We all have someone we wish we could see again

BESTSELLING thriller writer Harlan Coben says losing his father in his 20s deeply influenced his writing and shaped many of his novels.

- BY LYNN RUSK

The 63-year-old American author revisits that grief in his upcoming thriller series Lazarus, co-written with BAFTA winner Danny Brocklehurst and starring Bill Nighy and Sam Claflin.

Lazarus follows Joel Lazarus, known as Laz, played by Claflin, who returns home after the suicide of his father, Dr Jonathan Lazarus, portrayed by Nighy.

Soon after, he begins experiencing a series of disturbing and inexplicable events.

He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father's death and the murder of his sister 25 years ago.

"I had a fair amount of tragedies in my 20s and 30s, and the biggest one was my father's death. I've never really gotten over it, and I deal with it in almost every book I write," Harlan says.

"With Lazarus in particular, I wanted it to be more than just a thriller, I wanted it to be a story about fathers and sons, and ultimately about family."

The series, which sees Bill's character return in a series of flashbacks, was inspired by Coben’s dreams about his father returning.

"There’s a part I think about every time I watch it, when Bill’s character says, ‘You can’t do this. I’m not really here. That moment always hits me,’" Harlan says.

"I used to have dreams where I'd talk to my father again, and for a few seconds it felt real. Then you wake up and realise it was only a dream and it's devastating, because you know that person is gone again.