Bonus Content
A Conversation with Harlan Coben Tell us about your latest book, CAUGHT, coming our on March 23th. 17 year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst. Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborateÑand nationally televisedÑsting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined. What gave you the inspiration for this book? A combination of things. The ideas for my books always come from “what if” questions I ask myself. In this case, the what if came when I was watching a show on television where they catch criminals and I started wondering, “Suppose someone I know was nailed on one of those shows? Suppose it was someone I liked and trusted and he insisted that he was innocent?” That’s what got the ball rolling. How does the actual writing of a new novel evolve once you get the first idea? You sit and you write and you hate it and you love it and you keep putting one word down, then another, then another. If there is an easier way, I hope someone will tell me. What made you become an author? Was it more out of passion or fluke? We assume you had written before your first novel is that correct? I think, like with most authors, it is both a passion and a fluke. I loved writing. I had a passion for telling stories, but without a few good breaks, I’m not sure that I’d be where I am today. In CAUGHT, disappearing is once more at the centre of your new novel. Quite often one of the characters who we thought had disappeared comes back into the life of one of the main characters. How do you explain this? I love disappearances. If someone is dead, well, they are dead. You can solve the crime but you cannot bring them back. With a disappearance, there is hope and hope can make your heart sing or it can crush it like a plastic cup. That’s what I love about it. You are, alongside Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown, one of the most read foreign authors in France. What do you think of the work of these two authors? My teenage daughter is a huge Stephenie Meyer fan, and Dan Brown and I have been friends since college I was one of the first to read and endorse THE DAVINCI CODE. In short, I’m proud to be in their company.
Caught
Final Excerpt from CAUGHT by Harlan Coben
“DO YOU PROMISE to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
Wendy Tynes said that she did, took the stand, looked out. She felt as though she were onstage, something she was somewhat used to, what with being a television news reporter and all, but this time it made her squirm. She looked out and saw the parents of Dan Mercer’s victims. Four sets of them. They were there every day. At first they’d brought photographs of their children, the innocent ones of course, holding them up, but the judge had made them stop. Now they sat silently, watching, and somehow that was even more intimidating.
The seat was uncomfortable. Wendy adjusted her position, crossed then uncrossed her legs, and waited. Flair Hickory, celebrity counsel for the defense, stood, and not for the first time, Wendy wondered how Dan Mercer had the money to afford him. Flair wore his customary gray suit with thick pink stripes, pink shirt, pink tie. He crossed the room in a way that might be modestly described as “theatrical,” but it was more like something Liberace might have done if Liberace had the courage to be really flamboyant.
“Ms. Tynes,” he began with a welcoming smile. This was part of Flair’s style. He was gay, yes, but he played it up in court like Harvey Fierstein in leather chaps doing Liza jazz hands. “My name is Flair Hickory. Good morning to you.”
“Good morning,” she said.
“You work for a lurid tabloid TV program called Caught in the Act, is that correct?”
The prosecuting attorney, a man named Lee Portnoi, said,
“Objection. It’s a TV program. There has been no testimony to support the allegation that the program is either lurid or tabloid.”
Flair smiled. “Would you like me to present evidence, Mr. Portnoi?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Judge Lori Howard said in a voice that already sounded weary. She turned to Wendy. “Please answer the question.”
“I don’t work for the show anymore,” Wendy said.
Flair pretended to be surprised by this. “No? But you did?”
“Yes.”
Reprinted by arrangement with Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from CAUGHT by Harlan Coben.
Copyright © 2010 by Harlan Coben.
Caught
An ambitious reporter is blindsided in Caught, the new, not-to-be-missed thrill ride from mega-selling author Harlan Coben.
Chasing a big story—and nailing it—is the fastest way to make your name in the news business. That’s why Wendy is euphoric when her dogged pursuit of a sexual predator masquerading as a child advocate pays off. Big time. She’s actually there with cameras rolling when he’s taken in, the stunned look on his face telling the story almost better than she does.
Three months later the man Wendy brought to justice is missing and presumed dead, supposedly brought down by a victim’s father. But Wendy’s too caught up in getting to the bottom of a young girl’s disappearance to pay much attention—until she gets a mysterious phone call tipping her to a group of fathers looking to take justice into their own hands. Suddenly everything becomes unhinged as long-buried secrets surface that take Wendy back to her involvement with the child molester. At the time, she was absolutely certain that her assumptions were based on rock solid investigative journalism. Or could it be that she’s been part of a grand manipulation aimed at destroying an innocent man?
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Dutton, Div Of Penguin Putnam ( March 23, 2010 )
Item #: 03-5375
ISBN: 9780525951582
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.95 inches
Product Weight: 14.0 ounces
WOW! What an ending!
September 03, 2010
I think there's more twists and turns in this book than any I've ever read. The characters are all so real, you can relate to something in their lives to something you have experienced in your life. This is a real intense, page-turner and I could barely put it down. Great book!
Reviewer: Beth H
A Good Read
September 01, 2010
Thank you, Harlan Coben for reigniting my reading spark. Lately it took me at least 10 days to finish a good novel. But this novel had me so engrossed, I finished it in days! Then I felt bad since it had been sitting on my shelf for weeks. (What can I say, life happens.) The characters are real and their lives touching. You ache for them. You want to understand them. You want to find out the truth so that they can be at peace. Great writing. I love Harlan Coben's style. The novel is paced very well. Now I'm combing my shelves, pulling all the other novels I have of his and reading them sequentially. One of best novels I've read this year!!!
Reviewer: Angela M
riviting
August 25, 2010
I have read all of Harlan Coben's novels and this one is the best so far. At the end of the story I can honestly say I never saw it coming.
Reviewer: Susan
Fabulous
August 24, 2010
This author was recommended by someone writing a review on another book. Again, I ordered this book on a whim and WOW. Interesting plot and well developed characters with a surprise ending. Fast paced and thrilling reading.
Reviewer: Marsha
WOW!
August 18, 2010
This is Coben's best yet. I couldn't put it down. A great read, kept me guessing until the final page.
Reviewer: Susan
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