I always look forward to Harlan Coben’s books and this one is another great one. We meet again Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood), who has appeared in previous stories as the best friend of Myron Bolitar. But this time, Win is the central character of the novel.
Starting with the discovery of a body surrounded by tons of hoarded possessions, which include a painting and a suitcase belonging to Win, the story carries on with many twists and turns. Win uses all his detective-vigilante talents and all his connections to dig into old secrets and discover the truth, which turns out to be uncomfortably close to home. As usual, the style of Harlan Coben is a pleasure to read, and in this book I enjoyed in particular the internal dialogue of Win, who does lots of wrongs to right other wrongs. He definitely is an interesting and strangely attractive character.
I enjoyed this new story by Harlan Coben and I cannot wait now for the next one. Hopefully Win will continue to feature in them because he definitely has talent.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK and the author for giving me the pleasure of reading this book on an advance readers copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I found the beginning very slow-paced, so much so that I nearly gave up on reading the book.

Win (Winston Horne Lockwood III) is an egotistical, self-opinionated, unlikeable character, yet he has a wry sense of humour and often his narrative comes across as very tongue-in cheek.

The plot increased in pace and I enjoyed the storyline - with some unexpected twists and turns.

This is the first Harlan Coben I’ve read, so I did find I was lacking some knowledge on the back story of Win’s friend Myron Bolitar - who was mentioned throughout the book, but never cropped up as a character.

I’m sure Harlan Coben fans will love it! 😊

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I found this an ok read, I wasn't really gripped by it but an enjoyable read all the same. I didn't think it was up to the author's usual standard which admittedly was very high to begin with. I loved the character Win, he's a guy who really doesn't give a damn and operates on both sides of the law. Looking forward to book 2 in this series.
NetGalley very kindly allowed me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
#Win #NetGalley

Well truthfully, if Harlen Coben wrote it - I want to read it. Even more so when I discovered this latest featured Windsor Horne Lockwood III - aka Win.

Coben has penned a great series featuring Myron Bolitar - sports rep/detective. I know, odd combo, but it really works. And Myron's sidekick is the aforementioned Win. Win doesn't say too much in those books, but later entries have given readers peeks into this enigmatic character. Until.....yes, you guessed it, this book features Win as the lead!

Win is hauled in by the FBI and taken to the site of a murder. A missing painting that belonged to his family as well as a suitcase bearing his crest and monogrammed initials has been found at the scene. And Win is now officially a suspect.

Did I mention that Win is incredibly rich? Has his own sense of justice? Is drawn to violence? Is not someone you want to cross? Is unpredictable? Is a man who loves the finer things in life? Yup, all that and more. Oh, and that the exterior belies who is really inside that designer label suit. Which only adds the delicious unknown in predicting where the plot is going to go.

And it heads places completely unexpected - domestic terrorism, with some side stops along they way. We learn more about the Lockwood clan. The plotting in Win is unique and I was surprised by every revelation - and twist. I so appreciated being unable to guess what's next. Coben kept me on my toes, right 'til the last pages.

It was fascinating to get into Win's thought processes, his reasoning and what makes him tick. Scary, but brilliant. His inner dialogue and observations are also darkly humorous and sardonically witty and wry.

Win was such a great read for me - addicting, page turning, unexpected and has just left me wanting another 'Win' book.

Another great read from the master Harlan Coben!

In this book, we meet Windsor Lockwood III or more commonly known as Win. He is from old money with looks and clothes that cannot hide his background. He is also a trained killer who has studied all the different martial arts you can think of and in his own words:
"I like violence. I like it a lot. I don't condone it for others. I condone it for me. I don't fight as a last resort. I fight whenever I can."
Definitely not someone you want to mess with or meet in a dark alley!
2 valuable painting that was stolen from his family when he was 8 is finally found together with an alligator-leather suitcase that belonged to Win. Who is the dead man and did he steal the paintings? How did he get hold of the suitcase that Win gave to his cousin Patricia who was kidnapped 24 years before on the same night her father was killed and then kept in a cabin near Glen Onoko Falls before she managed to escape after 5 months? Will Win be able to figure it all out and how will this affect his family?
I loved how the main character interacts with the reader to explain something or to state the obvious.
A great fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I adore Harlan Coben's fast-paced, cleverly plotted thrillers, so I was excited to see that his new book would feature one of my favourite characters - Windsor Horne Lockwood III from the Myron Bolitar novels.

