After reading Harlan Coben’s
latest thriller Run
Away my thoughts drifted back to a pivotal point in this novelist’s career
– what we term his breakthrough book. I am writing about a novel that was extraordinary.
It was different from what came before, and one that would launch Harlan
Coben’s career as one of the World’s most engaging thriller writers, and one
that changed the direction of his writing career, as well as being one (that I firmly
believe) nudged the direction of the thriller genre. The book I allude to was
of course TELL NO ONE, the first of his work that would be adapted for film,
and curiously it would be Europe that acclaimed his talent.
But first a little context,
and also a look at the surreal happenings in this reality, that at times makes
one feel as if life contains the elements, reflections and occurrences that
would not be out of place in a Harlan
Coben novel.
I was first introduced to the
work of Harlan Coben, thanks to one of my regular visits to the long-gone Murder
Ink bookstore in Dawson Street, Dublin. It was in the late 1990s, and I
recall sitting with Mike Gallaher, Murder Ink’s owner and as we sipped coffee,
we discussed what books we’d read. Michael asked if I had read the Myron
Bolitar novels penned by Harlan Coben? As I hadn’t, Michael told me about them,
and about Myron Bolitar who was involved in investigating sports……and at that point
I told Gallaher, sorry I’m not interested in sports, at which Gallaher told me “trust me Ali, the sports angle is just a
foil. These novels by Harlan Coben are terrific, funny and exciting”. Michael
also knew of my fascination with the music of Bruce Springsteen, so he added “and he’s from New Jersey, like Bruce
Springsteen”.
I trusted Michael Gallaher as I
had purchased many books from him, over the years and he was rarely off target. Never one
constrained by the forces of moderation, I bought all he had in the store, the first
four of the Myron Bolitar novels [Deal
Breaker, Drop Shot, Fade Away and Back Spin].
To be totally honest, I had
low expectations as they looked way too sports-orientated for my palate, but Michael
Gallaher was my friend, so I placed them into the bag with some others I purchased.
I put off reading them as they appeared (as what I term) ‘Spunkbubbles’ with tennis rackets, golf clubs, US footballs, baseball
bats emblazoned on the covers. As a result, they languished for several months
in my TBR [to-be-read] pile, as each time I looked at the covers, my heart
sank, because I dislike sports, and the idea of a crime fiction novel set in
the world of athletics made me feel nauseous, they made me feel ill. They appeared
to me, like literary Ebola.
Then on one particularly rainy
day, I sifted through my masses of books and stumbled upon those four books by
Harlan Coben, the ones Michael Gallaher of Murder Ink recommended, the ones
that were crime and mystery thrillers set in the world of sport.
I held my nose as I cracked
the spine of DEAL BREAKER expecting
to abandon it after a few pages; BUT following reading the first chapter I realised
I had been an idiot. I failed that test, the adage - “never judge a book by its cover”.
The writing was exhilarating,
I found myself laughing out aloud, and I also found myself thinking deeply for this
novel provoked intense thought and introspection. Then I read the next three
books, back-to-back and they were just so damned good, extraordinary writing,
words that made me think. They contained a dry wit, a humour that made me
laugh, as I turned the pages, but also the humour was useful, because they were
in fact very, very dark books; all despite the amiable nature of Harlan’s
protagonist (and alter-ego), Myron Bolitar.
The sports angle, the backdrop
was just that – purely a backdrop, it provided a ‘frame of reference’ in which
a thought-provoking narrative could unfold – it was the lens.
Though his work is dark, and
when later I got to meet the writer, Harlan Coben, I understood that writers
with the darkest and most troubling imaginations are the nicest and most life-affirming
of people.
I was hooked, and at that time
of my life, Harlan
Coben joined my other favourite writers, on my bookshelves; novelists such
as Dennis
Lehane, Lee
Child, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Thomas
Harris, Michael
Connelly, John Connolly,
Martina
Cole, Robert
Crais, Jeffery
Deaver, Philip
Kerr among many, many others. What is impressive about these writers is the
fact that despite selling books by the bucket-load, they could easily slack off
and write ‘any old biff’ – but they continue
to provide great and insightful novels, narratives that make the reader think deeply.
Harlan Coben is one such writer.
Harlan Coben’s work acts as a
prism from which we can inspect our own lives, for his work makes us think, and
that is what makes a novelist I consider to be ‘extraordinary’.
