5. The Innocent by Harlan Coben

As I mentioned in my previous post, I saw The Innocent while I was browsing at the bookstore. It sounded good but I knew it was a book the library would have, so I saved my gift certificate and went to the library to check out. It was a good read, but nothing I would write home about. I give it a B.

Inside cover:
The horror of one night is forever etched in Matt Hunter's memory: the night he innocently tried to break up a fight- and ended up a killer. Now, nine years after his release from prison, his innocence long forgotten, he's an ex-con who takes nothing for granted. With his wife, Olivia, pregnant and the two of them closing on a house in his hometown, things are looking up. Until the day Matt gets a shocking, inexplicable video call from Olivia's phone. And in an instant, the unraveling begins.
A mysterious man who'd begun tailing Matt turns up dead. A beloved nun is murdered. And local and federal authorities- inlcuding homicide investigator Loren Muse, a childhood schoolmate of Matt's with a troubled past of her own- see all signs pointing to a former criminal with one murder already under his belt: Matt Hunter. Unwilling to lose everything for a second time, Matt and Olivia are forced outside the law in a desperate attempt to save their future together.

I feel somewhat disappointed in The Innocent. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I feel like this isn't an uncommon feeling after reading a Harlan Coben novel. Perhaps it's all of the hype that I see and hear from other reviewers and reviews, but it wasn't anything outstanding or special. Olivia is not a very likeable character in my eyes, and some of the events were just a bit too unbelievable. There were also quite a few characters to keep track of and I had to flip back and forth a couple of times to make sure everyone was who I thought they were. With all of that being said, I still enjoyed The Innocent and thought that the suspense was built up well. I loved Loren's character and wanted to jump into the pages and hug Matt. I guess I can sum up this book by saying I had very conflicted feelings.

I am not sure what I am going to read next. I called back to my online job, so things have been a bit busier around here. I am happy to be picking up some extra money, but this week has been a long one and I am worn out. I have a training session in about an hour, so I need to pick something up quickly to have with me. I apologize for not visiting and commenting on blogs lately, but I have barely had any energy to turn my computer on for anything other than work. Happy Reading everyone!