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Hold Tight  By  cover art

Hold Tight

By: Harlan Coben
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

Mike held his son's hand and told him to "hold tight", and he could feel the little hand dig into his. But the crush got bigger, and the little hand slipped from his - and Mike felt that horrible panic, as if a wave hit them at the beach and it was washing his baby out with the tide.

The separation lasted only a few seconds, 10 at the most, but Mike would never forget the spike in his blood and the terror of those brief few moments.

Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they'd become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their 16-year-old son, Adam, has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate, Spencer Hill - the latest in a string of issues at school - they can't help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam's computer, and within days they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son: "Just stay quiet and all safe."

Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son's death...and he wasn't alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera's range, but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community.

For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this: When it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?

©2008 Harlan Coban (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Parents will find this compulsive page-turner from Edgar-winner Coben...particularly unnerving." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Hold Tight

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    2,611
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    2,116
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    192
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    97
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    2,753
  • 4 Stars
    1,267
  • 3 Stars
    428
  • 2 Stars
    101
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    75
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    2,146
  • 4 Stars
    1,555
  • 3 Stars
    687
  • 2 Stars
    150
  • 1 Stars
    68

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not worth your time

You'll need a scorecard to keep track of the story lines in this book. Great advice on raising teens mixed with another of Harlens' really bad guys. And you have to listen to Scott Brick...for a long, long time.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Coben does Picoult

Listen to this book, then guess the author. Jodi Picoult, right? Oh wait, I'm not a Picoult fan, she just exhausts me. Coben is all cause ridden in this one, just when I wanted a good thriller. I'll keep reading Coben, just not recommending this one.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

First Harlan Coben, Last Scott Brick

This was my first Harlan Coben novel, picked mostly because I'm reluctant to delve into one of the myriad series novels that are so prevalent in the mystery/thriller genre. I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns of the plot, and I immediately looked for another Coben novel as soon as I finished this one.

Unfortunately, it looks like most of Coben's novels are read by Scott Brick, whose narration of this one was SO bad that I kept wondering how this guy even got a job as a narrator. 99.9% of the sentences are delivered in a ridiculously over-dramatic way. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster with each one, starting out slowly and quietly, then louder and more DRAMATIC at the top, then settling down toward the end. For example, "Carol went to the REFRIGERATOR and TOOK OUT a BOTTLE of SODA! and then closed the door and turned away." (My sentence, not Coben's, although even the most ordinary sentences were delivered this way).

The narration was so distracting that I considered dropping this book many times. But the story was compelling enough that I slogged through.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A good read with some food for thought

Hold Tight was a book that made me think about life and the way we live it now. Generally I read or listen to a book, enjoy it at the time, and move on to the next one. I have listened and read several books since but I keep coming back to some of the ideas that were explored in Hold Tight. This book is somewhere between mystery/thriller (my genre) and novel (find those boring) in that it wasn't as action packed with as much criminology as a typical mystery story and did a little exploring of people’s lives as seems to be typical of ‘novels’. But there was enough mystery and action to keep me listening and then thinking about the underlying theme of privacy invasion.

This is not about ‘big brother’ type spying but people investigating and spying on the lives of their friends and family. As we know, sometimes in trying to prevent something we take actions or behave in ways that we wouldn't have otherwise, and then by our own behavior we bring about that which we are trying to avoid.

As mentioned in the publisher review this basically starts with a couple asking themselves if they will do more or harm or more good by spying on their child. This theme comes up again and again, in several different guises, and with varying results. It really makes you think and wonder if we don’t already have way too much access to the private thoughts of our loved ones.

I don’t know if it was the author’s intent to explore this concept so deeply. I got the feeling that it could have been something on his mind at the time he was writing the book and it kept creeping in. It does not hit you over the head but over the course of book it really makes you think.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Annoying sing-song reader

What didn’t you like about Scott Brick’s performance?

Scott's performance as usual is annoyiing with the way his voice is always so sing-song. Every sentence the tone goes up and then down - it sounds like a soap opera and is distracting from the story since it doesn't track with what is important in the text.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Confusing ... Unbelievable ... Horrible Narrator

What disappointed you about Hold Tight?

The narrator was the first disappointment. I will never buy another book that he reads. He is FAR too dramatic and he did not take a break when scenes changed. Left you wondering what was going on? You finally realize he has started talking about other people and other places. Just a little break would have helped make that transition.

What could Harlan Coben have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Leave out at least 10 of the characters. At least.

How could the performance have been better?

Scott Brick has a good voice, but he is overly dramatic and I can't believe the police speak to suspects with such distain/hatred ESPECIALLY when they are interviewing a doctor. At the first of the book he was so overacting ... it got better, but it was still so over the top ... about 3/4 of the way through I wasn't sure I could finish it. His over enunciation and "attitude" just drove me to distraction ... made it hard to concentrate on the words he was reading.

What character would you cut from Hold Tight?

There are so many, I don't know where to start. Moe would be one. He had a small part, so why have him? Honestly it would not matter who you cut out, the story was still so unbelievable. This was my first Harlan Coban book ... and probably my last.

Any additional comments?

Before I bought, I read the reviews ... "You'll be sitting in your garage listening to this one." No, you won't. Save your credit.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Parody Reading?

The reader Scott Brick seems to be reading this novel in a strange, overwrought fashion that sounded to me like a parody of the text. It doesn't deserve a parody: the story is a good plot with attractive and interesting characters. I deleted this audiobook and another Coben read by Scott Brick. I'm reading the text of "Hold Tight" as an ebook instead. Coben is a popular writer and deserves a better reader.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

gotta love coban

I have listened to every Harlen Coben book ever written, so let's just say I am a huge fan. (Please Harlan, write some more Myron Bolitar novels!) This book, however, seemed to be a little of a stretch, what with all the loose ends coming together so neatly at the end. It was just a little too "tidy". Having said that, it is still a great listen, and Scott Brick could make the Yellow pages interesting. If you don't know Harlen Coben, he's done better, but you'll still want to listen to this one.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hold tight that's what you Will do while listening

This book was a spellbinder from the minute the first musical cord was heard. Twists and turns and the plots You listening Long after you have parked the car. A delicious thriller with many lessons to be learned.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • JK
  • 04-14-09

Not up to Coben's usual standard

I generally like Coben, but this one fell short in my opinion. Also, Scott Brick's "mournful" tone in the narration was a further negative. You might want to listen to a sample before downloading.

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3 people found this helpful