Long Lost

February 9, 2009
Myron Bolitar takes on international terrorists in bestseller Coben's fast-paced ninth thriller to feature the sports and entertainment agent (after Promise Me
). With his romantic relationship with 9/11 widow Ali Wilder on the rocks, Myron is free at a moment's notice to accept the invitation of his former lover, Terese Collins, a TV newswoman who dropped out of his life years earlier, to join her in Paris. There Terese tells Myron her investigative reporter ex-husband, Rick, whom Myron never knew about, recently got back in touch with her and hinted at an earthshaking revelation. Rick's murder plunges Bolitar into a frenzied, often violent chase across Europe in an effort to learn Rick's secret. Aided by his upper-class sidekick and bodyguard, Win, Bolitar builds up an impressive body count as he attempts to prove he didn't kill Rick—and foil a terrorist plot that's as imaginative as it is preposterous. Bolitar fans will cheer their hero every step of the way.

Starred review from February 1, 2009
Agent Myron Bolitar returns in a case as twisty and ambitious as Coben's highly successful stand-alones (Hold Tight, 2008, etc.).

It's been almost ten years since Myron last saw one-time news anchor Terese Collins in The Final Detail (1999). But that doesn't prevent her from emerging from seclusion in Angola to invite him for a weekend in Paris. Romance isn't all she has in mind, she confesses when Myron joins her. Her ex-husband Rick, a CNN investigative reporter, summoned her to the City of Lights because he had something desperately important to tell her. Before he can share his news, he's killed, and the blood found on the scene includes some that matches the DNA of his daughter Miriam—which would be a shocking development even if Miriam hadn't been killed in a car accident ten years ago. At least now Myron has a hint as to what Rick wanted to tell his ex. And that's nice, because the mystery of the dead girl's blood rapidly balloons to involve Interpol, the FBI and a notorious international terrorist. As usual, Coben piles on the complications with a generous hand—here's the fertility clinic that helped Terese get pregnant, there's the adoption agency Rick was investigating, and let's not forget the jurisdictional squabbles between different law-enforcement agencies.

Fans are strongly advised to leave plenty of time to plow through the case at one sitting, as any delay would be fatal to the suspension of disbelief it demands. On the other hand, those few hours will leave the easy chair smoking.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 1, 2009
After three years, Coben (Hold Tight) returns to basketball star-turned-sports agent-turned-sleuth Myron Bolitar, while retaining a good deal of the twists and turns found in his stand-alone thrillers. An unexpected phone call from an old flame, Terese, brings Myron to Paris to help her unravel a mystery involving her ex-husband. Turns out that the CIA, Terese's long-dead daughter, an antiabortion group, a stem cell clinic, andoh, yeahal-Qaeda are also involved. In a lesser writer's hands, this could have been ridiculous, but Coben is the master of taking impossible, even outlandish situations and somehow making them realistic. This is sure to please both Bolitar fans and those who have only read Coben's roller coaster-ride thrillers. Bolitar and his quirky series cohorts are fully introduced, allowing newcomers a seamless entry. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections.Rebecca Vnuk, Glen Ellyn P.L., IL

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Mutli-award-winning author Coben returns to the series that kick-started his red-hot career in his latest novel starringHarvard-educated sports agent/private eye Myron Bolitar (after Promise Me, 2006). Myron hasnt had contact with Teresa Collins in seven years, so he is taken aback by her early-morning phone call from Paris. Her ex-husband, who begged her to meet him there, ismissing, and she needs Myrons help. Before they can launch a search, however, they are taken into custody by the French police; it seems Teresas husband has been murdered, and she is the prime suspect. One other unexpected complication: DNA found at the scene of the crime appears to belong to the couples daughter, except their daughter has been dead for years. Just when Myron starts making progress on putting the pieces together, he is kidnapped by a covert organization and subjected to intense torture. Myronwakes up ina hospital back in the U.S. in bad mental and physical shapebut isimmediately sheltered byhis loyal staff, including Win, hisblueblooded business partner, and Esperanza, a former wrestling star turned lawyer. Their easygoing, humorous camaraderie as well as Cobens chilling incorporation of modern medical technology and modern interrogation techniquesmake thisnovel hard to put down.Coben puts a wickedtopical spin on Children of the Corn inan action-packed thriller with ahorrific yet crediblepremise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)