JDCMustReadBooks

By Harlan Coben 

ISBN-13: 9780525953494

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Publication date: 3/18/2014

Pages: 400

Format:  Audio

My Rating:  4 Stars 

MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben is a riveting crime thriller involving an online dating website, and a world of conspiracy and murder. You will need a score card to keep up with all the players, in order to solve this mystery! 

Eighteen years ago, NYPD detective Kat Donovan was dumped by her fiance’, Jeff Raynes. She has never married, and her friend Stacy gives her a one year subscription to an online dating site. She is shocked when she sees Jeff’s profile- He seems to be widowed with a daughter.

The intrigue is killing her and she makes contact with Jeff. His initial reaction is quite puzzling, as at first he does not remember her, then he greets her warmly, to saying they better not continue the banter.

Entering the scene, Brandon Phelps, a 19-yr old college student from Connecticut comes to New York to ask for Kat’s help in finding his missing mother, Dana. Why did he seek her out? What is he hiding? Brandon’s widowed mother, Dana, has also met someone from the same dating website, and is now missing. Who is Titus Monroe, the man pulling the strings on the dating site?

What is the real story behind the murder of Kat’s cop father, Henry Donovan, years before? A murder which has never been solved in the line of duty. She has cherished memories of her father, yet her father’s ex-partner, Captain Thomas Stagger, seems to withholding information, and her defensive mother Hazel, is determined to protect Donovan's reputation? Are any of these crimes connected? 

When Kat goes to visit Monte, the dying contract killer who was convicted years ago of shooting her father, another NYPD detective, and the prison nurse puts Monte into twilight sedation—he denies killing Henry Donovan. Kate thinks he was set up to take the rap for her father’s murder. 

Kat cannot figure out the mystery and whom she can trust. Things are going nuts with all sorts of questions, enough to make your head do a 360. Where is Jeff, what about Brandon, what is the deal with Charles? In addition, there are so many other players--- her judo instructor, Aqua, a schizophrenic, a homeless transvestite, a set up--- with twists and turns for an intense thriller.

As the body count mounts and Kat’s hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by the investigation that challengers her feelings about everyone she’s ever loved (ex-fiance’, her father, and mother). With her life on the line, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness to discover if she has the strength to survive what she uncovers.

A fast-paced, and suspenseful novel--My first book by Harlan Coben and look forward to reading Six Years. 

The negative, keeping me from rating higher, would be the narrator for the audiobook, January LaVoy (not a fan, as performance was boring). If it would have been Peter Berkrot, from Desperate-then, you would have a winner!