Caught, by Harlan Coben. OK, I’m a fan again

All right, he’s still got it.

Caught is a stand-alone thriller, from 2010 (I did my research this time, thanks JP !). And it’s brilliant. Not on the level of Tell no one, but close.

The main character is a journalist who unveils pedophiles on her show, and she starts getting suspicious of the clues she got for her latest catch, who aside from those seemed a really stand-up guy. She unravels then other similar cases of smearing with no real proof, and all hell breaks loose…

This plot is definitely contemporary, as Lehman disaster, lay-offs, blogs, and social media are prominent. And though you can tell Coben is no Klout master, it is still believable and actually a page-turner.

I don’t want to give you any spoiler, but the last chapter is definitely one of the best written so far by Coben. Some familiar Bolitar series characters also make appearances, the humor and wit are there, the sensibility too, and it has its twists and turns.

Altogether a good read, in English of course (I still haven’t tried the French translation, so it may be really good, I wouldn’t know. Somehow I doubt it has the wit, though). So I’m reconciled with Coben, after all.

It just means he gives « young adults » very little credit, then.