Shelter

A Mickey Bolitar Novel (Mickey Bolitar, Book 1)

NOW A PRIME VIDEO SERIES from internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben

Mickey Bolitar's year can't get much worse. After witnessing his father's death and sending his mom to rehab, he's forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools.

A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey's train-wreck of a life is finally improving—until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn't who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury—and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

First introduced to readers in Harlan Coben's adult novel, Live Wire, Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his uncle Myron, and eager to go to any length to save the people he cares about. With this series, Coben introduces an entirely new generation of fans to the masterful plotting and wry humor that have made him an award-winning, internationally bestselling, and beloved author.

©2011 Harlan Coben (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Excellent!

This is a Great book! Excited it’s a series. Can’t wait to listen to the next one.

Young Reader

Listened through as Coben is one of my favs and the Myron series seems done.
Seems this is a series for young readers.

Disappointing this time

Would you listen to Shelter again? Why?

No need to--the story wasn't complicated enough to need another round. And the lack of satisfying ending is irritating.

If you’ve listened to books by Harlan Coben before, how does this one compare?

Maybe I'm just more fond of Uncle Myron. I find Mickey to be not quite teenage enough; not quite adult enough.

What does Nick Podehl bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice didn't really convey the youth of Mickey Bolitar, but he does a fine job of differentiating characters by their voices. Maybe I'm just not taking the vocal chords of a 7' youth into account.

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

Nah.

Any additional comments?

The previous Coben books I've enjoyed have at least given an ending. This one just expects/demands that you'll docilely follow along to the next purchase. That should be MY choice, not Coben's.

Requires too much suspension of disbelief

I generally enjoy Harlan Coban novels, but this one was too much for me to really enjoy or continue with the series (and it is a series!). It's too improbable, even for fiction, to believe these 14 year old kids could be in these situations. Much less come out of them and be walking around unsupervised the next day. Not to mention the ages of the Bat Lady and the real villain. Even with the book release date of 2011, this is just too ridiculous and takes away from the overall enjoyment of the story.

Great mystery! Love the Narration!

Fast paced, great story, didn't want to stop. Fun characters and really superb, witty Narration.