MostlyFiction Book Reviews » Harlan Coben We Love to Read! Wed, 14 May 2014 13:06:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3 LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben /2011/live-wire-by-harlan-coben/ /2011/live-wire-by-harlan-coben/#comments Sat, 07 May 2011 23:42:39 +0000 /?p=17574 Book Quote:

“Please, Myron, I need your help.”
This was, for Myron, a bit of a fantasy: a shapely, gorgeous damsel in distress sauntering into his office like something out of an old Bogey film—except, well, the saunter was more of a waddle and the shapeliness was coming from the fact that the gorgeous damsel was eight months pregnant, and really, sorry, that kind of killed the whole fantasy effect.”

Book Review:

Review by Chuck Barksdale  (MAY 7, 2011)

Myron Bolitar is back in Live Wire, the tenth book in this great series and the first since Long Lost (2009). Last time, Myron was in France but this time he’s back in New York and north Jersey where he works as an agent representing sports professionals and other celebrities. Myron is asked for help by one of his first clients, former tennis star Suzze T. (Trevantino) who is now eight months pregnant. She wants Myron to find her husband, Lex Rider who is missing after seeing the post of “Not His” about his wife’s pregnancy on her Facebook page. Suzze convinces Myron that the statement is not true and pleads with him to find her husband and get him to return to her. Lex, a member of the HorsePower group, is also one of Myron’s clients, so he is quick to offer his assistance.

Myron easily finds Lex in a nearby club and while there, he thinks he sees his sister-in-law Kitty who he hasn’t seen in over 15 years. Myron tries to get to her but she escapes the club before he can. When he returns, Lex is no longer there.

Myron, with the help of his long time partner and friend, Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III), looks into both disappearances. Suzze and Myron’s sister-in-law Kitty were tennis opponents 15 years ago when they were at the height of their sport, but their relationship ended then when Kitty decided to leave tennis and travel the world with her husband Brad, Myron’s brother. Myron’s relationship with his brother also ended back then when Myron tried to convince his brother that Kitty was no good and was cheating on him. Since then, Kitty and Brad have avoided Myron but, in looking at Kitty’s Facebook page, Myron finds out that their marriage appears to have been a good one. They even found time to have a son, Mickey. Myron eventually tracks down Kitty and discovers that Brad is now also missing. And he finds that Kitty has returned to her drug dependent days of her youth and that she was in the club trading sex for drugs.

As Myron is working on finding Lex and Kitty and his brother Brad, Myron’s father Al is hospitalized. Myron’s mother Ellen pushes Myron to leave the hospital to help with his father’s wishes to find his son Brad.

Lex Rider is the least popular half of the band HorsePower. Gabrial Wire, the more famous of the two members of HorsePower has lived in seclusion on Adiona Island, four miles off the coast of Massachussetts. Myron and Win discover that Lex is now living in Wire’s mansion on the island which is also being guarded by former mob aide Evan Crisp. With Win’s help, Myron finds out that Evan Crisp is actually still working for Herman Ache, a local mobster that Myron has dealt with in the past. Ache apparently is making money off of HorsePower and needs to protect his interests. This only adds to more challenges to Myron and Win as they fight to understand the secrets of everyone involved and hope for the best for Myron’s father Al.

This book will not disappoint long time fans or new readers that enjoy fast paced action along with frequent humor. Occasionally in Coben’s books the action can seem a bit unrealistic as Win, and to a somewhat lesser extent Myron, are usually invincible, but that’s the nature of most thrillers, which this series has become. The relationship between Myron and Win is always enjoyable and, despite the jokes, they clearly care for each other. This is also true of Myron’s relationship with the other people in his firm, who have small but important roles in this book, Esperanza Diaz and Big Cyndi.

All of the books in the series have personal elements as the back story of the characters is always an important part. This time, the main story is even more personal as Myron deals with his past relationships with his brother and sister-in-law and how that affects him now as well as the aging condition of his parents and his long-term relationship with Win. By the end, this made the book one of the best in the series and made you forget some of the weaker moments in the book such as the silly sexual relationships between Win and his girlfriends Mee and Yu. I also found the beginning of the book a little slow to get on track.

Overall, this is another enjoyable addition to this series and one that I recommend very strongly to new but especially to long time fans. You will not be disappointed and you will learn some new things about Myron and in the end you will wonder where the series will, and can go next (other than into the new young adult series as discussed below).