Just before Michael Gallaher closed
down his shop Murder ink, we sat for a final coffee, and I thanked him for introducing
me to the work of Harlan Coben.
We laughed at my initial
reticence in cracking the spine of Deal Breaker, with all that Sports backdrop
that had put me off. Michael amused me with an anecdote, which I will share –
“Do
you remember when I told you about the work of Harlan Coben all those years
ago? And as I knew the sports angle didn’t appeal to you, so I told you that Harlan
Coben was from New Jersey, the same state as Bruce Springsteen?
I nodded.
“Well his
guitarist Nils Lofgren was in the shop yesterday. He’s playing with Springsteen
in Dublin tomorrow, and as he’s a big reader of Crime Fiction he was in the
shop yesterday - and just like you, he asked for a recommendation, so I told
him about Harlan
Coben. Just like you, those many years ago, Nils Lofgren had never read a Harlan
Coben novel before. He was intrigued due to the link to New Jersey, so he
bought a few of his books here in Dublin.”
It was not long after that I noticed
on Harlan Coben’s old website, before
it became the ultra-slick www.harlancoben.com
that there was a photo of Harlan backstage with the E-Street Band, and that a friendship
developed with Nils Lofgren
But coming full circle, it
would not be one of the first seven Myron Bolitar series
thrillers that changed everything for me. it would be his standalone novel TELL
NO ONE that would become the breakout, the novel that readers outside the confines
of the crime, mystery, thriller genre would pick up, and the first that made it
to film, the one that the French saw merit,
and later Sky
TV and Netflix
would follow suit.
When I read TELL NO ONE, I was
very excited to meet Harlan Coben,
and bought multiple copies of that hardcover (the one with that distinctive purple
cover). Soon I found myself in a queue at the fondly remembered Crime-in-Store bookshop
in London’s Covent Garden to get those books signed. For it was that year that many
of my friends would receive signed copies of TELL NO ONE as gifts. It was also in
that signing queue (just after the millennium) that I would first bump into Shots
Blogger Ayo Onatade. I was in awe as Ayo had copies of those very rare
paperbacks of Harlan’s early books Play Dead and Miracle Cure for signing.
Then over the years I would
bump into Harlan at many book launches, award
ceremonies as well as his appearances at Conventions such as Bouchercon,
Theakstons’ Crime Writing Festival – and I applauded until my hands were red, when
Harlan brought
back Myron Bolitar a decade ago, as well as seeing his foray into YA fiction.
So, what were my thoughts on Harlan’s latest RUN AWAY?
Renowned
for his twisty, serpentine plots, we often overlook just how great a novelist
and narrative stylist Harlan Coben truly is. His latest, Run Away is a thriller
but also a novel that makes you think deeply as the pages race, not unlike protagonist Simon Greene’s journey to save his daughter, and ultimately his
family.
Simon and
his wife Ingrid Greene maybe suffering middle-class guilt, in failing their
daughter Paige who has slipped through the cracks within their picture-perfect
suburban life. The three children, Sam, Anya, and Paige have all the
opportunities afforded by their parents, New York professionals in paediatric
medicine, and with PPG Wealth Management in the financial sector.
But
something goes wrong.
Read the full review from Shots Magazine HERE
because like TELL NO ONE, Harlan’s latest, decades on is extraordinary, very
special.
So as Harlan launches his new thriller, as well as
an upcoming visit to England as a guest of Theakston’s Crime Writing Festival
2019, In Harrogate, he kindly agreed to answering a few questions for Shots Magazine.
Ali: Welcome back to Shots Magazine Harlan, so how exhausted are you after penning the breathless Run Away?
Harlan: Ha! Never! I
feel more energized than ever! (This is a lie)
Ali:
And again you mine the lives of normal families to create an extraordinary story,
so what is it about the mysteries concealed in suburban life that interests
you?
Harlan: Well, the Greene’s live on the Upper
West Side of Manhattan so it’s very much city rather than suburban life. Family
fascinates me – the ties and bonds of blood. That was a good place to start.
Throw in some of the new genealogy websites, a cult, a few killers, a drug
problem….
Ali:
I felt Run Away to be perhaps your most personal book, in terms of the backdrop
of Simon Greene’s wife being a Physician and having three children? The Lanford
College; am I right?
