Customer Reviews

No Second Chance

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(63)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This one grabs you with the first sentence and doesn't let go until the last page. Dr. Marc Seidman wakes up in the hospital after being shot and almost killed, to learn that his wife was killed and his six month old daughter is missing. Coben weaves a fine tale of death, destruction and double-dealing over a period of eighteen months. As Marc searches for his daughter, the reader is taken on a wild non-stop ride. If you like Coben's two recent novels, Tell No One and Gone For Good, you are going to love this one. The characters are very well drawn. I loved the character, Verne, dearly. The action never lets up and the ending was very satisfying. Just one thing. The title, No Second Chance, is misleading. There is a second chance. Actually there are more than two and Dr. Marc Seidman handles each one with sometimes bumbling and sometimes brilliant action. An Exceptional thriller.

I had heard alot about Harlan Coben, but No Second Chance was my first read, and now I feel foolish for waiting so long. I wish I could divulge some plot elements, for they are brilliant, but let me say simply that this book has a fantastically constructed serpentine plot. Reminds me of being on Space Mountain, a great roller coaster where you always think you know the next exciting twist and turn, never do, and then wonder of course why didnt I think of that.

Dr. Marc Seidman, Coben's lead character, is a good guy with just enough hint of darkness to make him interesting. And the characters surrounding him all seem to be hiding some deep dark secret, though discerning which do and what they are is part of what makes this novel a great read. And I also like Coben's eye for detail and description-it is at the same time vivid yet well researched and accurate. One can actually painlessly learn something from a Harlan Coben book.

This was the best money Ive spent in a long time, and now Im off to order the rest of Coben's book. Read it, you won't regret it. Yeah Harlan!!

As a huge Harlan Coben fan, I will dutifully buy and read each of his new releases as they come out. At this point I think I appreciate the familiarity provided by each new novel. Coben's like the Kevin Smith of the literary world, tying the same characters into multiple books, while never really spending too much time away from the main characters.

Not to say that each book can't be appreciated on its own merits, but it always feels like Coben wants to go back to writing about Myron Bolitar (and I hope he does someday).

No Second Chance was a great, quick read. It has its quirks and downsides, but like his other works its a brilliant way to pass the time. However, if you've never read Coben before ... try starting with Tell No One or Gone for Good.

Coben can really write but that makes the disappointment all the worse when he runs off the rails at the end. Many authors can paint themselves into a corner with a complex plot; all you really ask for is a half-way reasonable explanation as they bring it home. No Second Chance ends on a cheap note when Coben changes a character completely just to wrap up the plot.

Just listened to this one over the weekend during a long trip. Unlike a lot of the reviewers here I don't have any other Harlan Coben books to compare this one to, as I've never heard of him, so it's quite easy for me to give it five stars.

This book keeps you guessing until nearly the end. Every time you think you have it all worked out you turn out to be completely wrong...THAT, in my opinion, is the sign of a well written mystery.

The characters are so well developed that I'm not afraid to admit I had a tear forming in my eye on several occasions. I'm a softy when it comes to parents and their love for their children. This exploits those feelings to the nth degree...constantly.

You've read enough reviews with analysis of the plot, the characters, their motivations, etc., that I don't need to add anything about the story itself. Suffice it to say that if you like a well written mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, you'll like this book. If you're a parent, you'll like this book. If you're a fan of action and suspense, you'll like this book.

Read this book.

The latest mystery from Coben has several very familiar elements from his previous outings, particularly a husband/boyfriend whose wife/girlfriend has been murdered, running around trying to find the killer(s), while being under police suspicion by the as the guilty party. The main story plot is Dr. Seidman's attempt to find his missing baby daughter,and revolve the fatal shooting of his wife and near-fatal shooting of himself when the abduction took place. Along the way he is primarily assisted by his attorney friend, medical partner, an old girlfriend who just happens to be a forcibly retired FBI agent, and a gung ho ex-soldier who surprisingly helps Seidman instead of shooting him during an attempted break-in. As usual in a Coben story, Seidman has to fight against the bad guys/gals while evading representatives of the law (police, FBI).

There is little humor in No Second Chance, and no wealthy, mysterious and dangerous sidekick assisting the hero protagonist, as there are in Coben's Myron Bolitar series. What we get is a very fast paced novel with a few expected and unexpected twists.

No Second Chance is a great thriller by Harlen Coben. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book on audio tape. It was one of the best audio book readings I've ever heard. Scott Brick was excellent. The story opens from Dr. Mark Siedman's point of view and Mark says among other things he wouldn't hesitate to give his life for his 6 month old daughter, nor would he not hesitate to give your life as well. Mark is the victim of a brutal shooting where it took him 11 days to regain conciousness. He has no memories of the shooting, and awakens to find a cop standing over him. The cop informs him that his wife died in the shooting and that his 6 month old daughter is nowhere to be found.

