With 31 books, long stints on various bestseller lists and a few cinematic adaptations of his work, Harlan Coben can easily be considered an author who has ‘made it’. But the mystery writer is clearly not okay with stopping there. After working with Coben on the 2018 crime thriller, Safe, Netflix announced a multi-year deal with the author late last year. 14 of his existing works, it said, would be adapted into original series and films in various languages.
The author, whose novel Run Away released recently, promises that the deal won’t change his priority: his readers. But he concedes that writing for the screen and for a reader are very different experiences. “With a novel, the author is everything: writer, director, actor, set design, sound, key grip. TV is all about collaboration. You also can tell the story more introspectively with a novel as opposed to TV or movies, which are visual mediums,” he says.
Digging deep
Sexual assault, murder, cults and DNA testing — these are just some of the few themes explored in Run Away . The plot opens innocuously, with the protagonist, Simon Greene, seated on a park bench. But all it takes is a few pages before he is plunged into a dark and twisted world.
In fact, the opening scene is drawn from Coben’s own memories. “I was sitting in Central Park, listening to a strung-out street musician mangle a Beatles song for spare change, and I thought, ‘What if Simon were sitting right where I am now — and what if he realised the strung-out musician was his daughter who’s been missing for six months?’”
Readers are quickly whisked away to a confrontation with Paige, the daughter, and a skirmish between Simon and Paige’s boyfriend. And in true millennial style, cell phones are whipped out to capture the tussle, leading to a viral video that does not paint our protagonist in a good light.
Making of a plot
It seems hard to believe that someone living in an idyllic Victorian home in suburban New Jersey — with four children, a pediatrician wife and a social media-famous dog called Laszlo — could churn out such chilling thrillers so prolifically. But Coben has been doing exactly that for over 30 years now. As for inspiration, he admits that his few friends in law enforcement help him out. As does his curiosity. “I also keep my eyes and ears open. You can learn a lot by paying attention to what’s going on around you.”
And his characters are relatable (at least until terrible things start happening to them). Many of his stories are about families torn apart by an unexpected event, like, say, a disappearance. Simon Greene (from Run Away ), for instance, is not unlike the author. He too has a pediatrician wife, and his dog’s name is also Laszlo. Coben responds dismissively when asked if there’s any particular reason for the similarities. “I like my dog! As for the paediatrician, well, it makes research much easier. I just yell upstairs to my wife when I need an answer.”
Story first
Even though Run Away was completed at about the same time that the Netflix deal was being finalised, Coben is clear that it did not affect the writing process. “The story is the story. Always,” he says. “Everything I do is slave to telling you the best story I can.”
And that’s because he puts his readers first. Having someone pick up one of his books is an honour, he says, as well as a responsibility that he takes very seriously. And that is what motivates him to tell the best story that he can. “I work hard to make you stay up all night wanting to read — and the rest takes care of itself.” Which is why, even after he’s done writing a book, he’s already on to the next one. “After I finish a book, I’m more like a boxer who just went the full twelve rounds. I have nothing left. I couldn’t fight the next day even if I wanted to — but I”m already thinking about it.”
After decades of working as a writer, Coben admits to still having his days of self-loathing when he just does not feel like writing another word. But getting to work is an important part of winning that battle. “Meeting readers and seeing their expectant faces, well, that’s really motivating. I love that they care so much! I also try to treat this like a regular job. A plumber can’t wake up one morning and say he doesn’t want to work with pipes — it should be the same with me and words,” says the author, who is currently busy with the filming for Stranger , a Netflix series based on his novel of the same name, starring Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran and Jennifer Saunders.
Run Away, published by Penguin, is priced at ₹599 and available across bookstores
