Harlan Coben

We don't really know.

We knew he was involved with Longhi's Wilman and the Jewish mob, which, you know, Cosa Nostra is what they used to call the Italian mob.

They used to call the Jewish one the kosher mob.

so that's cute right so but I don't know I mean it was whispered about and so I don't know how much he was also using just to play around because he was a player as well and you know had a pseudonym and other families and things like that and you wouldn't want to ask a lot of questions because we thought maybe he was a bag man for the mob or something like that so I don't know how much of it was really going on I don't know what he really knew or did a lot of it is just sort of rumors on our side but

As a novelist.

You think he was pretty involved?

Have you worked it out?

Actually, I don't.

I mean, I really don't.

I think that, you know, when you're right, one of the rules that they used to tell me is you have to make your character likable.

You have to make him nice and likable.

And I find that's wrong.

You want your lead character to be the guy that if he's sitting at a pub, you want to listen in on his conversation.

Or you want to sit and get his life story.

You don't want someone who's likable.

You want someone who feels real and authentic and damaged a little bit and interesting.

And so I think that's why.

I think there's a side of us that I prefer to write not great evil or great good.

I don't like that.

I like to pretend I'm at the line.