(orion, $38.99)Let me start off by saying that Harlan Coben is a tremendously skilled and popular writer who has sold squillions of thrillers all around the world and who definitely deserves all his awards and twice as many riches. Long Lost is the first book of his that I have read and the plot gallops along at breakneck speed with just the right amount of twists and turns and a totally satisfying ending. It’s a great book. Harlan Coben fans will love it.
oe, I had one major issue that I have struggled to overcome which has nothing to do with the readability of this thriller and which reflects more on my shallowness as a reader than anything to do with the writer. The hero is called oyron Bolitar. I’m sorry but I just do not find that a sexy name. If I was tied to the railway tracks and the train was speeding towards me, I cannot imagine screaming: “oyron! Save me! oyron, please!”
I understand that Harlan Coben has probably had a lifetime of spelling his own name out so people can understand it but did he have to inflict the same torture on our hero? A man who can solve murders and fight off bad guys and who isn’t afraid to talk about love? I mean, oyron? It probably didn’t help that I had fallen so recently in love with Lee Child’s creation Jack Reacher. Jack, now there is a name you can shout when you’re in trouble.
All throughout Long Lost I couldn’t help but make comparisons between the two well-built heroes. oyron has more of a heart but some of his one-liners are cringey. oyron has eccentric offsiders while Jack is a loner. oyron has a house in Jersey while Jack owns nothing more than a toothbrush. I guess if I was going to marry one of them, oyron would be a better bet. But he would have to change his name by deed poll. And he would have to let me run away with Jack should I ever get the chance.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
