Refugio

Harlan Coben is a fabulous writer with really interesting characters and great stories. I've read all his books about Myron Bolitor and his nephew Micky Bolitor, including the books upon which this series is based but I don't recall any ascerbic aunt! Where's Myron?? What the hell? I am Halfway through episode 1 and I just can't do it. Sigh. I have such high hopes when my favourite authors get their books made into movies or television series and, inevitably, such disappointment when I watch. I'll stick to the books. (I cannot watch Tom Cruise play Jack Reacher either.). It's probably a good show, based on other reviews, but it's not for me.

Interesting plot and characters. I always enjoy the mysteries that have a historical element to them. Cold cases, unsolved disappearances, wrongful convictions. I have to say though - the language in the thing is exaggeratedly foul. Gratuitous use of the f-bomb. Coben didn't write that way. He didn't need to throw in excess bad language in order to make his point or create the mood of the scene. To me - not an informed critic - just an avid reader and viewer - it takes a LOT away from the show. The screenwriters make it sound like they can't write a sentence without using the word f--. Pretty disappointing.

The series on whole for story telling is average and surprisingly enough for Harlan Coban very predictable.

That said though I think the hype around the writer is why other reviews are negative as people expect brilliance from this type of show.

It's a good show and with obvious flaws, it has two fantastic positives in Adrian Greensmith (Spoon) and Abi Corrigan (Ema). I found the pair of them so interesting, funny and lovable. They carried the show from start to finish by pulling on your every emotion during the journey.

Don't be put off by the negativity but instead go into without expectation and just enjoy the show.

Not sure why people are saying there's so much profanity in this series. It's honestly not that much, the first f word wasn't until 19:50 minutes and the first s word was at 17:23 minutes (not like another review said there was so many within the first 15 mins - no clue what show that reviewer was watching...as reading that review I thought it was going to be very liberal with the profanity), as it honestly wasn't that much profanity, only 9-10 instances in the whole first episode, and they were very spread out within the episode and then had 2-3 within two or three sentences of dialogue. Also they're teenagers - maybe spend some time with them, as they curse a lot when not in the company of adults, so yeah...I found that it was actually pretty realistic. The background music has a bit of profanity, but the character's dialogue isn't bad...at least in the first episode.

Also if you've read the novel, yes some characters have been changed a bit, but Harlan Coben was HEAVILY involved in the production. I've only watched one episode so far but this seems to be ramping up to definitive Coben's twists and turns. Can't wait to see what else is in store.

It's refreshing to watch a show that isn't super popular with a zillion raving reviews and spammed as a meme online.

I am aware of this author and his work and I'm also aware of the Young Adult novel this is based off of. And yes, the novel and show are different. For one, at least the show attempts to portray teenagers as they are. Yes, 16 year olds curse like sailors, talk about and have sex. Rebellious and aloof.

I prefer the show version of Mickey than the book. It's strongly apparent that book Mickey sounds nor behaves ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like a teenager.

Book Mickey sounds and acts like a former 15 year old FBI agent who stands a freakish 6' 8" tall who retired into high school to play basketball. This is solely because he has been written by a mid age man. This isn't too much of a dealbreaker.

The show has taken some creative liberties of changing up the characters, and including new dynamics that weren't present in the book. Some viewers have taken issue that Mickey isn't portrayed as he was in the books, albeit, he very much is. The only difference is that the actor playing him is mixed race, and I actually lol-ed when one review went something along the lines of "so much for Mickey earning the respect of his fellow pickup ball players in Newark 🙄." Gee, I didn't know being white was a vital trait for this aspect to work.

Other than that, Ema is an overweight goth in the books but that's changed in the show. There're also elements of LGBTQ rep in the show that wasn't present in the books.

As for the show itself, it's good. If you go in expecting SUCCESSION or some other critically acclaimed film, you're going of be disappointed. Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy this show. It's magical realism with a hefty dose of Scooby Doo. It's corny and wildly unbelievable, just like the books they're based off of.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.