Harlan Coben Explained

Harlan Coben
Birth Date:c. [1]
Birth Place:Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation:Author
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Amherst College
Period:1990–present
Genre:Mystery, thriller
Notableworks:Myron Bolitar series of novels
Spouse:Anne Helen Armstrong
Children:4
Awards:Anthony Award (1996),
Edgar Award and Shamus Award (1997)

Harlan Coben (born c. 1962) is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. Twelve of his novels have been adapted for film and television.

Coben has won an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award, and an Anthony Award—the first author to receive all three.[2] [3] His books have been translated into 43 languages and sold over 60 million copies.

Early life and education

Coben was born into a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, and was raised in Livingston,[4] where he graduated from Livingston High School, with his childhood friend, future governor Chris Christie.[5]

He studied political science at Amherst College, where he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, along with Dan Brown.[6] [7] Coben was in his senior year at college when he realized he wanted to write.

Career

After graduating in 1984, Coben worked in the travel industry, in a company owned by his grandfather.[8] It was during that time when he wrote his first book, romantic suspense thriller Play Dead, which was accepted for publication when he was 26 and released in 1990. It was followed by Miracle Cure in 1991. He then began writing a series of thrillers featuring a former basketball player turned sports agent, Myron Bolitar, who often finds himself investigating murders involving his clients.

Tell No One, his first stand-alone thriller since the creation of the Myron Bolitar series in 1995, was published in 2001. A French-language film adaptation based on the book was released in 2006.[9] Coben followed Tell No One with nine more stand-alone novels. His novel Hold Tight, published on April 15, 2008, was his first book to debut at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.[10]

In 2003, Coben published a short story about his father, who had died of a heart attack at the age of 59 in 1988.[11] Entitled "The Key to My Father," the story was published in The New York Times on Father's Day, June 15, 2003.[12] Besides The New York Times, his essays and columns have appeared in Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.[13]

Bibliography

SeriesYearTitle
Myron Bolitar1995Deal Breaker
1996Drop Shot
Fade Away
1997Back Spin
1998One False Move
1999The Final Detail
2000Darkest Fear
2006Promise Me
2009Long Lost
2011Live Wire
2016Home
2024Think Twice[14]
Mickey Bolitar
(1st Myron Bolitar spin-off series)
2011Shelter
2012Seconds Away
2014Found
Wilde2020The Boy from the Woods
2022The Match
Windsor Horne Lockwood III
(2nd Myron Bolitar spin-off series)
2021Win
Standalone novels1990Play Dead
1991Miracle Cure
2001Tell No One
2002Gone for Good
2003No Second Chance
2004Just One Look
2005The Innocent
2007The Woods
2008Hold Tight
2010Caught
2012Stay Close
2013Six Years
2014Missing You
2015The Stranger
2016The Magical Fantastical Fridge
Fool Me Once
2017Don't Let Go
2019Run Away
2023I Will Find You

Awards

Coben won the 1996 Anthony Award in the category "Best Paperback Original", for Deal Breaker, the first volume of the Myron Bolitar series; it was also nominated for an Edgar Award in the same category.[15] [16] Fade Away won the 1997 Shamus Award and the Edgar Award for "Best Paperback Original",[16] [17] was nominated for the Anthony Award and the Barry Award in the same category,[15] [18] and was nominated for a Dilys Award.[19] The following Myron Bolitar novel, Back Spin, won the 1998 Barry Award and was nominated for the Dilys Award and the Shamus Award.[17] [18] [19] In 2002, Tell No One was nominated for the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Edgar Award and the Barry Award.[15] [18] [20] [21] In 2010, Live Wire won the crime fiction award, the RBA Prize for Crime Writing, worth €125,000.[22]

In 2023, the Japanese edition of Win, translated by Toshiki Taguchi, was nominated for the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Mystery Fiction in Translation.[23] [24]

Adaptations

Coben's first book to be adapted for the screen was Tell No One. Director Guillaume Canet made a French-language film, based on the book, titled Ne le dis à personne, in 2006.

Coben's 2003 book No Second Chance became the basis for the 2015 French miniseries of the same name. Two years later the same happened to Just One Look.

