Stay Close

By: Harlan Coben

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who, once upon a time, walked on the wild side. Now she’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at the age of 40 he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo, pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Broome is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case—a local husband and father who disappeared 17 years ago—and spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man’s family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up at any moment to step into them.

Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past never truly fades away. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American dream—the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest façades—they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat.

Master of domestic suspense Harlan Coben delivers his trademark combination of pause-resistant thrills and unrivaled insight into the dark shadows that creep into even the happiest communities.

©2012 Harlan Coben (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

sorry, just too gross for me

I thought this book would leave me feeling that suspense & intrigue would continue through out. However, the only thing that stuck was continuous gross story that made me feel less & less satisfied as a reader. i have to question why the author thought he had to keep up the unreal & negative story line going right to the end.

Very Good

The story caught my attention from the beginning. Even though I guessed who the murderer was 1/2 way through the book, I still want ed to finish the story. I had to know why!

violence

What did you like best about Stay Close? What did you like least?

I liked the character development.

Would you be willing to try another book from Harlan Coben? Why or why not?

yes - I've read others and he develops plots nicely

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

I always enjoy Scott, and sometimes do my search on what he has narrated. I particularly like his inflections and variety for each character.

Was Stay Close worth the listening time?

yes

Any additional comments?

I don't like violence in a book - especially personal violence, and would not have bought the book if I knew there would be scenes where people were being tortured.

Suspenseful, Enjoyable Harlan Coben Yarn

I've read numerous (9? 10? 12?) Harlan Coben books - Myron Bolitar tales as well as the suspense fiction novels Coben's known for. Like many of his suspense novels I can envision this being made into a movie - and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Fully-developed characters, excellent, driving storyline and as I've already said twice - suspenseful. The fact that I was pretty sure of the outcome (turned out I was right) several chapters from the end, did nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the story. The author is very good at looking into the human condition and giving his characters, often-times, fatal flaws. One of the things I liked about this story is that in my "listen to Audible for days on end, then not listen to Audible for days on end" fashion, I was able to listen to this irregularly and be engaged right away and I didn't need to go back a chapter or 2 for a refresher because of a convoluted tale. This book was just as I expected from the author and that's a good thing. On occasion he has let me down, but this wasn't one of those times. The 2 main "evil-doers" are horrid and I was tempted to skip past a few sections involving them and their "interviewing" techniques, but didn't. I think in many instances it was more what wasn't said, than what was, and unfortunately my imagination went into overdrive. There are some cliched sections, but again, this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I could easily have given this 5 stars overall based on my expectations from Coben and his type of story, but decided to go with 4 since I prefer to use 5 for mostly perfect ones. I'll just leave it at "this is the best for this genre." Scott Brick as narrator - excellent job, simply put. He does it just right. Not over-the-top and doesn't try to do female voices (I really hate that). This would have been a great beach listen (at least for me).

A master story writer. Narrated by master story teller

This is the last book in my journey of listening or reading all of Harlan master pieces. Wow what a ride and I cannot wait, now that I have to wait like everyone else, for his next story. I’m such a fan of scot brick. He is brilliant.

Another winner...

Would you consider the audio edition of Stay Close to be better than the print version?

The combination of Harlan Coben and Scott Brick is always superb, and that is certainly the case here - A very good story line, with often unexpected twists and turns, that all comes together in a great conclusion.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Just couldn't figure out what was coming next...

Which scene was your favorite?

Way too numerous to choose only one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Didn't cry, but somewhat sad that it's over. My next listen will now be a tough decision...

Another GREAT book by Harlan Coben

Would you listen to Stay Close again? Why?

Definitely. I'm sure there are details that I missed hearing on my first listen. It's a very interesting book that I think I could get more out of giving it a second listen.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not but he did an awesome job on this one! I will look for his performances in the future.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No laughing or crying but I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened next!!

Any additional comments?

I have read several Harlan Coben books but this is my first audio book by him. I travel a lot and don't get to read as much as I'd like to. This audio book was just as good as reading the book myself! I buy a lot of audio books but most often, they fall short. I'd rather read them myself. This book; however, did not!

Gripping.

Would you consider the audio edition of Stay Close to be better than the print version?

Absolutely

Any additional comments?

Anything done by narrator Scott Brick always bring the novel much more alive and real. He is absolutely brilliant.

Narration is annoying

Narrator is to breathy... Need to rely on the drama of the words and story... Not his sing song tone....
Really love Cohen.... New narrator please!!!

Wonderfully Done

Loved the story and the narration was beautifully done. I really enjoyed how the story seemed to be acted out as it was read. great job