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.

Why did I think I liked Harlan Coben novels?

As I listened to this unbelievable mess I kept trying to remember why I thought I liked novels by Harlen Coben. By unbelievable I mean the characters' motivations and actions, and the premise that multiple murders could have been committed in the same spot over so many years without any bodies having been discovered. None of this was helped by Scott Brick's overacting (over-narrating?), reading everything, even chapter numbers, with deep emotional gravitas. I'm not sure how (or why) I made it through to the end.

Many Secrets

At the beginning I thought, Good Grief, Scott Brick sounds like he's reading Edgar Allan Poe with some sort of funeral dirge in the background. I didnt know how long I could stick with that then finally his pitch and cadence changed. This book has lots of twists and turns and everyone has many secrets. I have not read anything by this author before and in some respects it is like reading Poe with a splash here and there of De Sade. Ken and Barbie just scared my socks off!!! And as far as I am concerned, Mr. Coben could have made them a somewhat less warped since the rest of the characters have enough depth to them to please anyone. The plot was extremely well crafted and held my attention,however, if mixing sadistic horror and suspense is the norm for Mr. Coben, I dont believe I will be back for more. If you like that combination then this will be a winner for you. I gave it high ratings strictly for the complexity of the plot. Scott, I am a big fan of your work but the cryptkeeper does not become you! :o)

Audio Books Do Not Get Better Than This

The perfect combination of a great story and great narration. This review is being written by Platinum subscriber since 2001 and an owner and listener to more than 400 audiobooks. I often base my selections on narrators and purchased Stay Close specifically because Scott Brick was narrating. Scott Brick is the best male narrator in the business and 2nd only to Susan Erickson overall. He can make a mediocre story entertaining, but when he reads a perfect story like Stay Close, its difficult to stop listening. The reviews that I read giving him a 1 star rating have to have been written by audiobook neophytes who should be embarrassed to review any book.

I Had a Hard Time Finishing

What made the experience of listening to Stay Close the most enjoyable?

I always enjoy Coben books and was looking forward to his newest book.

What didn???t you like about Scott Brick???s performance?

He is too dramatic about everything. About 2 hours from the end of this book I almost gave up and quit listening. We have listened to many books by Brick, however, this is the first one I almost could not make it through. I agree with some of the other reviews, too much of the narration is over the top.

Any additional comments?

This is not one of my favorite Harlan Coben books. I will read the next, but it may be the last if it isn't better.

for Pete's sake, calm down, Scott!

"Broome looked at the remains of what had been a furnace two hundred years ago." Only Scott Brick's overwrought elegiac delivery could make that sound like the saddest thing in the world. Of course, it's not. It's just a physical detail of a crime scene. Brick constantly skews the sense of the sentences he reads, spinning them with a histrionic emotional english that distorts whatever it was the author intended them to mean -- and you're left to figure out what that might have been. But while you're figuring, he's off to bemoaning the cracks in the sidewalk or some x-random character's party dress as if it were the biggest tragedy ever to befall humankind. I thought maybe he'd gotten the message from readers to tone it down, but apparently not.

As to the book, if strip-mall philosophy stops you in your tracks and re-calibrates your sense of self, this is deep stuff indeed. Otherwise, it's all rather pedestrian -- except for the torture and psychosexual depravity, which I guess is to take the embarrassingly bourgeois edge off. Look, I love mysteries and thrillers and my standards aren't all that high, really, but whoever writes the treacly mainstream reviews for stuff like this are either tone-deaf or on the take. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book.

5 stars

Coben takes a break from his Bolitar series thank goodness and writes another stand alone. IMO, coben's stand alone books are terrific and this is no different, matter of fact, this may be his best one. Plenty of mystery and twists and turns to keep you into the book the whole way. Scott brick as always does a great job as well. Dont miss this one.

Kept me guessing

Fans of Coben and Brick will like this collaboration once again. What kept this book from reaching five star status is that the characters and outcomes were not very believable. Brushing the unbelievability factor aside, the story was a good one with a balanced mix of good and evil spread around many characters. This is a good book if you want to be entertained and care little about reality.

Yes fans, it's another home run!

I have listened to all of Harlan Coben's books, including the stand-alone novels. Stay Close is one of the best yet written. The storyline is based on a serious topic, and was completely believable. The way the solution unfolds near the end is classic Coben. Nice twists and turns, and all the "bad guys" get their come-uppance. That's how a story should be told.

Scott Brick was truly at the top of his game. Stellar performance from my all-time favorite narrator. I actually got lost in the story, because Scott's transition between characters was fluid and transparent.

Still looking forward to the next Myron Bolitar story, but this was a fantastic book to become immersed in while waiting...

Perfect narration, what you expect from Coban

Where does Stay Close rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in the middle. Not my favorite but enjoyable.

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

Absolutely. I love Coben.

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

He is the perfect voice artist. My favorite. He has a clear rich voice, it's intense. You feel every emotion in the book. I'm certain he improves Coben's work.

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

No but I rarely have that feeling.

Why all the Scott Brick haters?

Stay Close is on par with Harlan Coben's other stand alone novels. It was engaging and the story line continued to move through out the entire book. I'm not sure why there are some reviewers who seemed to hate Scott Brick's narration. I have listened to probably 30 books narrated by Scott and he does a great job through all of them.