Coben is the creator of the British crime drama television show The Five, which first aired in April 2016 on the Sky 1 channel in the United Kingdom.[25] [26] [27] Coben also created the French-British crime drama television show Safe, which premiered on Netflix in 190 countries on May 10, 2018.[28] [29]

Films and TV series

TV contracts

In 2022, Amazon Studios announced plans to produce a series based on the first Mickey Bolitar novel, Shelter.[30] Jaden Michael stars as Mickey, alongside Constance Zimmer, Adrian Greensmith, Abby Corrigan, and Sage Linder.[31] [32] [33] The series, Harlan Coben's Shelter, was released on August 18, 2023.[34]

In August 2018, Coben signed a multi-million-dollar five-year contract with American company Netflix. Under the deal, 14 of Coben's novels would be developed into original Netflix series or films, with him serving as executive producer on all projects.[35] The first title released under the deal was The Stranger, based on his novel of the same name, which premiered in January 2020.[36] In October 2022, it was announced that Netflix had extended the deal for another four years, with the Myron Bolitar series now also available for adaptation but has been canceled following the end of the first season.[37] On February 20, 2023, Fool Me Once was announced as an upcoming adaptation in production for Netflix.[38]

Title (English & LOTE)!Country of origin!Language!Episodes !Release date!Notes!
SafeUnited KingdomEnglishMay 10, 2018
The StrangerUnited KingdomEnglishJanuary 30, 2020[39]
The WoodsPolandPolishJune 12, 2020
The InnocentSpainSpanishApril 30, 2021
Gone for GoodFranceFrenchAugust 13, 2021
Stay CloseUnited KingdomEnglishDecember 31, 2021[40]
Hold TightPolandPolishApril 22, 2022[41] [42]
Harlan Coben's ShelterUnited StatesEnglishAugust 18, 2023
Fool Me OnceUnited KingdomEnglishJanuary 1, 2024[43]
Missing YouUnited KingdomEnglish[44]
Run AwayUnited KingdomEnglish

