Missing You

By: Harlan Coben

Narrated by: Kerry Shale

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

It's a profile, like all the others on the online dating site. But as NYPD Detective Kat Donovan focuses on the accompanying picture, she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she's ignored for decades come crashing down on her. Staring back at her is her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart 18 years ago. Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her.

But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable. As Kat's hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved - her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained.

With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there. Read by Kerry Shale

©2014 Harlan Coben (P)2014 Orion Publishing Group

Great Storyline

Where does Missing You rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Harlan Coben's books tend to follow a familiar formula but it's a good formula. I'd rate this book in the top 10% of audio thrillers I've heard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kat obviously. The whole story revolved around her.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was very good generally apart from making many of the male characters sound like morons for some inexplicable reason.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I would have were that possible. I ended up listening to it over about 3 days because of work commitments.

Any additional comments?

Great Story, Characters you cared about and heart pounding ending. The only drawback was the weird drawls some of the male characters were given.

A sunspot from one of my favourite writers

Harlan Coben is one of my favourite writers. Despite the fact that he often covers the same broad outline (missing/vanished people, ghosts from the past) he has always managed to pull me in and captivate me completely.

Not so with this one. The characters are boring and stereotypical, the story is slow. In fact, the only reason the story carries on for so long is that Kat must be the worst interrogator on the planet. No way would someone with 18 years of experience as a police be so sloppy when digging for information. Had she been decent at her job, this book would be over in three hours. Which might have been a good thing.

Oh, and the narration is a bit off, too. I listened to both the Kerry Shale narration and the one by January LaVoy, and I can't decide which one I dislike more. Kerry's characters are laughable.

Anything by Harlan Coben will still be a must-listen (or read) to me. Go listen to "Six Years" instead. The narration is better, but the story is WAY better!