Over twenty years ago, Win's cousin Patricia was kidnapped from the family home during a robbery and kept in an isolated log cabin for months. She finally escaped, but so did her kidnappers and the items stolen were never seen again - until now. An elderly recluse has been found murdered in his penthouse apartment - alongside a priceless Vermeer painting and a suitcase with Win's initials. How is the man linked to Patricia's kidnapping and is it connected to another cold case involving domestic terrorism? The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades but Win has two things they do not - a personal connection to the case, a large fortune and his own unique brand of justice.

Harlan Coben writes twisty thrillers that often centre on ordinary families. You know, 'What would you do if this happened to you?' I had thought that a story about Win, who is super-rich with a dubious moral code, would be something different. As it turns out, Win does have a family - albeit a very dysfunctional one! - and it was fun meeting them all. I especially loved hearing about his grandmother, a true matriarch of the family.

In this story (for once) not everything goes the way Win wants, which is entertaining, particularly when one of his misdemeanours comes back to bite him. Not everyone appreciates his 'help' either, and I did enjoy the scene where Sadie has to patiently explain the reason why he really shouldn't get involved with her legal cases: her clients require a different kind of justice to the sort Win likes to dish out.

I've always enjoyed Harlan's standalones but Win was such an enjoyable read I hope it is the start of a new series. One of my favourite reads this year, Harlan's fans definitely won't be disappointed. It should also appeal to fans of twisty thrillers and authors such as Lee Child (Jack Reacher).



Thank you to Harlan Coben and Cornerstone (Century) for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone Century for an eARC via NetGalley of Harlan Coben’s latest thriller, ‘Win’, in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator of ‘Win’ is Windsor Horne Lockwood III known to his few friends as Win. He has been a secondary character in Cohen’s Myron Bolitar series since its inception and is extremely wealthy and rather an anti-hero, who identifies with Bruce Wayne.

Over twenty years ago, the Lockwood family lent two valuable paintings, a Vermeer and a Picasso, to the Lockwood Gallery at Haverford College. They were stolen in an overnight robbery. The paintings were not recovered. Seven months later Win’s cousin, eighteen-year-old heiress Patricia Lockwood, was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate. Months later Patricia escaped from an isolated cabin, that came to be known as the ‘Hut of Horrors’ given that Patricia was not the first young woman held there. Her captors were never apprehended. Until now. ..

On New York's Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment. In his bedroom are two objects of note: the stolen Vermeer and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. As a result, the FBI are keen to speak with Win about that suitcase, though Win is aware that it had been in the possession of Patricia when she was kidnapped and not found in the cabin. Now with these discoveries the two cold cases appear linked.

This proved to be a complex and totally fascinating case with labyrinthine twists and turns. One thing I can always count on with a novel by Harlan Coben is that it will provide me with hours of page-turning entertainment. ‘Win’ certainly continued this trend.

On his website Coben lists this as ‘The First Windsor Horne Lockwood III Novel’. - Hurrah! I certainly will be interested in reading more. Meanwhile, there are plenty of Myron Bolitar books to explore.

I could not believe it when I realised what the title of this new thriller from Harlan Coben refers to. I read everything Coben writes, so hadn’t bothered with the blurb and what a delightful surprise it was to discover that the protagonist in this book is none other than Windsor Horne Lockwood 111.

