Harlan Coben’s Shelter review: Prime Video takes on the hit YA thriller

It is a trope universally acknowledged that every bereaved teen at the center of a family mystery must be sent to live with an estranged aunt. That they will attend a new school, where they make friends with [checks notes] one bookworm and one eyeliner-wearing outcast. That they will absolutely manage to get on the wrong side of the resident bully in, ooh, less than half an episode—and all while trying to unravel the truth about their past, too.

So it is with Harlan Coben’s Shelter, which premieres August 18 on Prime Video. Like so many other adaptations of Coben’s hit thrillers, this proves itself to be a well-oiled suspense-building machine from the very get-go. Unlike so many of those other adaptations by the author, though, this one has the sort of YA twist that will absolutely appeal to the likes of 13 Reasons Why, Stranger Things, and Cruel Summer fans, too.

The series follows the story of Mickey Bolitar (Wonderstruck’s Jaden Michael), who, after helplessly watching his father die in a violent car crash, goes to stay with his Aunt Shira (Entourage’s Constance Zimmer). There, in the leafy suburbs of New Jersey, he falls hard for another new student, Ashley (Samantha Bugliaro)—until she mysteriously disappears without a trace. Remember that scene in Friends, when Matt Le Blanc’s Joey Tribbiani offers us up that, “But Betsy’s been dead for 10 years!” stinger in an affected eldritch voice? Honestly, same vibes.

Desperate to track her down, it’s not long before Mickey finds himself impossibly tangled in a web of secrets. And not just about Ashley, either; there’s also the wild-haired old woman—a.k.a. the Bat Lady (Tovah Feldshuh)—living in the dilapidated house on the corner, who chillingly informs our courageous young hero that his dad is still alive, too. Despite the fact that Brad’s death played out almost entirely onscreen. Almost. What?! Does?! This?! Mean?! (We’ll give you three guesses ….)

Naturally, the responsible adults in Mickey’s life aren’t interested in any of these alarming events. Aunt Shira, in fact, tells her nephew to leave it, in no uncertain terms. (Although, to be fair to her, she’s wrestling with her own big feelings over her brother’s death—and her ex’s less-than-welcome presence at the local police station, obviously.)

Thank goodness, then, that Mickey can rely on his new friends Arthur “Spoon” Spindell (Adrian Greensmith) and Ema Winslow (Abby Corrigan) to whip out their metaphorical magnifying glasses and help him uncover the answers to not just Ashley’s disappearance, but decades of missing person cases. Because hey, in the immortal words of Wham!, if you’re gonna do it, do it right.

With a cast of accomplished young actors at its helm, Harlan Coben’s Shelter ticks a lot of boxes—not least of all its bevy of incredibly likable and diverse characters. In fact, the magic of this one truly kicks in when our trio of misfits gets together (and don’t worry, they don’t waste any time in doing so), because the easy chemistry between Michael, Greensmith, and Corrigan is pretty irresistible. They are the Gen Z equivalent of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that 2023 has been missing—minus the wands and with far darker villains than Voldemort to take on.

All of this is great—and the series also serves up some inspiring queer representation, not to mention thoughtful discourse on police profiling and racial discrimination. And we get to consider big themes around grief and mental health, always an important ingredient in any good teen drama.

That’s not to say that the series isn’t without its flaws. Far from it, in fact. More than a handful of characters aren’t developed past their individual Breakfast Club-esque tropes. (Here’s looking at you, cookie-cutter bully-jock.) There’s no denying, either, that the overall tone of Harlan Coben’s Shelter can skew more than a little iffy sometimes: It’s essentially the televisual equivalent of an Olivia Rodrigo bop that’s been sampled with random bursts of Metallica and “Baby Shark,” which, as you might imagine, can throw you out of the moment sometimes. Sometimes. And, while we were only allowed to preview the first three episodes of this series, it will be interesting to see if Harlan Coben’s Shelter follows the plot of the book exactly—because, if it does, viewers will undoubtedly be incredibly divided over this one’s ending. (No spoilers, but wow.)

Still, despite its wobblier moments, Shelter is a solid little mystery-thriller and will absolutely appeal to people who love this genre. Yes, it’s silly sometimes. Yes, characters make questionable decisions. And yes, you will need to suspend your sense of disbelief more than once—but hey, that’s no different to any other Harlan Coben title, is it?

Harlan Coben’s Shelter premieres August 18 on Prime Video