Think Twice by Harlan Coben

Published by Grand Central Publishing on May 14, 2024

When Harlan Coben writes standalone novels, the results are hit-or-miss. When he writes Myron Bolitar novels, Coben ups his game.

Bolitar was a star player in college basketball. His pro career was immediately ended by an injury. He compensated by earning a law degree and becoming a sports agent. His career has moved in varying directions, but he is again working with his best friend, the almost equally athletic Win Lockwood. Bolitar and Lockwood have a knack for getting into trouble.

Think Twice is a serial killer novel. There are way more serial killer novels than there are serial killers, but the reading public’s appetite for fictional serial killers seems insatiable. I give Coben credit for making the serial killer theme fresh and interesting in Think Twice. The novel’s serial killer avoids detection and capture by framing someone else for each of the murders. Since the killings have no obvious connection and since cops will almost always fall for a frame (it’s easier to draw seemingly obvious conclusions than to conduct a full investigation), the killer has had a successful run.

Bolitar gets involved when the police show up at his office, demanding to know the location of Greg Downing. Bolitar believes Downing was cremated after his death three years earlier, making his location difficult to pinpoint. The police nevertheless suspect that Downing has committed a series of murders. Because DNA tests suggest that Downing’s skin was found beneath the fingernails of a recently murdered supermodel, Bolitar is prompted to look into Downing’s death.

It’s not a spoiler to reveal that Downing is still alive and has married a woman named Grace. It would be a spoiler to reveal whether Downing is the serial killer the police believe him to be.

Downing was a frenemy of Bolitar, a competitor on the basketball court who made his way to the NBA, stole Bolitar’s girlfriend (Emily), and had something to do with the injury that ended Bolitar’s career. Downing disappeared to Asia before (as far as the world knows) he died.

To find Downing, Bolitar and Lockwood follow a series of clues that lead them to a gay man named Bo with whom Downing was exchanging flirtatious messages. Bo’s boyfriend was also a murder victim. Could he have been another of Downing’s victim? The body count will increase before the plot resolves.

Bolitar also connects with his biological son, who was conceived by Emily the night before she married Downing. Neither Downing nor Bolitar are models of exemplary behavior, but they are partially redeemed by their guilty consciences and attempts to atone.

Lockwood makes fun of Bolitar’s tendency to examine the moral implications of competing choices (Lockwood tends to simplify moral issues by killing the bad guys), but Bolitar is a more interesting character because he considers (or overthinks) the consequences of his actions. I appreciate the recognition of moral ambiguity that most tough guy novels lack. Bolitar tries to practice forgiveness in his relationship with Downing, for example, but are there some betrayals that do not deserve forgiveness?

The plot has multiple threads, enough to hold the reader’s attention and perhaps challenge the reader to remember details. The ending, including a final twist, is surprising. Coben ties the threads together neatly at the end, but not too neatly. Coben recognizes that full truths are rarely known and deliberately leaves a few minor questions unanswered.

As the novel moves toward its ending, the story creates palpable tension as a key character is endangered. A moving chapter near the end may change the direction of future novels. Kudos to Coben for having the courage to shake up a popular series.

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