Personal life

Coben lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with his wife Anne Armstrong-Coben, a pediatrician, and their four children.[45]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mysteryscenemag. www.mysteryscenemag.com.
  2. Web site: Khomami. Nadia. New thriller from master of twists and turns Harlan Coben comes to Netflix. The Guardian. January 1, 2023. January 1, 2023.
  3. Web site: Harlan Coben. www.fantasticfiction.com.
  4. News: Cowles . Gregory . March 29, 2013 . Inside the List . en-US . The New York Times . March 27, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  5. Web site: Coben . Harlan . Chris Christie Confidential . . November 5, 2009 . October 29, 2015.
  6. Web site: September 13, 2019 . Harlan Coben Books in Order . March 27, 2022 . Books Reading Order . en-US.
  7. Web site: March 24, 2020 . Authors . March 27, 2022 . Psi Upsilon Fraternity . en-US.
  8. Web site: Lochte . Dick . 2004 . A Conversation With Harlan Coben . March 27, 2022 . www.mysteryscenemag.com.
  9. Web site: March 1, 2022 . Ne le dis à personne (Thriller) : la critique Télérama . March 27, 2022 . Télérama . fr.
  10. News: Finn . Robin . April 2, 2009 . Local Writer, Worldwide Following . en-US . The New York Times . March 27, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  11. Web site: Coben [@HarlanCoben] . Harlan . June 21, 2020 . My dad died 32 years ago. I post this short story I wrote about him in 2003... . March 27, 2022 . - via Twitter . en.
  12. News: Coben . Harlan . June 15, 2003 . Opinion A WORK OF FICTION; The Key To My Father . en-US . The New York Times . March 27, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  13. Web site: Coben . Harlan . Bio . March 27, 2022 . harlancoben.com . en-US.
  14. Web site: Think Twice. May 15, 2024. harlancoben.com.
  15. Web site: Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees . . April 20, 2012 . February 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120207060829/http://www.bouchercon.info/nominees.html . dead .
  16. Web site: Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees – Complete Lists . Mystery Net . April 20, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121220075006/http://www.mysterynet.com/edgars/previous/original/ . December 20, 2012 . dead .
  17. Web site: The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards . Thrilling Detective . April 20, 2012.
  18. Web site: Barry Awards . Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine . April 20, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423032903/http://www.deadlypleasures.com/barry.html . April 23, 2012 .
  19. Web site: The Dilys Award (IMBA) . Independent Mystery Booksellers Association . April 20, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100412150011/http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/dilys-award . April 12, 2010 .
  20. Web site: Macavity Awards . . April 20, 2012.
  21. Web site: Edgar Award Winners and Nominees in the Private Eye Genre . Thrilling Detective . April 20, 2012.
  22. Web site: Harlan Coben wins the 4th RBA Prize for Crime Writing with his novel 'Live Wire'. Catalan News Wire . September 10, 2010 . September 13, 2013.
  23. Web site: Mystery Writers of Japan is pleased to announce a new award for Mystery Fiction in Translation.. Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc.. www.mystery.or.jp. April 27, 2023. May 14, 2023.
  24. Web site: 第76回日本推理作家協会賞受賞作決定. Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc.. www.mystery.or.jp. May 11, 2023. May 14, 2023. ja.
  25. Web site: Harlan Coben on 'The Five' for Sky, his obsessive nature, and missing his friend David Foster Wallace. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/harlan-coben-on-the-five-for-sky-his-obsessive-nature-and-missing-his-friend-david-foster-wallace-a6917491.html . May 9, 2022 . subscription . live. Sarah Hughes. March 7, 2016. The Independent. May 9, 2016.
  26. Web site: Harlan Coben : "The Five est ma première série originale". TVMag Le Figaro. April 21, 2016 . fr. May 9, 2016.
  27. Web site: The Five (TV Series 2016–). Neil Procter. IMDb. May 9, 2016.
  28. News: Michael C Hall To Play It 'Safe' In Netflix, Canal+ Drama From Harlan Coben. Tartaglione. Nancy. July 11, 2017. Deadline. July 11, 2017. en-US.
  29. News: TV Review: Harlan Coben's 'Safe' on Netflix. Ryan. Maureen. April 11, 2018. Variety. April 12, 2018. en-US.
  30. Web site: 'Harlan Coben's Shelter' YA Drama Starring Jaden Michael Picked Up To Series For Prime Video. Deadline Hollywood. Andreeva. Nellie. March 15, 2022. March 15, 2022.
  31. Web site: Harlan Coben Amazon Studios YA Pilot 'Shelter' Casts Jaden Michael in Lead Role (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Joe. Otterson. September 23, 2021. March 4, 2022.
  32. Web site: Constance Zimmer Boards 'Shelter' YA Pilot at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Joe. Otterson. October 5, 2021. March 4, 2022.
  33. Web site: Amazon YA Pilot 'Shelter' Adds Three to Cast (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Joe. Otterson. October 27, 2021. March 4, 2022.
  34. News: Barraclough . Leo . Prime Video Reveals Premiere Date, Debuts First-Look Image for Thriller Series 'Harlan Coben's Shelter' . August 4, 2023 . Variety . June 15, 2023.
  35. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. August 27, 2018. Harlan Coben Inks Overall Deal With Netflix For TV Series & Movie Adaptations Of His Books. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119131155/https://deadline.com/2018/08/harlan-coben-overall-deal-with-netflix-tv-series-movie-adaptations-books-1202452628/. January 19, 2021. March 7, 2021. Deadline.
  36. Web site: Kanter. Jake. May 19, 2020. Netflix Lines Up 'Stay Close' As Its Next Harlan Coben Adaptation From 'The Stranger' Producer Red. March 7, 2021. Deadline.
  37. Web site: Myron Bolitar Series In Works At Netflix As Harlan Coben Extends Overall Deal At Streamer. Deadline Hollywood. Andreeva. Nellie. October 3, 2022. October 4, 2022.
  38. Web site: Fool Me Once' Adaptation in the Works With Richard Armitage & Michelle Keegan to Star. Collider. February 20, 2023. February 21, 2023.
  39. Web site: Scott. Sheena. March 5, 2021. 'The Innocent' Trailer: New Harlan Coben Adaptation From Spain On Netflix. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210307112238/https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheenascott/2021/03/05/the-innocent-trailer-new-harlan-coben-adaptation-from-spain-on-netflix/. March 7, 2021. March 7, 2021. Forbes.
  40. Web site: Stay Close: Release date, cast, plot, trailer and news for new Harlan Coben Netflix series. December 29, 2021. Radio Times. en.
  41. Hold Tight Official Trailer Netflix . April 4, 2022 . Netflix . April 4, 2022.
  42. Hold Tight Official Trailer Amazon Prime . July 11, 2023 . Amazon Prime . July 17, 2023.
  43. Web site: Netflix Adapting Harlan Coben's 'Fool Me Once' With Star Michelle Keegan . The Wrap. February 20, 2023. February 21, 2023.
  44. Web site: Netflix Greenlights Two More Harlan Coben Series Adaptations After Success of 'Fool Me Once'. Hollywood Reporter. January 22, 2024. January 22, 2024.
  45. A Conversation With Harlan Coben. Dick Lochte. mysteryscenemag.com. 2004. May 9, 2016.