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Starred review from January 31, 2011
Edgar-winner Coben's 10th Myron Bolitar novel (after Long Lost) is a perfect 10: providing readers with new information about the past of the former athlete turned agent and owner of MB Reps; a satisfyingly complex mystery; and the always entertaining, sometimes shocking exploits of Bolitar's partner and friend, Windsor Horne Lockwood III (aka Win). Suzze Tervantino, a former tennis prodigy and one of Bolitar's first clients, visits his New York office and shows him a Facebook posting that suggests that her husband, rock star Lex Ryder, isn't the father of the child she's carrying. When Ryder, also a client of MB Reps, disappears, Suzze begs Bolitar to find him. In the process, Bolitar catches a glimpse of his sister-in-law, Kitty, at a crowded nightclub, and begins a search for her and his estranged younger brother, Brad, whom he hasn't seen for 16 years. This explosively fast thriller will leave fans clamoring for more.

February 15, 2011

A client's case of online harassment brings the chickens home to roost for agent Myron Bolitar and his whole family.

Retired tennis star Suzze T (née Trevantino) is so happy about her pregnancy that she can't understand why one of her virtual friends would post "NOT HIS" on her Facebook page. She swears that the father really is her husband Lex Ryder, the Australian-born rocker who's been the public face of the band HorsePower ever since a lurid scandal involving 16-year-old Alista Snow sent HorsePower front man Gabriel Wire into seclusion over a decade ago. Now Suzze wants Myron to unmask the false friend who questioned Lex's paternity and bring her runaway husband, who didn't take the rumor well at all, back home. It isn't long before Myron, frequently bailed out by his bionic preppy sidekick Win Lockwood, has identified the rogue poster. Instead of resolving Suzze's domestic problems, however, the revelation just drags Myron's own family—his estranged brother Brad, Brad's wife Kitty and their son Mickey—into them, along with another notable family, the mobbed-up Ache brothers. How deep can Myron dig without running afoul of fearsome Herman Ache? And how deep does he want to dig when the results threaten his own parents' peace of mind and his possible détente with the brother he hasn't seen for 15 years?

Despite the promise of dark family secrets, this is the most conventional of Myron's recent cases (Long Lost, 2009, etc.), heavy with cheesy cliffhangers and eye-popping coincidences. Fans will be rewarded by the nonstop plot twists Coben must have patented.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2011

Myron Bolitar, Coben's wisecracking sports agent and private eye, helps a former female tennis pro who is eight months pregnant defend the paternity of her unborn child. With his sidekick, Win, Myron has unexpected encounters with his estranged sister-in-law, who's entangled with rock stars, scandals, and drugs. Adding momentum to Myron's search, his dad suffers a life-threatening heart attack and asks to speak with Brad, his long-lost son. Along the way, Myron confronts his own buried secrets and recognizes that his abandoned sister-in-law and nephew interpret his big-heartedness as unwanted interference. A career-changing cliff-hanger ends his search. VERDICT In this tenth Bolitar mystery (after Long Lost), Coben reveals the introspective side of his slick character, as Myron tackles a different sort of hidden mysteries--those deeply embedded within himself and other family members. Fans will enjoy the change of focus and wonder how Coben will re-create his hero in his next adventure. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/10.]--Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2011
Coben, who has perfected the techno-thriller, in which social media tools are used in ingeniously devious ways (Hold Tight, 2008), has won the trifecta of mystery awards: the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Anthonyand is the only writer to have such a clutch at his command. Here, he returns to his humble roots and resurrects his sports agent and sleuth Myron Bolitar, who appeared in Cobens debut, Deal Breaker, in 1995, and has starred in nine other novels. Coben may be a little too fond of Bolitar; over the years, he has transformed him from a struggling New Jersey sports agent to a wildly successful superagent who handles all forms of entertainment and, bad news for the reader, is now given to self-indulgent introspection, rumination, and endless dialogue with his sidekick, Win. This overwriting changes the Bolitar novel from spare and lively to a flabby 350-plus pager. A prime example of this works need for a less-indulgent author (or editor) is the cringe-inducing scene in which Win appears with two Asian beauties, named Mee and Yu. Bolitar and Win carry on with sophomoric puns and a forecast of sexual activity that is supposed to be hilarious but reads as incredibly insensitive. The plot is fairly standard, involving a client whose husband disappears, with a link to Bolitars sister-in-law and estranged brother. Bracing action, a Coben staple, is bogged down by bloated writing. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Coben takes a literary misstep with his return to series character Myron Bolitar, but his name-brand status ensures an audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)