From Publishers Weekly
Supercharged by a father's fierce drive to rescue his kidnapped daughter, Coben's third stand-alone thriller proves far more gripping than his second, Tell No One. Marc Seidman, a plastic surgeon near New York City, wakes up in a hospital to learn that he has been gravely wounded, his wife shot dead and his infant daughter, Tara, snatched. The ensuing narrative, which shuttles between third person and Marc's first person, covers more than a year in Marc's hunt for Tara and climaxes twice with his fumbling of payments in response to ransom demands, plunging him into despair. A smartly drawn supporting cast supports Marc in his quest, including an old girlfriend-an ex-FBI agent-who reappears in his life; Marc's lawyer, who's also his best friend; a cop/FBI duo who for a while suspect Marc of engineering the snatch and ransom demands; and a working-class hero who joins forces with Marc near the end of his hunt and steals every scene he's in. On the villain's side lurk several shady folk, including a psychopathic former child star and her hulking boyfriend. The plot is overly complicated, and there's a revelation at book's end that veteran thriller readers will have sussed out long before. Those flaws matter little, though, in the face of the emotional onslaught of Marc's gut-wrenching, self-questioning, relentless narration, which will carry readers like a tidal wave through the novel's twists and turns. What Coben's thriller lacks in originality, it makes up for in sheer vigor; few browsers or dippers will put this down.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
NO SECOND CHANCE demonstrates that Harlan Coben is one of the finest contemporary suspense writers and that Scott Brick is among the elite audiobook narrators. When their skills are combined, the result is almost magical. Coben's story has plot twists aplenty, almost too many, and Brick's reading adds an intensity that propels the story at a breakneck pace. Coben wrote NO SECOND CHANCE in the first and third person, which makes this a particularly challenging novel to read. Brick not only meets the challenge, he triumphs over it, providing every character with a unique voice and personality, as well as an individual tone and pace. Coben has developed a loyal following, as should Brick. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
*Starred Review* Very few writers can induce in their readers the kind of trancelike state, punctuated by frequent "wows," that most of us associate with much-loved books from childhood. Coben can. Although he has had a fairly short mystery-writing career (this is his fourth novel), Coben has already won a great deal of acclaim. He is the only writer to have won all three of the genre's most competitive awards: the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Shamus. His current thriller is as pleasantly painful to read as its predecessors. Coben starts with an excruciating premise: What would you do if your infant were kidnapped? His hero, a plastic surgeon specializing in pediatric reconstructions, has no known enemies. But he wakes up 12 days after having been shot in his own home to discover that his wife has died, his six-month-old daughter has been taken, and he himself is a suspect. When the kidnappers make contact, promising that there will be "no second chance" if the cops or feds are brought into the case, Coben's hero is thrown into an agony of hope and indecision. The novel, spanning 18 months and jumping between the father and the kidnappers, sets off depth charges of meets, double-crosses, near-misses, and vengeful acts. Coben holds it together with his hero's determination and smarts. This is the kind of book that will leave readers dazed--but only after they finally look up from the final page. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


USA Today
"A killer thriller with more twists and turns than an amusement park ride...Gone for Good is great."


People Magazine
"Coben stands on the accelerator and never lets up...riveting."

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Harlan Coben returns to the arena of obsession, conspiracy, and violence that make his novels (Tell No One, Gone for Good) such edge-of-your-seat thrillers. Once again, his plot begins with an explosive scene of suburban outrage that leads a sympathetic, everyman hero into ever deeper trials and terrors: Marc Seidman's life becomes a nightmare when he's shot in the chest in the kitchen of his own home. Awakening from a coma almost two weeks later, he discovers that his wife has been murdered and his infant daughter is missing. It takes so long for a ransom note -- which warns that there will be "no second chance" -- to arrive, Marc and the police are uncertain about the kidnappers true intentions. Those intentions do not become clear to anyone -- including the reader -- until the very last pages of the book, after a constantly surprising series of plot twists carries the narrative through another year and a half in Marc's desperate quest to find his daughter. Coben hasn't only given us a masterwork of suspense, he's also written one of the most complex and elaborate novels of his career -- a book so compelling, ingenious, and disturbing you'll want to finish it in one sitting. Tom Piccirilli

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Marc Seldman awakens to find himself in an ICU, hooked up to an IV, his head swathed in bandages. Twelve days earlier, he'd had an enviable life as a successful surgeon, living in a peaceful suburban neighborhood with his beautiful wife and a baby he adored. Now he lies in a hospital bed, shot by an unseen assailant. His wife has been killed, and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, something arrives to give Marc new hope: a ransom note: "We are watching. If you contact the authorities, you will never see your daughter again. There will be no second chance." The note is chilling, but Marc sees only one thing - he has the chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. He doesn't know whom he can trust. And now the authorities are closing in on a new suspect: Marc himself. Mired in a deeping quicksand of deception and deadly secrets - about his wife, about an old love he's never forgotten, and about his own past - he clings to one unwavering vow: to bring home Tara, at any cost.

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times

True, that proclivity for self-analysis promises a story paced like downhill molasses. But this time Mr. Coben's plotting skills are in vigorous form, and he has devised a cleverly intricate scheme surrounding Tara's disappearance. Though he specializes in missing persons and mixed-up identities, to the point where his previous two thrillers (Tell No One and Gone for Good) had some overlap, the nimble and ingenious No Second Chance has a life of its own. — Janet Maslin

Publishers Weekly

Supercharged by a father's fierce drive to rescue his kidnapped daughter, Coben's third stand-alone thriller proves far more gripping than his second, Tell No One. Marc Seidman, a plastic surgeon near New York City, wakes up in a hospital to learn that he has been gravely wounded, his wife shot dead and his infant daughter, Tara, snatched. The ensuing narrative, which shuttles between third person and Marc's first person, covers more than a year in Marc's hunt for Tara and climaxes twice with his fumbling of payments in response to ransom demands, plunging him into despair. A smartly drawn supporting cast supports Marc in his quest, including an old girlfriend-an ex-FBI agent-who reappears in his life; Marc's lawyer, who's also his best friend; a cop/FBI duo who for a while suspect Marc of engineering the snatch and ransom demands; and a working-class hero who joins forces with Marc near the end of his hunt and steals every scene he's in. On the villain's side lurk several shady folk, including a psychopathic former child star and her hulking boyfriend. The plot is overly complicated, and there's a revelation at book's end that veteran thriller readers will have sussed out long before. Those flaws matter little, though, in the face of the emotional onslaught of Marc's gut-wrenching, self-questioning, relentless narration, which will carry readers like a tidal wave through the novel's twists and turns. What Coben's thriller lacks in originality, it makes up for in sheer vigor; few browsers or dippers will put this down. (Apr. 28) Forecast: Dutton is seriously behind this book, and Coben may get an extra push with Tell No One in pre-production at Columbia Pictures, with Michael Apted scheduled to direct. Look for this to be Coben's bestselling novel yet, with a real shot at making premier national lists in hardcover. Simultaneous Penguin Audio Book; BOMC, Doubleday Book Club and Mystery Guild Main Selection; featured alternate of the Literary Guild. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

A surgeon finds himself in intensive care after a brutal assault, with his wife dead and his baby daughter gone. Then the ransom note arrives.

Kirkus Reviews