Hold Tight: A Suspense Thriller

Hold Tight: A Suspense Thriller

NOW A NETFLIX SERIES! The bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix dramas Stay Close and The Stranger delivers a #1 New York Times bestseller that asks how well parents really know their children—and puts them on a technological roller coaster of their worst fears. “We’re losing him.” With those words, Mike and Tia Baye decide to spy on their sixteen-year-old son Adam, who has become increasingly moody and withdrawn since the suicide of his best friend. The software they install on his computer shows them every Web site visited, every e-mail sent or received, every instant message. And each keystroke draws them deeper and deeper into a maze of mayhem and violence that could destroy them all.... Praise for Hold Tight “The writing is taut and slick. The intricate plot, told from the vantage points of a half-dozen characters, is a page-turner.”—Associated Press “A thriller for the Google era.”— The New York Times “In Hold Tight , Coben surpasses even his own best work.”— South Florida Sun-Sentinel “A page turner... Hold Tight will keep you up all night.”— San Francisco Chronicle “Fast-paced.”— Entertainment Weekly “Coben makes the normal terrifying...In Hold Tight , [he] surpasses even his own best work.”— Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “Harlan Coben is at his best with this intimidating one sitting thriller...thought-provoking [and] timely.”—Midwest Book Review “Parents will find this compulsive page-turner from Edgar-winner Coben particularly unnerving...Coben plucks each of these strings like a virtuoso...The ‘this could be me’ factor lends poignancy to the thrills and chills.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)     Harlan Coben  is the #1  New York Times and international bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including  I Will Find You ,  The Match ,  Win ,  Fool Me Once ,  Stay Close , and  The Stranger , as well as the award-winning Myron Bolitar series. Coben has more than eighty million books in print in more than forty languages worldwide, and several of his novels have been made into Netflix series. The winner of Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, he lives in New Jersey. Chapter 1 Marianne nursed her third shot of Cuervo, marveling at her endless capacity to destroy any good in her pathetic life, when the man next to her shouted, "Listen up, sweetcakes: Creationism and evolution are totally compatible." His spittle landed on Marianne's neck. She made a face and shot the man a quick glance. He had a big bushy mustache straight out of a seventies porn flick. He sat on her right. The over-bleached blonde with brittle hair of straw he was trying to impress with this stimulating banter was on her left. Marianne was the unlucky luncheon meat in their bad-pickup sandwich. she tried to ignore them. She peered into her glass as if it were a diamond she was sizing up for an engagement ring. Marianne hoped that it would make the mustache man and straw-haired woman disappear. It didn't. "You're crazy," Straw Hair said. "Hear me out." "Okay, I'll listen. But I think you're crazy." Marianne said, "Would you like to switch stools, so you can be next to one another?" Mustache put a hand on her arm. "Just hold on, little lady, I want you to hear this too." Marianne was going to protest, but it might be easier not to. She turned back to her drink. "Okay," Mustache said, "you know about Adam and Eve, right?" "Sure," Straw Hair said. "You buy that story?" "The one where he was the first man and she was the first woman?" "Right." "Hell, no. You do?" "Yes, of course." He petted his mustache as if it were a small rodent that needed calming. "The Bible tells us that's what happened. First came Adam, then Eve was formed out of his rib." Marianne drank. She drank for many reasons. Most of the time it was to party. She had been in too many places like this, looking to hook up and hoping it would come to more. Tonight, though, the idea of leaving with a man held no interest. She was drinking to numb and damn it if it wasn't working. The mindless chatter, once she let go, was distracting. Lessened the pain. She had messed up. As usual. Her entire life had been a sprint away from anything righteous and decent, looking for the next unobtainable fix, a perpetual state of boredom punctuated by pathetic highs. She'd destroyed something good and now that she'd tried to get it back, well, Marianne had screwed that up too. In the past, she had hurt those closest to her. That was her exclusive club of whom to emotionally maim-those she loved most. But now, thanks to her recent blend of idiocy and selfishness, she could add total strangers to the list of victims of the Marianne Massacre. For some reason, hurting strangers seemed worse. We all hurt those we love, don't we? But it was bad karma to hurt the innocent. Marianne had destroyed a life. Maybe more than one. For what? To protect her child. That was what she'd thought. Dumb ass. "Okay," Mustache said, "Adam begot Eve or what