Eight years after his last appearance in “Home,” Harlan Coben’s long-running series character Myron Bolitar makes his twelfth appearance in “Think Twice.” And while this one winded up feeling a little overwrought, particularly in its final act, when Coben starts detonating the bombshell twists and revelations he’s made his trademark, make no mistake—no other thriller writer is as capable of sucking readers into their vortex. As Coben connoisseurs know: you don’t ever begin a Harlan Coben novel if you have to go to work the next day.

Coben is the master of the killer hook, the movie poster tagline that explains exactly what you’re in for. In the case of “Think Twice,” it’s deceptively simple: how can a dead man be wanted for murder? The man in question is Greg Downing. To call Myron’s relationship with Downing complicated would be one of the greatest understatements of all time. Suffice to say, their connection runs deep, and is, shall we say, tempestuous.

The FBI comes knocking on Myron’s door demanding Downing’s location. Myron honestly doesn’t have it, but assuming the Feds are correct, and he is alive, Myron feels compelled to find Downing first and get to the bottom of this mystery—with longstanding Win Lockwood in tow.

Meanwhile, in a series of second-person episodes, we witness the movements of an ingenious, methodical serial killer, who efficiently kills their prey without leaving a shred of their own forensic evidence behind, but leaves indisputable evidence framing secondary targets. And naturally Myron is on their radar.

“Think Twice” is packed with so many twists, its narrative is shaped like a pretzel. The payoff didn’t quite wow me as most of Coben’s work usually does, but I can’t deny, I loved the journey; like a rollercoaster whose final drop doesn’t quite meet the calibre of the hammerhead turns and loops that preceded it. The ending just feels a little clumsily constructed; an odd perspective-shift that reads too manufactured and authorial.

Honestly, I derived the most pleasure simply from to Myron’s world. These characters have existed for almost 30 years, and I always delight in seeing how authors handle (or don’t handle) the ageing of their heroes.