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"Harlan Coben’s Shelter" is a thriller, drama, and mystery series which premiered on August 18th, 2023, on Amazon Prime Video and is based on popular novelist Harlan Coben’s 2011 novel, "Shelter." Despite being based on a book that had primarily positive reviews, the audience was conflicted upon "Harlan Coben’s Shelter’s"release, some people thoroughly enjoying it for its display of thriller and mystery elements, while others had issues with the pacing, character inconsistencies, and acting quality.
Harlan Coben’s "Shelter" follows the teenager Mickey Bolitar who moved to Kasselton, New Jersey after his father’s death, and his entanglement with the disappearance of another high school student, Ashley Kent, a disappearance that would eventually lead Mickey and his friends to discover a lurking underworld in a seemingly inconspicuous suburban community.
Harlan Coben is a popular writer in the mystery genre, and for a good reason, he demonstrates a well-developed understanding of elements that keep the reader questioning things, while also allowing readers to feel satisfaction when they successfully predict plot developments. "Harlan Coben’s Shelter" is no different, and Harlan Coben’s talent shines throughout the entire series, due to the constant twists and red herrings, the audience constantly questions and doubts the intentions of every action and detail they are provided.
While the aspects of mystery are prevalent, throughout "Harlan Coben’s Shelter" only around a week passed in-universe making it feel like too many things are happening, which may cause the audience to forget why anyone is doing anything in the first place. There isn’t just one storyline either, as two characters go off early on with a narrative completely different from the main focus, which usually wouldn’t be a problem. Still, combined with the flawed pacing everything just ends up in a confusing mess as it gets harder and harder to remember what happened in prior episodes as time goes on.
Characters in "Harlan Coben’s Shelter," while being acted out fine, felt forced and out of touch, the dialogue seemed to be written by an adult trying to imagine what teenagers would say today. The director shows this ignorance with the consistent use of cursing to display the characters' youth. This is nowhere near how high schoolers act in real life, they may curse a lot, but not that much. Naturally, this leads to unnatural and uncanny situations, which distract the audience from the story and can quickly make people drop it entirely.
Overall, despite being based on a popular book written by a popular author, "Harlan Coben’s Shelter," received mixed reviews, and struggled with creating and maintaining a story but excelled at designing a sense of mystery and suspense that is sure to keep the audience on their toes.
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