GONE FOR GOOD by Harlan Coben

 Finished Fr 2/4/22- During The February Blizzard of 2022

This is a hardback that I ordered from Amazon after watching the French Netflix series based on the book. The film version was very confusing and the book was only slightly better.

Basically it's about a guy who loses his girlfriend to violence and eleven years later loses another girlfriend and the murders are both connected.

Three friends were getting into trouble during high school and continue to excel as criminals as adults. 

From a customer review on Amazon. This hits most of the plot points:

"Will Klein is an earnest man still dealing with the disappearance of his older brother 11 years ago. It wasn’t that his brother Ken just vanished. He had been steadily distancing himself from his family. At the time, Ken was a former high school athlete who had squandered his potential when he fell in with an unlikely bad crowd. This crowd consisted of John Asselta, high school captain of the wrestling team, and Phil McGuane, former class president and budding psychopath. Ken’s life further spiraled out of control when he became mixed up with dealing drugs. When Ken was last seen at the murder of Will’s former girlfriend, Will and his family were devastated. Will has never fully recovered from his brother’s seeming act of murder and betrayal. He has, however, immersed himself in helping with a shelter for runaway and homeless youth. There Will has met someone special, whom he considers his soul mate, Sheila.

When Sheila fails to come home one day after work, Will sets off to find answers. Will enlists his best friend, Squares, a celebrity yoga instructor and former tough guy. Will becomes involved in a search that upends what he knew about Ken, Sheila, and the girl he loved so long ago.

As much as I love a twisty plot with plenty of surprises, I couldn’t completely suspend disbelief over some of the events in this thriller. Harlan Coban, the author, is a master at suspense, but his plot depends on perfectly synchronized actions that cause repercussions like dominoes falling. This is the sort of book that you’ll fly through because of the action. It will leave you dissatisfied, however, if you’re looking for a book that provides more than solving an entertaining puzzle. The story is filled with switchbacks, wild curves, and blind alleys. If an adrenaline rush or an escape is what you want, you’ll get it, but you may not remember the story in a couple of weeks."

I found that the convoluted plot wasn't worth the effort.