Seconds Away by Harlan Coben

Seconds Away (Mickey Bolitar #2) by Harlan Coben

September 18, 2012 bu Putnam Juvenile

Read for 2012 Sophomore Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

When tragedy strikes close to home, Mickey Bolitar and his loyal new friends—sharp-witted Ema and the adorkably charming Spoon—find themselves at the center of a terrifying mystery involving the shooting of their friend Rachel. Now, not only does Mickey have to continue his quest to uncover the truth about the Abeona Shelter, the Butcher of Lodz and the mysterious death of his father, he needs to figure out who shot Rachel—no matter what it takes. Mickey has always been ready to sacrifice everything to help the people he loves. But with danger just seconds away, how can he protect them when he’s not even sure who—or what—he’s protecting them from?

I am really enjoying this series, which is no surprise considering I really enjoy Harlan Coben's mysteries for adults. Mickey has all the snark and wise-ass cracks that his uncle has, and the tension between the pair continues to make for great reading. Seconds Away takes place almost immediately after the conclusion of Shelter, so there is no time to wander around here--you are immediately swept back up into Mickey Bolitar's world, and this world is scary, dangerous, and, yes, even fun. Harlan Coben has created a great network of characters here, and I cannot wait to see them grow in future books.


I love that Harlan Coben was able to create a YA mystery series that is exactly the same as his adult books without the language and sex that adult mysteries are so soften full of. While I always recommend Harlan Coben to mystery readers at the library (ALWAYS support NJ writers!), I would also recommend these titles to my adult readers at the library who want a mystery series that isn't full of guts and gore. Kudos to Harlan Coben for another successful title!

ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi