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 - No TitleGood fun read.Being from No.N.J. I know some of the areas he writes about.A page turner. SG Rating:  - HOLD TIGHT - toooo many important charactersI guess I'm alone in my feeling about this book. Although I really appreciate the "prose", it was waaaay tooooo complicated and intersecting for me. The characters, there were many of them, weren't developed enough to be able to remember who was who. If I had been able to sit down and read it from cover to cover in one or two sessions, it might have read easier. As it was I would read each evening and then I found myself having to page backwards to figure out who I was reading about. Rating: - If it ain't broke, don't fix it!Harlan Cornem has found the perfect formula for a successful suspense novel. Unlike some suspense writers, Corben can take seemingly unrelated storylines and make them come together in a perfect package that the reader is willing to accept. So while some of the things in the story may be a bit "predictable", I always enjoy the journey of discovery into the final reveal. Briefly I will tell you about Hold Tight. Mike and Tia Baye are beginning to feel like most parents, that something is wrong with their teenage son, whose latest phase is of a moody goth. Initially they are willing to allow Adam some freedom, but decide to start monitoring his every move following the suicide of his very good friend, Spencer. Meanwhile, Nash, along with his handy assistant Petra, are killing women and disposing of them in very peculiar ways for unknown reasons. A school girl has moved from being part of the "in crowd" to being a recluse because of some humiliation from an insensitive teacher. The same teacher is being blackmailed about something and is doing everything he can to protect his secret. The humiliated child now has only one friend who stands beside her (Adam's sister, Jill) and who she confides in. Mike, a doctor, has a new patient (his neighbor) who needs an organ transplant, but can't find one in his immediate family hinting to a lot of secrets that the mother really doesn't want to get out. And finally there are mentions of "farm partieis", prescription drug thefts and suicides. What is nice about this book was how Corben begins to take these seemingly unrelated events/storylines and link them together in a nice, quick read. I enjoyed Hold Tight and would definitely recommend it to people who enjoy suspense. Although there are some things that you will wonder about, in all you will be willing to let it go for the final outcome. Rating:  - From J. Kaye's Book BlogI should have gone with my first instinct and that was to let this one go. What pushed me to read more were phrases like "It's better than THE WOODS." and "Best book I've read this year." That's what I was hearing from other bloggers and on mailing lists. Maybe it was for them. It wasn't for me. One thing the book was cause mixed feelings throughout. I ran both hot and cold. That's never happened before over a book. The hot parts were with parents sneaking around spying on their children all the while talking about trust issues with their teens. This is a very hot topic for me and in my opinion, partly why kids are so freaking out of control. As a parent, you seek solutions or become a part of the problem. Instead, many are avoiding the responsibility of parenting and putting this burden on others. I could go on and on about this, but getting on my soapbox won't solve anything. The cold feelings came shortly after the hot ones, mainly because it went from a hot topic to excruciatingly boring. This, my friends, was a new experience. Loved THE WOODS, but not HOLD TIGHT. I'll be there for the next book though. I believe if he could wow me once, it could happen again. Rating:  - Wow! I could not put this book down!I've been a big fan of Harlan Coben for some time now but I have to say that this has got to be one of his best books yet. From the first page I found I couldn't put the book down. The characters are so real and the feelings come across so strongly that I feel I'm right there in the mist of it all. It was almost impossible for me to even shut the book to go to sleep. I cannot praise this book enough. If you are reading the reviews to try to decide whether to get this book, hesitate no longer. Get it, I promise you that you will not regret it.
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