SHELTER by Harlan Coben

The first in an exciting series of young adult thrillers from the bestseller, Harlan Coben.

Harlan's very first young adult project will link in with the storylines in his up-and-coming adult thrillers as Myron Bolitar discovers that his mysterious tearaway younger brother, Brad, has a son - now teenaged.

When our series hero's father, Brad, dies in a mysterious accident in South America, Myron is his closest, albeit estranged, relative left and is assigned to be his legal guardian.

Will uncle and nephew be able to live with one another? And will our hero be able to resist getting involved in solving a mysterious disappearance at his new high school?

This is actually the first Harlan Coben book I've ever read, and I have to say that I was totally hooked from the very start. Seriously, this book turned out to be a page-turner for me.

Mickey is the new kid in town, and he's living with his uncle. Getting stuck with an estranged uncle is hard, but with his father dead and his mother in rehab, Mickey has nowhere else to go. Besides, he's got an arrangement with Uncle Myron to keep him out of his business. Mostly. So, now he's living in the same place where his father and uncle grew up.

However, just when he thought he couldn't lose anymore, his new girlfriend, Ashley, vanishes. After losing so many people in his life, he decides to get to the bottom of it and tries to track down where she is and what happened to her. With the help of some unlikely kids from school, he sets out to uncover the mystery and instead finds himself caught up in a very dangerous situation, with very violent people. Things aren't always what they seem, everyone seems to be keeping secrests, and a deeper mystery--something a lot closer to his family, than anything else--slowly starts to appear. Making him doubt everything he thinks he knows, and making him hope for the impossible.

Before long, Mickey finds himself in a downward and very dangerous spiral that may/may not lead to some answers he's searching for... and others he didn't even know were possible.

OMG, this book was seriously awesome! Not only is it so well written that Mickey's an excellent narrator with a compelling voice, but I loved the mystery at the very core of the story. I also liked his friends Ema and Spoon, and even Rachel. There are some very heartbreaking scenes in this book as Mickey tries to come to terms with the truth of what his mother's become, and can't let go of his father's death.

Shelter turned out to be a wonderful surprise! It kept me guessing, and the suspense was killing me right until the very end! I really enjoyed it, and can't wait to catch up with Mickey and his friends again. Oh, and I can't wait to find out about the other secrets the Bat Lady has to share with him. She was also a nice addition to a very interesting cast of characters.

Shelter, September 2011, ISBN 9781780621180, Indigo Paperback

M&SRC books read: 17/12