Harlan Coben tries to "stir" and "break your heart" in new thriller, "Don't Let Go"

"Daisy wore a clingy black dress with a neckline so deep it could tutor philosophy," writes best-selling author Harlan Coben in the opening line of his new thriller, "Don't Let Go."

"I just thought I'd have fun with the first line 'cause we're about to get dark," Coben said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."

Inspired by a legend about a secret military base with nuclear capabilities near his New Jersey community during his youth – which turned out to be true – Coben tells the tale of detective Napoleon "Nap" Dumas who looks for answers about the mysterious death of his twin brother in high school and the disappearance of the love of his life.

"This book is the first time I've done this, where it's first-person present tense, where he's telling the story to his dead brother," Coben said. "He's trying to find out what really happened to [his brother] out in the woods when they were in high school. He's trying to find the truth. I'm trying to both break your heart and stir it a little bit."

Famous for his domestic thrillers, Coben has written 30 novels and sold more than 70 million books worldwide. His last 10 consecutive novels all debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best-sellers list.

But a blank page still "terrifies" him, Coben revealed, adding, "that's what you have to kind of face each day and you have to fight it each day."

"I treat it like a job. I get down, I try to write – and if I don't write, I hate myself. There's a lot of self-loathing involved in the creative process. So if I don't write, I beat myself up until I get back to work."

Coben is also out with a Netflix mystery series called "The Five," starring actors including O-T Fagbenle and Hannah Arterton, where he makes a personal appearance in episode 9. 

Watch the video above to learn what one thing Coben and author Dan Brown will never talk about.