Now Win, as he is called, is known for being the best and staunchest of friends to Myron Bolitar, onetime sports agent, now retired. Bolitar does not feature in this book, but it feels as if he does, so often does Win think of him.

This book does work perfectly well as a stand-alone and if you have never read the Myron Bolitar series (where have you been?) you won’t be seriously disadvantaged, but it may colour how you feel about Win. Because Win is our narrator and he is not inherently likeable. He is filthy rich, from old money, though he makes new money just as easily. He is intensely privileged; and he knows perfectly well that he will never have to face the consequences of his actions, because he is rich enough to have such small issues ‘taken care of’. Arrogant, dismissive and icy, the ultimate WASP, he is not your average hero.

Win is bordering on sociopathy and he makes judgements accordingly. He actively relishes violent engagements and his effete looks belie a well-toned and finely tuned body. His moral code, such as it is, is unique and we like Win only because his relationship to Myron has made him relatable and we know that he will go to any lengths to keep that friendship sacrosanct. With one notable exception, that is the only emotional engagement we know him to be capable of. The other is his daughter Ema. A child he neither wanted nor sought ownership of, but who now he finds engages him through her intellect and enquiring mind, which is especially sharp for a teenager.

So I was glued to this first thriller with Win as a stand-alone protagonist and it does not disappoint. Truthfully, I inhaled it. Coben gives us two mysteries to resolve. The first relates to a man found murdered in his penthouse apartment in the Beresford, NYC. A recluse, he was also an obsessive hoarder and it therefore comes as a surprise when, amidst the newspapers and other detritus the police find a Vermeer on the wall which was stolen from Win’s family over 20 years ago. That, together with a suitcase embellished with Win’s initials, is enough to give police cause to question Win about his whereabouts.

It is the monogrammed case which is the more perturbing of the finds. For that case disappeared the night Win’s Uncle Aldrich was murdered, and to what happened to Patricia, Win’s cousin, which was extensively covered by newspapers at the time, usually with lurid headlines like ‘Hut of Horrors’.

Also connected to the murder of this recluse is a cold case involving ‘The Jane Street Six’, a group of radical left domestic terrorists who murdered seven people with Molotov cocktails in the 1970’s and who were never brought to justice. This involvement brings in the FBI and Win’s erstwhile handler, ‘PT’. Assisted by his aide, Karim, Win sets out to find what connects all these incidents together and who was responsible for the murder of his uncle, the death of the recluse in the Beresford and his sister’s nightmare experience.

Verdict: Coben gives us thrills, twists and explosive moments with tension and surprises galore. Win is an immensely readable, highly entertaining novel that I tore through delightedly. A must read.

A great read from Harlan Coben.
Windsor Horne Lockwood III – known as Win – has an interesting view of the world. He’s very rich and has a strong, if slightly skewed, moral code.
Twenty years ago, his cousin Patricia was abducted when her family home was robbed and her father killed. She managed to escape but her abductors escaped too.
A man is then found dead in a penthouse and found with his body, are a priceless Vermeer painting – stolen from the Lockwood collection – and a suitcase belonging originally to Win.
The story twists and turns in a sometimes unexpected way but, nevertheless, leads to a series of revelations and a great ending.
This is the first in the series and I look forward to reading more about Win.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

As a fan of previous offerings from this author, I had to spend some time reflecting on this book. My instincts tell me that I enjoyed it, but I’m left wanting as it didn’t feel, to me, like much happened.
Win is an unlikable protagonist who has an unpleasant relationship with relationships. This regards both familial and personal forms. A large proportion of the story is told reflectively and, I had vibes of a ‘Sam Spade’ narration.
The premise is interesting, and I was moved to see how the story would conclude.

Harlan Coben never fails the reader and I can honestly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers. I read it in one day as life stopped outside of this story. The story has many amazing and unusual twists, misleading leads, great characters and a fast paced story that keeps the readeron the edge throughout.
Win has apeared before in previous novels by Harlan, namely the Mylon Bolitar series where he is a sidekick but this story is all about Win himself. Win displays sociopathic tendencies and appears to be a very lonely, confused person. However his understanding of the criminal side of life and his dedication is what helps hime to solve the mysteries in front of him.
The ending was certainly unexpected but was very personable and rounded off the novel beautifully.

