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Monday, March 18, 2013

Six Years

by Harlan Coben

I don't know how many books I've read by Coben but I've enjoyed each one.  Six Years was remarkably good.  Loved it!
Six years have passed since Jake Sanders watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.
But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.
As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart—and who lied to him—soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.

This book kept me guessing about Jake, about Natalie, and what really happened in that short summer they supposedly spent together, and the six years since.  Did Jake and Natalie ever have their time together or is Jake delusional.   I love a book that keeps me guessing, questioning.

There is a freshness to this story.  It's not an ordinary mystery with a body that needs to be solved.  There's no body.  The police aren't involved.  It's one man in search of his one true love who doesn't seem to even exist.

Sometimes when I write a review on a book that I really liked, I feel a little nostalgic - wishing I hadn't already read it so I can look forward to reading it.  Does that ever happen to you?  

***I received a copy of Six Years from Dutton Books, Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.  No other compensation was received.***  

4 comments:

Zibilee said...

What?!! It isn't the same woman?? Now you've got me more than intrigued, and I must find out what happens to these characters. Thanks for piquing my interest in this one. I am off to find it!

Booklogged said...

Zibilee, that feeling of What?! happens often while reading this book. I think you'd like it.

Ryan said...

I have an entire shelf full of Harlan Coben books that I acquired from a friend. Must be 12 books in total. I've never read a single one, but from time to time I encounter someone who swears he is awesome. I'm not entirely sure what it is that is holding me back.

jenclair said...

Must give Harlen Coben a try!