Harlan Coben is a household name among adult mystery readers. The Edgar winner's last four novels all debuted in the top slot on the New York Times bestseller list, and there are more than 47 million copies of his books in print worldwide. Coben plans to broaden his audience base with Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel, due from Putnam in September with a 250,000-copy announced first printing.
The novel kicks off a series that has a close connection to Coben's Myron Bolitar mystery series. Mickey is Myron's nephew and appears in Live Wire, the latest installment of that adult series. In fact, the final chapters of Live Wire are retold in the YA novel. "But the events have a completely different meaning in Shelter, since they are told from Mickey's perspective," Coben explains.
"I realized that Mickey had stories to tell that I didn't want to tell in an adult fashion," says Coben about his decision to pen a YA series starring this teenage character. "I wanted to write about something that Mickey himself would have to handle, and I think that as a mystery it is as tight as anything I've ever written—but it has a little bit of a mythology to it, which is something I've never really done before. I didn't want to do supernatural or magic, vampires or werewolves. In Shelter, after Mickey starts at a new high school, the only real friend he makes disappears, and he goes in search of her. The mythology in the story surrounds an old lady who lives in a creepy old house."
Coben notes that the character of Mickey was "ridiculously easy" for him to write. "In fact, he came out fully formed, which sometimes happens—but not always," says the author. "I am so fired up about this book. It's a new way of telling stories for me, which is great because I'm always trying to change up what I'm doing. And the early response to the novel has been very exciting!"
That includes the reaction from readers close to Coben's heart. His four children, ages nine to 17, all read Shelter within 24 hours of the final version's arrival. "That is so cool for me," says Coben. "I really wanted to write something that all of them could read, and even my nine-year-old daughter read it in less than a day. I'm thrilled about that! I think now my kids are a little more excited about what I do."
Coben says he's "happy to get the buzz going at BEA about this book. I can't wait to hand it to booksellers and everyone else who loves YA." The author will be signing ARCs of Shelter today, 11 a.m.–noon, at Table 19.