I’ve always been a big fan of Win, aka Windsor Horne Lockwood III, as he’s known to his family and the elite families of New York. Ever since he first appeared as sports agent Myron Bolitor’s wingman and fellow investigator, I have loved his sardonic wit and no-holds barred approach to tackling the bad guys. So, I can’t tell you how excited I was to discover that Win now has his own novel, with the promise of his own series. If you haven’t met Win before, then don’t worry, as you’ll get a full introduction to this charming but arrogant and dangerous man and the world he lives in. Love him or hate him, he’s unique.

When a reclusive hoarder is found dead in his penthouse apartment, the police make an astonishing discovery. There hanging on his wall is the Vermeer painting stolen from Win’s family along with a Picasso, twenty years before. A custom-made leather suitcase bearing Win’s initials, WHLIII, is also found in the apartment. The man is eventually identified as a member of the ‘Jane Street Six’, a group wanted by the FBI for an act domestic terrorism in the 1970s. How the man was able to afford an apartment on the upper west side of New York and how he came to have both the Vermeer and Win’s suitcase is a mystery to both Win and the FBI.

Coben is the master of the art of weaving complex tales together to make great suspense and this is an intricate plot that will require Win to track down all the members of the ‘Jane Street Six’ as well as look into an old family feud and the tragic death of his Uncle and abduction of his teenage cousin two decades ago.

Always lurking in the shadows before, Win’s character is fully fleshed out for us here. Despite his charisma, his wealth and his education, he is clearly insecure and flawed. He recognises the violence in his nature and how to direct it where it is most effective and with his inbuilt sense of morality and justice, he can use his money and connections to get what he wants and keep the law at arms length. Myron is the only true friend he has and the only person he truly loves. Rather than prolonged romantic relationships, he prefers to have a series of one night stands with rich and beautiful women. Although not close to his family, the exception may be his emerging relationship with his recently discovered daughter Ema and it will be interesting to watch this develop over the series.

Whether you’re a fan of Coben’s or have never read him before, expect to be hooked in to this smart and engaging thriller with an unexpected twist of an ending. An excellent introduction to a new series!

Another twisty masterpiece from Harlan Coben. This time Win is the focus and more importantly the lengths family will go to protect family and family name. If you've enjoyed Win's contributions to the Myron Bolitar novels then now is the opportunity to see him front and centre. A thriller based around a group who staged a rebellion forty years ago. Their whereabouts have been a mystery for all that time but when an old man dies the story will unravel, but only with Win's determination and unique skill set. A great read and highly recommended.

What is it about Harlan Coben novels that always keep me reading to the wee hours of the morning? It's been like that since my first Coben novel - "Tell No One" - 20 years ago - and I've been a fan ever since.

Win has always been an intriguing character in all the Myron Bolitar books so I was glad to see a book with Win as the main character. And he's still intriguing!

Coben's usual great writing weaves a complex mystery and we go along for the ride as Win manages to tie all the loose ends together. I'm glad to say I didn't guess much of the outcome - didn't guess all the shocking whodunnits. That, to me, is the mark of a great mystery novel!

4.5 stars

I was hooked from the first page to the last!
So many interesting characters, each one with their own story and twisted fate, so many secrets and clues to make it easier to see the whole view of this puzzle.
While I usually don’t enjoy some first person narrative , I think it’s working quite well in this book and I really liked Win . He was trying to find out what happened do many years ago and hear the side of the story from each of them, I had my theories about what’s actually happening but I must admit that I was wrong. The author has a great ability to keep you reading and guessing throughout the story and what will happen next it might be next to nothing what you think it would happen.
Patricia was an interesting character that added a few unexpected nuances; I felt for her and what she has to go through in the past and how she overcome it but there’s something that kept me away from giving her my full trust.
It was my second book by the author and after watching the Netflix series The stranger, I can’t recommend his books enough.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III – known as Win – has an interesting view of the world. Insanely rich and with a strong, if slightly skewed, moral code, he is about to be pulled into events that are run far closer to home than he would like.