Siedman has little time to come to grips with his wife's death. He receives a ransom call while he is still in the hospital. Mark must pay $2 million dollars and follow exact directions, including not calling the police, in order to get his daughter back. The kidnappers tell Mark that if he doesn't follow their directions, he will get NO SECOND CHANCE to get his daughter back.

Mark decides to involve the police and the ransom exchange doesn't go right, and he doesn't get his daughter back. Now Mark assumes his daughter is dead. From here, the novel follows typical suspense novel twists and turns but Coben does it better than most. He also does great characters. At one point, a strange character is hovering outside Mark's house. Mark finds out it is a girl that used to live in that house. Mark talks with her and during the conversation, she says "you know who killed you, don't you Mark?" Coben does a great job of planting little twists, or questions that Mark has about things that don't seem right. Don't worry, Coben always comes back to answer every question he brought up.

Many times in thrillers, once you know how it ends, you think the characters should have known it sooner or done something differently. Not in this book. The twists flow naturally and the characters all act as they should.

Coben creates many characters I enjoyed: The lawyer best friend Lenny, the former child star Lydia, Vern the NRA redneck, the FBI agent, Rachel Mills the lonely ex-FBI agent and ex-lover, and Monica, the deceased wife who is never in the book but still plays a major role in things.

I read Tell No One when it first came out and didn't really enjoy it. But No Second Chance really stuck with me. I now plan on reading all of Coben's stand alone thrillers and may even go back to the Myron Bolitar series.

Harlan Coben (Gone for Good, Tell No One, the Myron Bolitar series) has written some fantastic thrillers, but his latest, No Second Chance, is far and away the best. I won't repeat the plot summaries above, let me simply say that this book was so engrossing I couldnt put it down. Make sure you start reading it early in the day, or like me you will be up to 4 am finishing it.

I am also drawn to Coben's books by his richly drawn characters. There are no stock figures or stereotypes in this book-every character is multilayered, with levels of good and evil, and yet each real in his or her own way. Figuring out who's helping the book's lead character Marc Seidman and who is not drove me crazy, but in a good, absorbing way that I wish other whodunit readers would learn from. My favorite characters of Coben in the past included Win, Esperanza, Lou and Nina, but this book has given me a couple (I wont name them so I don't spoil your fun) to move to the top of the list.

Great story, great characters, mesmerizing read. Dont miss this book!

Terrific new stand-alone thriller from the author of Gone for Good and Tell No One. Dr. Marc Seidman, an altruistic plastic surgeon, is on his deathbed after being shot. Despite the odds, he survives but his wife has been murdered and his 6 month old daughter kidnapped. Seidman is understandably obsessed with getting his daughter back, and thus begins a story of deceptions and betrayals, all told at breakneck speed. Throw in an ex-girlfriend who is ex-FBI, a best friend/attorney, a red neck with a heart of gold, and a child star all grown up into a homicidal psychopath, and you have one hell of a story. Coben has once again written an engrossing tale of intrigue that takes the reader on a wild ride with wonderful characters and lots of jolts. The resolution was a bit weak, but the epilogue provided closure with its neatly wrapped update on all the characters. I was lucky enough to have jury duty, so I had several uninterrupted hours of reading time - clear the decks for this one and settle in, you won't be able to stop once you've started it.

Harlan Coben has become famous for thrillers with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. His latest, "No Second Chance," is about Dr. Marc Seidman, a successful plastic surgeon whose life is rapidly falling apart. An unknown assailant shoots the doctor and leaves him for dead. Twelve days later, Seidman regains consciousness and he learns that his wife, Monica, has also been shot and that his six-month-old daughter has disappeared. The police suspect that Seidman may have had something to do with both the attack on his wife and his baby's disappearance.

"No Second Chance" is mostly about Marc's attempt to find his daughter, Tara. Marc senses that his child is alive, and he will not rest until he finds out where she is. His investigation leads him in a number of directions, and he gladly accepts help from Rachel, an old girlfriend who used to be an FBI agent.

Harlan Coben made a major misstep when he wrote this illogical and far-fetched novel. The characters in "No Second Chance" are poorly developed, and the villains are simplistic stereotypes. The resolution is so convoluted that it requires about a dozen pages of exposition to explain it all, and even then it makes little sense. I do not recommend "No Second Chance" because Coben's plot is unfocused and bewildering instead of taut and exciting.