Everyone likes a not-put-downable book, the kind that keeps them up at night, the kind they even bring to the dinner table. Harlan Coben's novels are like that. The first of his that I read, No Second Chance, has always been my favorite. But in some ways his Hold Tight may be his best.

Before I read Hold Tight I thought it was about parents spying on their teenage son's computer use. It is. But there's also a story about kids spying on their parents, another about two sadistic nutcases, another about a child dealing with her classmates' cruelty, another about parents' search for a kidney donor for their son, and many subplots.

Hold Tight may be Coben's best because it asks questions parents today are asking and may be afraid of.