Harlan Coben has used Live Wire as a way to introduce Mickey Bolitar, the main character of his new young adult series. The first book in that series, Shelter is due out in September, 2011. If you plan on reading Live Wire, do not read the advance information on Shelter as some spoilers about Mickey and his family that you find out near the end of Live Wire impact his new adventures. Coben was smart in setting up the new series this way as he may just get some of his adult Myron Bolitar fans to read them too. I’m sure I won’t be able to resist reading at least the first one.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-3-5from 163 readers
PUBLISHER: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (March 22, 2011)
REVIEWER: Chuck Barksdale
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Harlan Coben
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: More Myron Bolitar:

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Bibliography:

Myron Bolitar Series:

Mickey Bolitar (young adult series)

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]]> /2011/live-wire-by-harlan-coben/feed/ 0 PLAY DEAD by Harlan Coben /2010/play-dead-by-harlan-coben/ /2010/play-dead-by-harlan-coben/#comments Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:08:10 +0000 /?p=13718 Book Quote:

“What is it?” Laura asked.
T.C. did not step forward. He did not speak. He just stood in front of her without movement, trying to summon some inner strength. With great effort he raised his head, his soulful eyes hesitantly meeting Laura’s expectant ones.
Still no words were spoken. Laura stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.
“T.C.?” she asked, her face bewildered.
T.C. raised his hand into her line of vision. Her look of bewilderment crumpled into one of sheer anguish.
“Oh God, no.” she cried. “Please, no.”
T.C. held David’s multicolored swimming trunks and clashing green Celtics shirt.
They were both shredded.

 

Book Review:

Review by Chuck Barksdale  (NOV 21, 2010)

Harlan Coben’s first book, Play Dead is finally back in print, and although not as good as his more famous books, it certainly is thrilling and enjoyable. The life of former supermodel and current businesswoman Laura Ayars changes significantly after she secretly marries Boston Celtic star David Baskin. While honeymooning in Australia, Laura returns from a business meeting to find a note from David that he is swimming. When David never returns, Laura notifies David’s best friend T.C. and he, along with the police determine that David has drowned.

The grief stricken Laura returns to Boston and initially has difficulty in focusing on her life and work. With the help of her sister Gloria, a former drug addict who was helped by Laura, and who also works for Laura’s firm, she slowly returns to work. However, she is never really satisfied with the circumstances behind David’s death. David was an excellent swimmer who knew when and where to swim. She’s also finds out that one of David’s savings accounts is missing money that she knows is there. This leads Laura to begin an investigation into who took the money. Ultimately, Laura returns to Australia to learn more about David’s last day. Through her hard work and some help including many people she stops trusting along the way, Laura eventually learns the real truth.

This book has many twists along the way and Coben gives the reader some real as well as misleading clues. Eventually, sometimes through flashbacks, you learn more and more about Laura and her family and David and his family. Both families were originally from the Chicago area and maybe the families had prior connections and maybe that is why Laura’s mother was so against Laura seeing David. Eventually the reader learns more and more why the book opens in 1960 with what may be a murder concerning both families.

Play Dead is told primarily in the third person perspective usually from the perspective of Laura, although sometimes from her sister Gloria, Laura’s aunt Judy Simmons and even a killer. Harlan Coben made no change from the original and the book takes place primarily in 1989 when technology was a lot different – no cell phones and no quick internet searches. This is very noticeable as things take a lot longer than they would today with these common luxuries not very widespread just 20 years ago. Also, as shown in the excerpt above, Harlan style is similar to his later books, although a bit more, and probably unnecessarily, expressive. Certainly at over 500 pages, the book is longer than Coben’s later works and one that could probably have been edited down a hundred pages or so to a more tight and suspenseful book.

Play Dead, as an action thriller, does not have any of the trademark humor in Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar books and surprisingly takes place primarily in Boston and not the more familiar north Jersey that is native to Harlan Coben and common in many of his books. As in the star of the Myron Bolitar books, basketball is prominent as David Baskin and several of his friends play for the Boston Celtics.

Play Dead reminds me of Tell No One, although it is not nearly as good. Tell No One is certainly my favorite Harlan Coben book and one of my favorite books overall, but Coben did steal some of his ideas from Play Dead. Both books start with a strong loving relationship between the two main characters and in both books, one of the two goes missing and is believed to be dead. I did find the suspense better and the story more believable in Tell No One. Of course, Play Dead does have good suspense and is definitely enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of Harlan Coben and have been waiting as many of us have for the reprinting of this difficult to find book.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-3-0from 77 readers
PUBLISHER: Signet; Reissue edition (September 28, 2010)
REVIEWER: Chuck Barksdale
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Harlan Coben
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

From the Myron Bolitar series:

Bibliography:

Myron Bolitar Series:

Mickey Bolitar (young adult series)

Movies from books:

]]> /2010/play-dead-by-harlan-coben/feed/ 0 CAUGHT by Harlan Coben /2010/caught-by-harlan-coben/ /2010/caught-by-harlan-coben/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:06:09 +0000 /?p=8412 Book Quote:

“Who’s there?”

