Caught

　　丹．默瑟打開那扇紅色大門之後，他這個專門輔導孩童的社工員就徹底毀了。裝備齊全的犯罪實境節目當場逮到他企圖引誘與猥褻少女，節目主持人溫蒂拿出網路交談紀錄指控這隻社區大惡狼。不論法官怎麼說，家長鄙視痛罵的聲浪節節高漲，溫暖可親的丹叔叔已成人人喊打的妖魔鬼怪。

　　海蕾．麥奎德的家也毀了。十七歲的她是家裡的乖女兒、弟妹的好榜樣，更是品學兼優、文武全才的優秀學生，但是一夜之間，她的行蹤不明成了八卦話題，雙親陷入憂鬱，家中失去笑聲，認識她的每個人都陷入哀傷的真空狀態。

　　溫蒂．泰恩斯一直相信自己是個仗義執言、揭露真相的記者，但如今反倒因為這樁醜聞報導而失業。法官不採納她的證詞，公司主管也補上一腳、切割責任，更糟的是，因為她導致一名憤怒家長動用私刑……溫蒂徹底陷入信念危機：戀童犯就該死嗎？殺人的是槍，還是醜聞？

　　身在風暴核心的溫蒂不計一切代價要搞清楚真相，那怕謎團愈滾愈大，真相愈挖愈駭人，甚至連她自己也成了醜聞主角。至此她終於明白一旦染上醜聞，就是一輩子都洗不清、揮不掉、甩不開……

　　下落不明的少女、了無蹤影的證據，套套相連的謎團衝擊所有認知框架。誰會想到，小小失誤竟要所有人都付上代價？誰又能預料，平凡的日子竟是如此脆弱，如此無可挽回……

　　看進內心最黑暗的深處，才會明白「原諒」是放過自己──

　　From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense comes a fast-paced, emotion-packed novel about guilt, grief, and our capacity to forgive

　　17-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.

　　Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborate — and nationally televised — sting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined.

　　In a novel that challenges as much as it thrills, filled with the astonishing tension and unseen suburban machinations that have become Coben’s trademark, Caught tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can’t trust her own instincts about this story — or the motives of the people around her.

　　★本書中譯版《原諒》由臉譜出版。

作者簡介

哈蘭．科本 Harlan Coben

　　1962年生，新澤西州人，畢業於阿默斯特學院（Amherst College）政治學系，就學期間曾與《達文西密碼》的作者丹．布朗參加同一個兄弟會，兩人相互鼓勵啟發，友誼持續至今。

《達文西密碼》作者丹．布朗曾讚譽Harlan Coben 是「現代懸念大師─ ─在第一頁就牢牢抓住你的心，又在結尾讓你震驚」。儘管才出道十年，柯本卻是迄今唯一獨攬安東尼獎、愛倫坡獎和夏姆斯獎三項推理大獎的作家。

　　柯本的懸疑小說的主角都是遭受到巨大悲劇衝擊的普通人，情節不斷峰迴路轉，讓讀者驚嘆「翻開每一頁，都覺得主角就是我！」。書評家表示，閱讀柯本的作品絕不可掉以輕心，無論是多資深的推理迷，都會被柯本悄悄超前，掉入無法掌控劇情的恐懼深淵。柯本創作時會模擬讀者的心境，讓讀者有如陷入大霧中開車，雖有車頭燈引導，能見度卻極低，只能忐忑不安地駛向終點。他說：「我喜歡迷惑讀者，喜歡再次迷惑讀者，當你以為危機解除，我就偏要第三度迷惑讀者。只要讀者一放鬆，我覺得有機可趁，就會再度送給你們驚喜，我就是忍不住要這麼做。」

　　Harlan Coben is the bestselling author of sixteen previous novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers "Long Lost" and "Hold Tight." Winner of the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award, Coben lives in New Jersey with his family.