Harlan Coben’s Shelter collection overview: Secure, candy thrills aplenty from this YA adaptation

Adrian Greensmith (Arthur “Spoon” Spindell), Jaden Michael (Mickey Bolitar), Abby Corrigan (Ema Winslow) in a nonetheless from ‘Harlan Coben’s Shelter’
| Picture Credit score: Michael Parmelee

This adaptation of the primary e-book of Harlan Coben’s YA collection, Shelter, has all of the twists and turns you count on from Coben with out the gory, ugly stuff.

Life was going effectively for 15-year-old Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael). After dwelling all around the world together with his mother and father, Brad (Kristoffer Polaha) and Kitty (Narci Regina), the household returns dwelling to the US. A horrific accident finds a fatherless Mickey within the small city of Kasselton, New Jersey, staying together with his aunt, Shira (Constance Zimmer), whereas Kitty battles despair as an inpatient.

A grieving Mickey is additional thrown off stability when the scary lady on the town, Bat Woman (Tovah Feldshuh) dwelling in a spooky home, calls him by identify and tells him his father will not be useless.

The primary day of college proves to be a combined bag together with his uncle, Myron, a basketball legend, casting an enormous shadow. On the plus aspect, Mickey meets the nerdy Spoon (Adrian Greensmith) and sarcastic Goth lady, Ema (Abby Corrigan).

Mickey varieties a right away reference to the brand new lady in school, Ashley (Samantha Bugliaro), who appears to reciprocate, which is why Mickey is stumped when Ashley drops out of college and doesn’t reply to his calls or texts. Satisfied that one thing dangerous has occurred to Ashley, Mickey tries to get the college and grown-ups concerned, who appear unconvinced and reluctant.

It’s left to Mickey, Spoon and Ema to seek out out the reality behind Ashley’s disappearance. There are all kinds of different high-school dramas occurring, together with auditions for a staging of The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Kasselton’s very personal film star Angelica Wyatt (Stephanie March), jock Troy (Brian Altemus) and his dimwitted buddy Buck (Antonio Cipriano), giving Spoon and Ema grief.

Buck’s sister, Whitney (Alexa Mareka), is a social media star who may need emotions for Ema. Below all of the posturing, Troy is insecure about his cheerleading captain girlfriend, Rachel (Sage Linder), who’s spending an excessive amount of time with Mickey for his liking, regardless that she assures him she is simply serving to Mickey discover Ashley.

The grown-ups too have points from the kindly instructor, Mrs Friedman (Didi Conn), feeling she didn’t do sufficient for Dylan Shakes, a little bit boy who disappeared 27 years in the past, to Troy’s dad, police chief Taylor (Lee Aaron Rosen), taking his spouse and Troy’s mum, Hannah (Missi Pyle), as a right.

There’s additionally the story of a lady who saved kids from the Nazis which has a resonance in Kasselton. There is no such thing as a scarcity of scary folks on the town from Octoface (Manuel Uriza), for the octopus tattooed on his face to Sun shades Man (Hunter Emery).

With its likeable leads and breathless Harlan-Coben tempo, tempered with heat and wit, Shelter is each bit as bingeable as Coben’s grownup fare.

Harlan Coben’s Shelter presently streams on Amazon Prime Video