Publishers Weekly
01/23/2023
David Burroughs, the protagonist of this disappointing standalone from bestseller Coben (the Myron Bolitar series), has been incarcerated in a Maine penitentiary for five years, convicted of murdering his three-year-old son, Matthew, by beating his head in with a baseball bat. David, who was prone to sleepwalking, has no clear memory of the fatal night. At trial, a neighbor testified that she saw him burying the murder weapon near David’s Massachusetts home. The inmate’s world is upended when his sister-in-law, Rachel Anderson, a disgraced investigative journalist, visits and shows David a photo taken at a Six Flags amusement park that a coworker of Rachel’s ex-husband shared with her. In the background is an eight-year-old boy resembling Matthew. The possibility that his son is alive sparks a successful escape attempt, enabled by the prison warden, who’s conveniently a friend of David’s father, and a desperate search for the child in the picture. Oddly, David, who wasn’t convicted of a federal crime, was incarcerated in a federal prison, though this circumstance allows two FBI agents to join the manhunt. Early on, scenes from the viewpoint of some conspirators lessen most of the suspense. This is far from Coben’s best work. Agent: Lisa Vance, Aaron M. Priest Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"Coben plays out the suspense with a master craftsman’s impeccable technique."—CrimeReads
"Harlan Coben is one of our greatest living thriller writers, and instantly engaging hooks like the one in I Will Find You are a big reason why."—BookPage
"I Will Find You bristles with the irresistible storytelling nous that is Coben’s purview."—Financial Times
"Compelling . . . A fantastically breakneck prison break/fugitive adventure story."—The Guardian
"A real winner . . . just begs to be put in line for the same cinematic treatment that so many of Coben’s other novels have received.”—BookReporter.com
"An exceedingly complex and intriguing murder mystery.”—Winnipeg Free Press
"I Will Find You by Harlan Coben is a classic Coben novel (fast-paced and twisty)."—AARP
"Contains all the Coben hallmarks that long-time fans have come to expect, and new readers will love: propulsive action, characters facing extreme stakes, dramatic family dynamics, and plenty of twists . . . A great summer read; a stay-up-all-night tale that could be another screen hit."—Deadly Pleasures
"A series of twists and turns highlights another Great Harlan Coven novel. Nobody writes these kind of novels better than him. This is one you will not want to put down."—Red Carpet Crash
"Coben excels in interesting secondary characters and I especially liked the two special agents that are after David Burroughs. They deserve a mystery all their own."—TheMysterySite.com
MARCH 2023 - AudioFile
Harlan Coben could not ask for a better person than narrator Steven Weber to portray a man wrongly accused of killing his own son. Weber, known for his movies, television shows (like the long-running "Wings"), and top-notch audiobook performances, including several other works by Coben, has a natural ease and an ability to transport the listener into a world of panic, desperation, and hope. He lends a distinctive voice to men, women, and children that makes this work a joy to hear. Weber is particularly effective as David Burroughs, who must escape prison, find his son, and capture the person responsible for framing him. The mysteries contained in this work seem impossible to solve, but Burroughs and his supporters figure out the chilling truth. M.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
