I have now watched a few different mystery shows created/written by Harlan Coben and they all seem to be somewhat formulaic. Without giving the story away, the formula is to keep information from the audience and reveal it in parts episode after episode in order to somewhat mislead them into guessing people's motives. This format is followed in many shows/movies but I feel like overusing this can ruin the fun and also make it feel a little cheap. Suppose I'm in a circus and you show me a big hole in the wall and bring out three animals - a horse, a lion, and a monkey, then ask me to guess which animal made the big hole, I'd perhaps guess lion. But then you bring an elephant from the back and say, actually it's none of these, it's the elephant. All of Harlam Coben's shows I've watched feel exactly like that.
Part of the fun in watching a mystery is that it keeps you guessing and keeps you captivated. After about half way through the season, there's so many twists and turns that I am past captivation, finding it hard to maintain interest. I think the writer/creators are too focused on not letting you guess the right people involved in certain incidents and in the process ruin the fun a bit. I'm giving it 7 starts because it's still a decent show and has a grip over you for a few episodes. Like with most British shows, the drama element is quite good. But the end is kinda clumsy to be honest, like the writer ran out of ideas and this was best he could come up with. This is also true for his other show - Safe. Not meaning to pick on the person, but lately I've been binging on mystery shows and came across a few of his.
Part of the fun in watching a mystery is that it keeps you guessing and keeps you captivated. After about half way through the season, there's so many twists and turns that I am past captivation, finding it hard to maintain interest. I think the writer/creators are too focused on not letting you guess the right people involved in certain incidents and in the process ruin the fun a bit. I'm giving it 7 starts because it's still a decent show and has a grip over you for a few episodes. Like with most British shows, the drama element is quite good. But the end is kinda clumsy to be honest, like the writer ran out of ideas and this was best he could come up with. This is also true for his other show - Safe. Not meaning to pick on the person, but lately I've been binging on mystery shows and came across a few of his.