Twenty years ago, his cousin Patricia was abducted when her family home was robbed and her father killed. She escaped from the so-called “Hut of Horrors” – the first of many victims to ever do so – but her abductors escaped too.

Now a man has been found dead in his penthouse in New York City, a man with links to a domestic terrorist links. Found with his body, however, are a priceless Vermeer painting – stolen from the Lockwood collection – and a suitcase belonging originally to Win. A suitcase that was taken the same night that Patricia was abducted…

I have very fond memories of Harlan Coben’s books. In my post-Christie, pre-discovering Carr years when I was struggling to find crime writers that I liked (and to be honest, being completely unaware of the scores of classic crime writers that were hiding out there), there were two US writers that I would always keep an eye out for, namely Jeffrey Deaver and Harlan Coben, in particular his Myron Bolitar books. There were four that I remember reading, but then Coben decided to focus on standalone thrillers, only returning occasionally to Bolitar. I’ll be honest, I thought I’d forgotten about them, but when one of my regular emails from NetGalley popped up touting the latest Coben book, I thought, why not give it a go?

I’ve not had much luck with NetGalley requests recently. A few badly typeset (to the point of unreadability) titles and two recent books that I couldn’t read, but not for want of the production values. One involved a serial killer with every single sodding cliché in the book appearing in chapter one, and one being a cosy with a policeman who rotates back and forth from asking the sleuth for help and telling her off for interfering so fast, I’m amazed he didn’t get whiplash. So I approached this with trepidation…

… and after the first page, I couldn’t put it down. I had no idea (having not paid a massive amount of attention to the blurb) that this is a continuation of the Myron Bolitar-verse, missing the point entirely that the lead character is Bolitar’s best friend, Win, who more often than not would help Myron out of the odd scrape, usually, iirc, with some significant amount of violence. Here, he takes centre stage and we get to see inside his head, as he narrates this tale.

It takes a great storyteller to make a character as blunt as Win into a sympathetic protagonist, but we’re in safe hands here, as Coben knows exactly what he’s doing. This is a very confident book, with Win at times almost discussing the rationale for his actions with the reader in a very matter of fact kind of way, not in a way of easing his conscience.

As for the plot, there’s a lot of clever stuff going on here as Win hunts for the remaining members of the terrorist group with some genuine surprises here – in particular the identity of one of the killers is an impressive surprise, despite it making perfect sense. Coben does an excellent job of tying most of the events into a coherent whole – one strand is separate, to give a clear sense of Win’s morals – and it works a treat.

I’ll be completely honest here. I’ve mentioned several times about my difficulties getting into a book recently but from the first page, I could not put this one down (apart from sleeping – sorry, that took precedence) and read it in two sittings. The best mystery/thriller (as opposed to a straight mystery) that I’ve read in a long time and I really hope this is the start of a series featuring Win as a protagonist. He is such a mesmerising presence and a unique voice that I enjoyed tremendously and really want to read more of.

Win by Harlan Coben is released in the UK in hardback and ebook from Century/Penguin. Many thanks for the review e-copy.

Before I even opened the book, this one had two things going for it: I love getting in at the start of a new series and an author who NEVER disappoints!

Windsor Home Lockwood III - or Win, for short - is rich; mega-rich, actually and has the family pedigree to prove it. When a suitcase with his initials is found at the scene of a murder along with one of his family's stolen paintings, the FBI doesn't take very long to get in touch. At the same time as these items went missing, Win's cousin Patricia was abducted and the FBI inform him that her attacker was also guilty of domestic terrorism. Win sets out to get to the truth and reclaim his family's artwork, but the righteous road isn't always clean and shiny - but then neither is Win.

