"Just One Look"

"Just One Look" is another great mystery from Harlan Coben.  Coben's story lines are so unique that I almost always find myself wondering where he gets his ideas!

Grace Lawson is a wife, artist,and mother of two who loves picking up her pictures from the local photo store -- none of that digital stuff for her.  This time she's in for a surprise, though, when a photo from at least twenty years ago ends up in the middle of photos of the latest film she's developed. One of the men in the photo looks like a younger version of her husband.  When she shows the picture to her husband, Jack, that evening,he is upset and leaves the room to make a phone call. A short time later he leaves the house without telling her he is going out.  Although it is not unusual for him to leave during the evening to pick up groceries, he usually lets her know he is going out.

When Jack doesn't return, Grace becomes worried and calls the police but they can't do anything.  After all he is an adult and may have decided to leave on his own for whatever reason.  As the days go by and she tries to investigate on her own. she finds herself calling on friends as well as acquaintances from her past for assistance, support, and protection for herself and her children.

The more Grace investigates the more she learns how much she didn't know about her husband as well as having to admit there are blank spots in her own memory of the past.  The path she follows is dark and twisting and force her to a confrontation with a surprising twist.

I cannot recommend this book enough if you like a good mystery.  I'm usually able to get enough clues when I read a mystery to figure out at least some of "whodunnit" but Coben always surprises me and perhaps that is why I love his mysteries.  pazt