In the world of television adaptations, few authors have inspired as many series as Harlan Coben. With Netflix and Amazon as his primary platforms, Coben has churned out a seemingly endless supply of thrillers, each one seemingly more predictable than the last. But amidst the sea of 'The past never changes. Until one day it does' lines, one series stands out: 'I Will Find You'.
This eight-part series, set in the US, follows David Burroughs, a man serving a life sentence for the murder of his son. Despite his claims of innocence, no one believes him, and he spends his days punching fellow prisoners and wallowing in self-reproach. But when an ex-sister-in-law and disgraced investigative journalist, Rachel Mills, turns up with a recent photograph of a frolicking youngster who looks very much like David's son, the plot thickens.
What follows is a labyrinthine global conspiracy, with David and Rachel up to their fugitive nostrils in questions: where is David's son? If it wasn't Matthew who was murdered, who was it? And who is the shadowy puppet-master to whom everyone from shifty prison warden to icy charity boss keeps sending cryptic texts?
The series is classic Coben: maddeningly watchable crap with bells on. The script is made of Play-Doh, and our protagonists are but flaps of luncheon meat pegged to a washing line. And yet still we must - must! - find out what happens. And so we stagger, dazed, into the next episode. And the episode after that. Until many, many red herrings, narrative cul-de-sacs and splutter-inducing plot holes later, we are deposited at the end of another Coben adaptation with virtually no memory of how we got there.
What makes 'I Will Find You' particularly fascinating is that it breaks with the Netflix-Coben tradition of setting these thrillers in Europe. Instead, it's set in the US, which means the breathlessness comes with bigger guns and the captions shout things like BOSTON rather than LONDON, ENGLAND. But despite this change, the series remains classic Coben, with its predictable plot twists and turns, and its characters that are as flat as a pancake.
In my opinion, the series is a prime example of how Coben's thrillers have become a formulaic, predictable genre. While the series is certainly watchable, it's hard not to feel that it's just another cobbled-together thriller, with little depth or complexity. The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is full of red herrings and plot holes, and the whole thing feels like a rehash of Coben's previous works.
From my perspective, the series is a testament to the power of brand recognition. Netflix and Amazon have built a loyal following for Coben's thrillers, and 'I Will Find You' is just another entry in the ever-growing collection. But while it may be watchable, it's hard to shake the feeling that it's just another piece of premium-grade bunkum, extruded from the Harlan Coben Industrial Adaptation Complex.
