The Innocent: A Suspense Thriller

I thought I had ordered an unabridged audiobook like the other item(s) in my order. The box contained a 2nd purchase I made from the same seller, an audio book of another title, and that was correct. And then - the picture you see with this review is not the picture I saw when ordering the audiobook. Yes, I could have made a mistake. I find that when I narrow a search to "audiobooks", paper books can appear in the results and you have to be careful when making a selection. And, the images can be generic. That is, you could be looking at an image for all offerings of that title and format by ISBN and not the sellers specific item. So, perhaps I did not pay close enough attention. The book I ended up with turns out to be a large print edition that will work for an elderly person I know and so will keep it. Besides, the cost of the item was less than the shipping, and that's not a bad thing. Another issue that comes up for someone like me who only buys UNABRIDGED audio books; it is not always clear if an audiobook is ABRIDGED or not. It seems to me that sellers downplay that fact in their listing. One then has to waste time to contact a seller and ask if an item is really, truly UNABRIDGED. (I recently received an abridged item unexpectedly from a different seller.) Most times I don't bother and move on to an item where this fact is clearly stated. I feel then I can trust what I'm reading and trust that seller. In this case, the low stars I gave for this purchase is not on the seller, it is just on the cumulative end result. 99.9% Of the time my all-round experience is great.

I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Twists and turns from start to finish. Every time I thought I had the end figured out something new would be introduced. I found myself relating to the characters and becoming emotionally involved with them. Exactly what I look for in my entertainment.

I recently bought a Harlan Coben book after seeing him on "Hardcover Mysteries" on the I.D. channel. He said, "my job is to make you cuss me because you stayed up all night reading my book because you had to find out what happens." So, I thought I'd try one of his books. Well, needless to say, I have read all of them now and mostly all of them in less than 24 hours. These are the best books ever!!!!!!

Overall --- Enjoyed this Book.

To start, this was my first book by Coben since Tell No One, way back in the day. I loved Tell No One and before I describe my full opinion in the Innocent, I will simply state that I loved this book too. I consider myself a casual reader who will get through maybe 30-50 pages in a day or so. With The Innocent, I was done with all 500 in about 2 days. I couldn't put it down because there was always something happening with one of the characters. Many of the negative reviews of this book describe too many plots, characters and scenarios. I feel the characters weren't overwhelming and were interesting to follow their "side stories" while taking a little breather from the developments of the main story.

The overall plot, in my opinion, is fantastic if you are looking for a fast-paced thriller, which you must be if you are searching for a Harlan Coben book to read. I, to the opposition of many reviews, like how the book starts and finishes by putting you in the action as the main character.

Scale of 1 to 5:

Characters - 4
Plot - 5
Realistic Quality - 4
Suspense - 5
Desire to Keep Reading - 5

When I find myself looking through reviews and searching for a new quick-read for myself, the only thing I really concern myself with is if people recommend reading it. So for that purpose, I will end this review by saying yes, I 100% recommend reading this. Worst case scenario...you waste about 2-3 days reading a book you don't like. Enjoy!