Blog Entry One

Tell No One - Harlan Coben

Almost halfway into this book, it is already proving to be a very worthy suspense/thriller novel, comparable to the well known literary genius of the acclaimed author Dan Brown. The story is narrated by Dr. David Beck, a pediatrician who lost his wife, Elizabeth, to a ghastly murder eight years ago. Beck and Elizabeth had been madly in love since they were 12, and they had a romantic tradition of returning to the same, recluded spot they shared their first kiss each year since they had been married. Eight years ago, they were relaxing at this destination when disaster struck: David was beaten over the head, and Elizabeth was kidnapped. A few days later, she was found on the side of the road, dead--believed the work of a dastardly serial killer, KillRoy. In the present, David is alone on the anniversary of Elizabeth's disappearance when he receives a mysterious e-mail. This e-mail leads to an eerie sign that Elizabeth might still be alive, and includes the phrase "tell no one." in its closing. The story bounces around each chapter between several "groups" of characters and settings, with every page more chilling than the one before. Beck is being followed by more than one group of "villains", and as the story progresses, David finds out more about Elizabeth's death than he ever thought was there. As Beck gets closer to finding out the truth, the predators that are on his tail keep inching closer to him, and I can't wait to read the second half of the book.


Thus far, one of the main aspects of the author's writing style that I like is that the chapters bounce around from setting to setting. It keeps me on the edge of my seat, and definitely makes the story more suspenseful, because I just need to read the next chapter in order to find out what happens next. It is challenging, but I enjoy that. This style of chapter organization is also similar to the Dan Brown novels that I have read. One primary theme of the story so far is one that the main character, Beck, thinks about a lot. He has gone through the grieving process first hand, and knows better than many what it is like to have something so close to you ripped away, without you being able to do anything about it. Indeed, Beck gives the reader thought-provoking insight into this topic. Also, the point of view of the story is intriguing. Beck narrates the novel, yet when the story cuts out to the assumed villainous characters' actions, we also know their thoughts and feelings. However, sometimes with a suspense novel, I would rather not know what every single character was thinking (as in 3rd person omniscient). I think a more limited 1st person narration is perfect for Tell No One, because it allows us to know what Beck is thinking, but more importantly, it limits our knowledge of the workings of the villains' minds. More suspense would be able to be created if when the story cut out to parts besides Beck's, only the facts were given, no opinions or thoughts.

That said, I really am enjoying this book. It's definitely a page-turner, and as a matter of fact I think I'm going to go read some more.

- Troy