'When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter.' Dr Marc Seidman is living in a classic American suburb in New Jersey with his new wife, Monica, and their baby daughter, Tara, when the shocking attack occurs. Marc is left barely clinging to life. When he wakes up at the hospital, he learns that Monica is dead - and that their daughter Tara is missing from her crib. For two weeks there is no word. Then a ransom demand is made for Tara's return. But Marc makes a mistake. Something goes terribly wrong during the money drop. The ransom money vanishes. The kidnappers get away. Crushed, Marc waits by the phone for another call. Days turn to weeks as Marc remembers the ransom note's ominous warning: THERE WILL BE NO SECOND CHANCE. The police, believing that Tara is probably dead, start to move on. Eighteen agonizing months pass with no word and no new clues. And then, when Marc has just about given up all hope of seeing his daughter again, he gets a package with a chilling note attached: WANT A SECOND CHANCE? And inside the package the kidnapper provides proof that Tara is still alive...
This has been my audio book since Thanksgiving, and it was much better than I was expecting. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the other Coben book I’ve read (Just One Look), but this one grabs you and then keeps you involved with its various twists and turns. The nature of the crime behind the kidnapping was not what I expected. I also did not expect the final twist. This was a great thriller that keeps you guessing.
The only issue I had with it was that the characters tended to have many many long-winded thought monologues. This is probably less annoying if you’re reading it and not listening to it.
