Publisher Description
In this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from Harlan Coben, a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of a vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.
Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors — and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.
Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead — not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case — with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.
Windsor Horne Lockwood III — or Win, as his few friends call him — doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism — and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Windsor Horne Lockwood III is one of our favorite parts of Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series. Now, Myron’s über-wealthy and super-shady friend and accomplice has his own crime to solve: figuring out how a family heirloom ended up at an uptown Manhattan apartment where a mysterious recluse was killed. From bribery to flattery to all-out violence, Win is a bad boy who'll go to any length to get what he wants. Coben tosses him into a fast-paced plot involving a brutal unsolved abduction and the disappearance of a group of ‘70s radicals called the Jane Street Six. And with Win’s chatty, caustic first-person narration, we’re pulled right into his head. Myron Bolitar fans will love digging into the Lockwood family’s scandalous past, but even complete newcomers will be intrigued by Win’s brash, eccentric personality. (He’s a Tae Kwon Do black belt and a lover of dad-joke puns!) We could see The Rock playing Coben’s charismatic antihero in the inevitable movie version.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in this disappointing thriller from bestseller Coben (the Myron Bolitar series), FBI agents ask sports agent Myron's wealthy blueblood sidekick, Windsor "Win" Horne Lockwood III, to accompany them to the Beresford, "one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan," where an unidentified older man has been found in one of the Beresford's tower rooms, dead of either strangulation or a slit throat. Win tells the agents he doesn't know the victim, but the cluttered room includes a Vermeer that was stolen from the Lockwood family 20 years earlier and a suitcase with Win's initials. The mystery deepens when the body is identified as the leader of a radical left group responsible for the accidental deaths of seven people. A connection to Win's cousin Patricia Lockwood's traumatic abduction, abuse, and captivity as a teen raises more questions, but the melodramatic plot developments that follow don't live up to the tantalizing setup. Readers will struggle to empathize with Coben's hedonistic lead, who can't help viewing even his own aunt as a sexual object. Hopefully, Win will return to a supporting role in any future outings.
Customer Reviews
Win
4/5 stars. Good read. Interesting character. I’d recommend to my friends.
Hal R Troy,MI
Ok but not fabulous.
“LFP”
Win..another favorite!
Love the style, intrigue and words of wisdom from someone living in the “grey”…hoping there are more WIN adventures to follow.