Suddenly there were other people in the room. A man with a camera. Another with what looked like a boom mike. And the female with a familiar voice, a stunning woman with chestnut brown hair and a business suit.

“Wendy Tynes, NTC News. Why are you here Dan?”

I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I recognized the woman from the TV newsmagazine…

“Why have you been conversing online in a sexual manner with a thirteen-year old girl, Dan? We have your communications with her.”
…the one that sets up and catches pedophiles on camera for all the world to see.

“Are you here to have sex with a thirteen-year-old girl?”

The truth of what was going on there hit me, freezing my bones. Other people flooded the room. Producers maybe. Another cameraman. Two cops. The cameras came in closer. The lights got brighter. Beads of sweat popped up on my brow. I started to stammer, started to deny.

But it was over.

Book Review:

Review by Chuck Barksdale (MAR 23, 2010)

Dan Mercer’s life very quickly changes for the worst as TV newswoman Wendy Tynes catches him going to a meeting with a thirteen-year old girl she pretends to be to lore pedophiles like she thinks Dan is into her trap. Dan is vehement in his innocence and as the reader knows, he thought he was going to help a young girl not to have sex with her. However, in this case, despite the evidence against him, Wendy starts to have some doubt, especially when Dan’s ex-wife and her husband seem so willing to defend him. Dan’s slick lawyer is able to use some legal technicalities to get Dan off from the crimes charged against him, but the community still feels Dan is guilty and he is forced to go into hiding.

At around the same time, 17-year old Haley McWaid a smart, athletic and apparently happy teenager does not return home. Very little is found about her disappearance until evidence points to Dan Mercer when Haley’s phone is found in Dan’s hotel room months after Haley’s disappearance. The phone is found right after Wendy Tynes sees Dan murdered by the father of a child who also claims Dan abused him. Although Dan’s dead body is not found, the police are able to find Dan’s hotel room with the missing phone under his bed.

Wendy’s uncertainty of Dan’s guilt is lessened once Haley McWaid’s cell phone is found in Dan’s room. However during her investigations of Dan’s background, she does talk to some of Dan’s former friends including his Princeton college roommates. Wendy discovers that Dan had lived in a suite with 5 other people all of whom have fallen on hard times, with most having potentially unfounded but damaging claims against them. These unusual circumstances, along with the possible guilt of ruining an innocent man, make Wendy look further to see if Dan is really the guilty pedophile he seems to be.

Caught is told primarily in the third person perspective usually from the perspective of Wendy Tynes. However, the book does start in the first person as Coben gives the reader a chance to see into the mind of Dan Mercer before he is caught by Wendy Tynes. Mercer comes across as someone who truly cares about the youth he spends most of his time helping, adding, at least to the reader, more doubt about Dan’s guilt.

Caught is Harlan Coben’s latest standalone book, the first since Hold Tight (2008) after last year’s latest Myron Bolitar book, Long Lost. As typical of Coben’s books, most of the action in this book takes place in northern New Jersey near where he grew up and not too far from where Coben now lives.

As I mentioned in the Long Lost review, I’ve read all of Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar books, but only one prior non-series book, Tell No One. I thought that Tell No One was better than any of the Bolitar books and was really looking forward to Caught. Although at first, I thought Caught was even better than Tell No One, that feeling did not last throughout the book and by the end although I was not disappointed, I did not think it held up as well. Caught certainly has the great suspense and twists but I was less surprised at the end than I thought I would be. This is not to say that the book was not good or that the ending easily determined, just that a twist was expected. Overall, though, this was a very good book and one that keeps you interested from the beginning to the end.

One thing that is not very prevalent in Harlan Coben’s standalone books is the humor that is a key part of the Myron Bolitar series. Of course Caught is a serious book that also addresses serious issues about missing children and child molesters so the chance for humor is limited. However, look for a friend of Myron Bolitar who  is fun and enjoyable to make a cameo appearance.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 272 readers
PUBLISHER: Dutton Adult (March 23, 2010)
REVIEWER: Chuck Barksdale
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Harlan CobenWikipedia on Harlan Coben
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

From the Myron Bolitar series:

Bibliography:

Myron Bolitar Series:

Mickey Bolitar (young adult series)

Movies from books:

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