Spoilers Ahead: 

This is the first book of Coben’s I’ve ever read, although admittedly not the first one I’ve bought. This was the one which enticed me in, grabbed my attention, and I read it super quickly. And, can I say, I’m very sorry to ever put off reading any of his books. 

We follow David Beck, a respected doctor in the community, throughout this book. His wife, Elisabeth, died eight years ago, and although it was quite a long time ago, he never got over her. They were childhood sweethearts, and inseparable. She was kidnapped when they were on vacation in the mountains, and her body was found a few days later. Dr Beck had suffered a blow to the head, so he couldn’t save her, either. So when he receives a weird email from someone anonymous, with intimate details about his relationship with his former wife, he’s confused. And, dare I say it, he had a little bit of hope that she would actually be alive. He told his confidant, Shauna, who was with Linda, his sister (yay, queer representation!) and she wasn’t as convinced, but that did nothing to extinguish his hope. The email was very vague, and told him to keep his eyes open, as he was being watched. 

When Dr Beck is investigated to do with his wife’s murder eight years later, he knows there is something not right. And, when two bodies are found in connection to his wife’s murder (they were the ones who allegedly kidnapped her) and the police come after him, blaming him, he does the only thing he can think of. The emails, of which he assumes are from his wife, state for him to meet the sender later. He knows it’s Elisabeth, and so desperately wants to see her. His plans are stunted when the police tries to arrest him, so he runs. 

Elisabeth doesn’t show, and he is hunted down. Tyreese - the father of one of his regular patients - is a drug dealer, and helps him out, keeping him safe until they gather the evidence to know that he is actually not part of the murder (first time I’ve ever had that in a crime book!) and Elisabeth’s father had everything to do with it. He hid the autopsy report pictures, and it turns out, they ID’ed someone as their Elisabeth, as she was being hunted for killing someone high up, very important, in regards to her charity work. However, Hoit - Elisabeth’s father - goes to hand Dr Beck over to the father of the boy that Elisabeth killed, and he admits to the murder. He shoots the father, and then himself, to the shock of Beck. He and Elisabeth are then reunited, and they live happily ever after with each other. However, it is then revealed that Dr Beck is the one who actually killed the son, and Elisabeth was just protecting him. 

Honestly, such a lot more goes on in this book that my summary doesn’t even do it justice. Please read it! If you’re into psychological thrills and crime and endearing relationships, then please read it! Dr Beck (it’s weird calling him David) and his relationship with his wife is so beautiful, and pure. The fact he was loyal to her all this time - pretty much, save for a few dates that don’t really count - is so sweet, and I love that. All of the characters (apart from Linda - I can’t stand her!) are so realistic and well-planned and I loved reading about them. Tyreese is my favourite though, I need to know what happened to him and his son! The best character in the book, I can’t lie. Oh, and I thought Elisabeth was very selfish for the longest of times, but that changed very suddenly when the ending revealed she was just covering up Dr Beck’s murder (he was doing it in self-defence, okay?). I owe her the biggest apology. 

I loved this book, but I can’t lie, the ending was very long. The book is so drawn out, and every part of it is so exciting, that the ending felt slightly a bit ant-climactic. Only slightly though, because that ending knocked me for six, I can’t lie. It felt like there was a double ending, with the actual ending being used to actually open up a whole new set of questions. Whilst I do find it insanely infuriating, I also thought it worked so well. However, not telling us about Shauna and Linda’s fate, and what happened to Tyreese and his son, is cruel, and cannot be forgiven. But oh well, what can you do?