Seconds Away by Harlan Coben

Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
Buy Seconds Away by Harlan Coben at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
Summary: As intense and exciting as the first instalment, with mysteries about the main characters unravelling along with the story. Even more intrigue about the mysterious Abeona Shelter promises to make this a stand out crime series.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 252	Date: October 2012
Publisher: Indigo
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1409124481
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Mickey Bolitar has had enough excitement to last him a lifetime. Helping the Abeona Shelter to rescue his girlfriend Ashley almost saw his best friend Ema killed, but it seems Mickey and his friends aren't out of the woods yet. A shooting has left Rachel - gorgeous, popular Rachel, whose smile makes Mickey's stomach flip - in hospital, her mother dead. The Chief of Police - also Rachel's boyfriend's father - is acting shady, and Rachel herself is sending Mickey cryptic text messages, begging him not to tell anyone else she's speaking to him.

Add to that the ongoing saga of the mysterious Bat Lady, and her conviction that Mickey's father, who he watched die in a car crash, is still alive, and it becomes very clear that things are not over yet...

Mickey's second outing is just as gripping as the first, with another neatly packaged little mystery, surrounded by the larger, ongoing mystery of the Abeona Shelter and what exactly is going on with the Bat Lady.

In fact, the whole 'who shot Rachel?' thing in the hands of a lesser author, is a mystery that would have lasted all of about three chapters, but Coben knows how to throw a red herring or two into the mix, while making the mystery more about the characters than the race for the solution.

Every major character involved has their own secrets, and it was nice to see some of them becoming unravelled, particularly Ema, Mickey's best friend. Their unlikely relationship is one of the strongest things about the book, and would be probably the biggest reason for picking up the next, for me, and seeing that relationship explored and tested - both by events in the previous book and the consequences of those in this - was very satisfying.

While it sometimes felt a bit 'scooby-dooish' with a vaguely supernatural mystery becoming reduced to technological smoke and mirrors, this was definitely a very enjoyable read and comes highly recommended.

My thanks for the publishers for sending a copy.

For other thrilling reads, check out Bookbag's Top Ten Books To Drag The Kids Away From Computer Games For Ten Minutes At Least.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Seconds Away by Harlan Coben at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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