Harlan: All the books are personal, but here’s
something funny. When my four kids read RUN
AWAY, they all started trying to guess which one of them was supposed to be
Paige, Simon’s most troubled daughter. (Answer: None – I’m remarkably lucky)
Ali:
So, tell me, was there a spark that ignited the story behind Run Away, or was
it just your work ethic of needing to get your derriere onto your chair and
releasing your imagination into the dark-side?
Harlan: It’s always both. I had a few things I wanted
to write about – family, religion, drugs, DNA – but nothing came together
until, like Simon on the opening page, I was sitting on a bench in Central Park
listening to street musician mangling out a John Lennon tune. That was the
spark I needed.
Ali:
And I see you are back at Theakston’s
Harrogate Crime Festival, so tell us what is it
about Europe that you consider appeals to readers of your work, as Run Away,
like much of your work is heavily set in America?
Harlan: Oh, I don’t know. From what I’m told,
the European reader really values thrillers with heart. I hope that’s what the
appeal is, but whatever, I’m so grateful.
Ali:
I see that you are in conversation with Ian Rankin while a guest of Theakstons’
Crime Writing Festival, so what are we likely to expect?
Harlan: A very serious, weighty, mono-toned,
dry discourse that will put the audience to sleep. Or maybe the opposite. I’m
not sure.
Ali:
The last time we met, was at Bouchercon New Orleans back in 2016 a
wonderful party managed by Heather Graham and her team, so tell us about that
time in Louisiana?
Harlan: It was magical. Being guest of honor at
a conference I first came to as a total unknown… well, wow, that was a pretty
heady. Heather
Graham is the best too. She’s just a great person in so many ways. I adore
her.
Ali:
I hear that it was during a military
assignment that Heather asked
you about being one of Bouchercon’s
GoH, so tell us about that assignment?
Harlan: I traveled with Heather and several
other crime writers – F Paul Wilson, Phillip Margolin, Kathleen Antrim – on a
USO Tour to entertain (more like, hang with) the troops serving in Kuwait, UK,
Germany and at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC. It was an incredible and
poignant experience.
Ali: Back
to Run
Away, I noticed a few subtle
nods to previous work, such as Lanford College [from Six Years] being where Paige Greene’s problems may
have started. So, are these references just part of the writing process, or
written for fans of your work, and also nerds like me to uncover?
Harlan: A little bit of both. I love what I think is
commonly called Easter eggs in both books and TV. On the tv show THE FIVE, for
example, savvy viewers/readers picked up that we named Pru’s medical clinic
after Win from my Myron books. But I also do to show that I’m often working in
the same world when I write my books. For that reason, overlap ends up being
natural.
Ali:
And is it true that your own memories of Amherst College became fictionalised
in your work and is it also true that while a student there, you met not only
your wife, but an aspiring writer entitled Dan Brown? And what ever happened to
that Dan Brown bloke?
Harlan: Certainly,
there are similarities between Amherst College and Lanford, but that’s true of
many things, if not most things, I write about. Yes, I met my wife at Amherst
College. And yes, I met Dan Brown there too. Dan and I remain friends, but
meeting my wife was better. I think Dan would agree.
Ali
Can you tell us a little of what is happening to cinematic and TV adaptations
of your work?
Harlan: I just came back from Manchester
where we started filming THE
STRANGER, an eight-episode crime drama based off my book, starring Richard
Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, Stephen Rea, Jennifer Saunders (yes, THE Jennifer
Saunders – her first dramatic role), Hannah Kamen-John, Anthony Stewart Head,
Paul Kaye, Shaun Dooley… it’s a dream group.
Ali: Thanks
Harlan for your time, we loved Run Away, and so what’s next?
Harlan: Oh I never talk about the next book. It takes
away some of the energy. To put it another way, I would LOVE to tell you about
the next book, but the only way I get that satisfaction is to WRITE it. And
thanks. I really can’t wait to hear people’s reaction to RUN AWAY. It’s one of
my personal favorites – but who cares what I think??
Shots Magazine would like
to thank Charlotte Bush of PenguinRandomHouse for her help in organising this
interview
Click
HERE
for video and an insightful interview feature between Harlan Coben and Michael
Connelly recorded at Bouchercon 2016, New Orleans
If
you’ve not read Harlan Coben, then RUN AWAY is a great place to start, more
information from www.harlancoben.com
Photos
© 1997 – 2019 A Karim
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