Well, here's a book which kept me riveted throughout. To begin with, I wasn't really sure that I even liked Win but by the end I had a change of heart in the face of his obvious good qualities and admirable persistence. There is a lot going on in this one, most of it surprising and quite unpredictable and it's fair to say the end came as quite a shock to me. Exciting, full of action and ultimately rewarding makes this a series I really want to follow. Highly recommended, and definitely worth all five stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I know Harlem Cobden is a clever writer and can deliver a plot to entertain but I just got bored of Win. He’s ok in some of the other Cobden books because he is only one the characters but as the star of the show his character became tedious. It’s a good job the author knows how to add humour or I think I would have been a dnf.

Cool, calm and collected, Windsor Horne Lockwood III was known to his friends as Win. I first met Win in the Myron Bolitar series, and I thoroughly enjoyed his character. He and Myron understood one another, always had, always would. Now, with Win branching out after Myron’s business in the same building closed, his profile was raised.

When a hermit who’d lived in an apartment on the top floor of an exclusive hotel was found murdered, the links to Win’s family – the Lockwood’s – was strong. The Vermeer painting discovered in the room was one stolen from the family; the suitcase which had WHL3 engraved on it sent shockwaves through the family. Patricia Lockwood, Win’s cousin, had been kidnapped during the robbery over twenty years prior and was lucky to escape with her life. Had the dead hermit been involved?

Win decided he had too much at stake to leave investigating only to the FBI – he had a deeply personal reason for wanting answers. And Win’s way of finding answers was unique – tough, strong and determined, it was unlikely anyone would catch him unaware. But would he find the results he needed?

Win is the first in the Windsor Horne Lockwood III series by Harlan Coben and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel the reader would benefit from having read the Myron Bolitar series to know and appreciate this unique, likeable and different person. Told in Win’s voice – and what a voice it is! – Win is one I highly recommend and am looking forward to #2 already.

With thanks to NetGalley and Cornerstone Publishing UK for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III, known to everyone as Win, has featured in a number of Harlan Coben’s books as a sidekick (Watson to Marlon Bolitar’s Holmes as he is described at one point). In this book he takes centre stage. Win is a philosophical guy, exemplified by this first person narrative explaining his rationales for each of his actions. He is also extremely skilled in all branches of the martial arts, addicted to violent confrontation, somewhat addicted to no commitment consensual sex, committed to righting (read that as punishing) what he perceives as wrongs that the justice system cannot resolve. And he is unbelievably rich, old money, family estate, private planes, private helicopters, contacts of every persuasion – you get the picture.
Talking of pictures, two famous paintings, a Vermeer and a Picasso, which the family had leant to a College, had been stolen in a robbery. Eight months later, Win’s uncle, Aldrich, had been shot dead during a botched robbery at his home and his cousin, Patricia, had been kidnapped. She had been allowed to take a small, but very distinctive, suitcase of clothes (to give hope, perhaps). Five months later she turned up having been held prisoner and raped in “The Hut of Horrors.” DNA evidence suggested that nine missing girls had been previously held there. There were no suspects identified for either of these crimes and no obvious connection. This book begins twenty four years later, with the discovery of a dead recluse whose apartment, full of assorted rubbish, contained both the Vermeer and the suitcase. The recluse is identified as Ry Strauss, the leader of an anti (Vietnam) war bunch of young people known as the Jane Street Six, because their fire bombing of premises there had resulted in a number of unintentional deaths. Win sets out to find the other five, with the intention of solving the thefts, the kidnapping and the murder.
The story twists and turns in sometimes unexpected ways but, nevertheless, proceeds at a fast pace leading to a series of revelations and a complex but satisfying ending, some of which is genuinely surprising. The character of Win is fully drawn and all of his actions are entirely consistent with his background, abilities and philosophy. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.