"Caught" by Harlan Coben- Book

Let me first say that I LOVED this book!!!!  I definitely enjoy a book that employs a well thought out mystery.  The genius within this book though is in its ability to cause the reader to think and not just about the plot alone, but about how we react to the things the plot presents.  The story explores the ideas of pedophilia, corruption, forgiveness, the negative use of the internet, the search for the truth, and how that truth is often what we least expect.

This book has two mysteries within it that become enmeshed with one another.  Mystery number one surrounds the character Dan Mercer.  Dan is a divorcee with no children of his own and works with the local troubled youth.  At the beginning of the book, Dan is lured to a house by one of the teenagers that he worked with but barely knew.  As he approached the house, he has a sense of foreboding, like it is a trap, and yet feels compelled to help this girl who may be in trouble.  Next thing you know, he is inside, and he is automatically put on some trash TV’s version of candid camera.  The show, “Caught in the Act”, specializes in hunting down and catching people that they are accusing of being a pedophile. 

Mystery number two surrounds the disappearance of Haley McWaid.  Haley is a driven teenager who gets great grades, is involved in a lot of sports and activities, and is the least of worries to her parents.  One morning she is discovered not home.  Her normal routine of placing her clothing from the day prior into the hamper is non-existent.  She didn’t come home from the night before.  Police don’t take it too seriously because kids run away all of the time.  But, months pass.  She doesn’t fit the characteristics of the teenage runaway.  With so much time passing though, the odds are not looking great. 

I am sure you can guess how the two mysteries intertwine.  Dan Mercer could have done it.  He had met Haley once through his ex-wife’s daughter.  He had, in fact, met her close enough in time to her disappearance that his involvement could be a definite possibility. The plot thickens when Wendy Tynes, the newsperson who revealed Dan to the world, gets entangled in the web and mess of the possibility that she was wrong about Dan. She was considering this when she agreed to meet him in secret and when she saw him murdered.  Indisputable evidence comes to light though shortly after the murder that causes it to appear that Dan definitely had something to do with Haley which causes Wendy to step in and seek out the truth.

Wendy’s journalistic mind does not give up for one second in this story.  A single mom who had enough of her own personal tragedy to last a lifetime did not want to let this story go until the truth in full was revealed.  As she had begun searching for evidence in Dan’s life that he was indeed a pedophile, she discovers information about his three roommates from Princeton.  Two out of the three roommates had also had their lives twisted upside down in a scandal.  She begins to see a pattern in the accusations against the men, including Dan, and has to figure out the common link.  What had happened to these guys when they were in college?  Why are they all being attacked?  What is the truth in all of it? 

The truth.  Not assuming that you know it.  Realizing that there is always more to it than you could have ever imagined.  That is the theme of this book.  The truth is a shock when it is revealed in full.  It makes me think of our lives.  We look at other people, their situations, things that have happened to them, and we so proudly think that we know their truth.  We are so ready to point fingers and look down upon others without having ever investigated or even allowed ourselves to hear the full tale of truth.  It is easier to just go with what we think or what we have heard.   It is easier to shun and write off then. Unfortunately though, like in this book, it can ruin or dramatically change a life.