*** 5 STAR REVIEW *** DON'T LET GO by Halan Coben

 

 

With unmatched suspense and emotional insight, Harlan Coben explores the big secrets and little lies that can destroy a relationship, a family, and even a town in this powerful new thriller.

Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon "Nap" Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo's girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks--and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.

When Maura's fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only leads to more questions--about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana--whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared imagine.

I can always count on a Harlan Coben book for a good mystery to keep me guessing, anxious, and on the edge of my seat.   Don’t Let Go is a great story that accomplished all the above.  It is hard to explain why I waited so long to read this book. 

 New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas, (people think they are funny when they pronounce his last name as Dumbass) is an excellent investigator.  Nap’s world changed at seventeen, his senior year in high school when his twin brother, Leo and his girlfriend, Diana died on the railroad tracks.  The police suspected a double suicide. However, the cause of death is questionable.  Was it suicide, murder, or an accident no one can say for sure?  Shortly thereafter Nap’s girlfriend, Maura disappeared.  He believed she was his forever mate.  Maura’s disappearance changed Nap.  The quest to know what happened to these three important people, shaped the man he is today.

 Nap never believed that Leo would commit suicide.  He believes Leo and Diana’s death and Maura’s disappearance are related.  Now, fifteen years later, Maura’s fingerprints turn up in relation to a cop killing in Pennsylvania.  The policeman murdered is a fellow student from the high school they all attended. This could be the break his waited for all these years.  To learn more, Nap pushes himself into the investigation hoping that he will finally get answers. 

 Don’t Let Go is a captivating story. I love that Nap is an unconventional detective.  He doesn’t go by any book except his own. He doesn’t think twice when he needs to push the legal guidelines.  Surprisingly, he has a clue to the past; he won’t let go and will do anything to get the answers regardless of what his friends and mentor say.  I was taken by surprise when the culprit was revealed during the tense and exciting ending. 

 There is a depth to the characters that gives a realistic perspective to their actions.  Throw in the conspiracy theories surrounding the Nike Missel site.  I highly recommend this story with a unique central character.  A great whodunit mystery with a thrilling ending!  

5 STARS