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.

Narrator Dissapoints an otherwise ok listen

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was a bit of a surprise and I was pleased with it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator's voice took a fairly interesting mystery plot line and turned every character into some kind of

Was Stay Close worth the listening time?

I almost gave up on listening because of the way the narrator was interpreting the story, but I did persevere to the end.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend reading this book rather than listening and I am an AVID audiobook listener.

Harlan Coben virgin

I usually try to stay off the bandwagon, but Harlan Coben kept popping up on my recommendation list (even though it's not an author I would normally listen to) and the reviews were very good. So I decided to give it a try. The story was good and it was well told. There were just enough twists to keep me entertained. The characters were believable. The ending was surprising but not over the top. Overall a good experience. I would listen to more from this author.

Excellent book!

An ex prostitute has to face her past, come clean with the police, and puts herself in grave danger while trying to hang on to her new life that she has built with a man and children she loves. Cassie loves Dave, Cassie loves Ray, Cassie loves her kids and Cassie just may have some answers to a series of serial killings out there that Det Broom has been trying to solve for 17 years.
This book has characters you can't get enough of, brought to life by Scott Brick, whos narration hits the nail on the head with all their emotions and voices, putting you in the middle of each ones dilemmas. Barbie and Ken have a major part in this book, and watch out for the spine tingles those two provide, not pleasant either.
The novel is nonstop horror, suspense, love, mystery, crime, and misery. Will keep you up late cause you won't want to take the earbuds out and give it a rest.

Kept me guessing...

What did you love best about Stay Close?

I like that I was way off track with the 'who done it' at the end of the book....

Would you recommend Stay Close to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book, the narration was pretty good, you will think the story is a tad predictable, but, you won't see who done it coming.

Any additional comments?

The story was well told! Thanks for a great listen!

My first written review

I enjoy Harlen Coben books. Many plot twists. Scott Brick was an excellent narrator for this book.

Didn’t see that coming

The killer was so not who I thought!

Loraine a dying stripper/bartender found girls who were being abused and kill their attacker’s on Marti Grais. Crazy how it came to be. She was an amazing serial killer.

Broom: detective who caught a missing persons case
Ray Levine: photojournalist that fell in love with a stripper
Det. Goldberg: fed info to bad guys to feed his habit of loose girls. Gained a conscience in the end
Ken & Barbie: a couple with disturbing desires that met at Christian camp. They torture people for money and pleasure. Both killed
Meghan/Cassie: stripper who was being abused but got away and hid. Married with two kids and family never knew her past.

Really good book.

Scott Brick's Performance SAVES This Book!

Would you try another book from Harlan Coben and/or Scott Brick?

I will always listen to a book performed by Scott Brick, but doubt that I'd use a credit to buy another from Harlan Coben.

Would you ever listen to anything by Harlan Coben again?

Not likely.

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

This is another stellar performance by Scott Brick. I have listened to several of his other performances and when I see a book that is highly rated AND see that he is the narrator, I usually jump on board.

Could you see Stay Close being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

God, I hope not.

Any additional comments?

This is one of those books that, after getting to the end, makes you say "That's it?"

I almost abandoned the book after about 3 hours, because the character development was horrible. I didn't care about anyone or make any connections to them whatsoever. I finished it because I thought it would eventually get better, and Scott Brick was doing a brilliant job of trying to carry the book through to the end.

Entertaining

Starts a little slow but picks up speed. I enjoyed the book. It was entertaining. Well written.

Amazing

Harlen Coben is becoming one of my favorite authors. I will continue to listen to Scott Brock bring his books to life

Very Harlan Cobenesque...if you like his stuff...

What did you love best about Stay Close?

The story was great but the narration was fabulous!!!!

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

It did keep you guessing but my deductive mind figured it out about 3/4ths the way in.

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

Scott Brick is thus far my favorite male narrator, everything he reads comes to life, I can envision it as he reads...from the bottom of the well to the soldering iron....

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Near the end when Cassy is injured and in the hospital, I almost had to pull over on the side of the road and the ending was moving as well.