel - or so it seems to be separate. As if Mike Baye isn’t dealing with enough, he also learns that Lucas Loriman, the sweet kid who grew up next door, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. As the boy’s doctor, Mike suddenly finds himself in possession of an explosive secret that threatens to rip the Loriman family apart at the seams. A well-loved teacher makes a terrible mistake by humiliating one of his students in front of her classmates and the effects will be catastrophic. The room pretty much exploded then. There were tears, of course. Hugs. Apologies. Wounds were ripped open and closed. [. . .:]" Hold Tight‘s characters are connected, some unexpectedly, through some baffling twists. What did you think of the ways the author tied up the story’s many loose ends? Were you surprised by how these plotlines were resolved?Then there is the much respected teacher whose life also went down the toilet after the said callous comment. As if Mike Baye doesn't have enough to worry about, his medical partner, Ilene Goldfarb is treating Lucas Loriman, the son of his next door neighbors Susan and Dante Loriman. Through blood testing to find a kidney donor, they learn that Dante is not Lucas's father. The young boy doesn't have much hope unless they can locate his actual father or a paternal relative. There are the parents desperately seeking a kidney donor before it is too late to save their son from an early death. Talk about individual adult characters and their respective careers. Do you think each one’s attention to their work distracted or distanced them from their families? If so, at what cost?