Rating:  Summary: Entertaining Review: I think Harlan Coben is an entertaining and witty author. In One False Move, Myron Bolitar is asked to protect basketball star Brenda Slaughter, whose father and coach (Horace Slaughter) has disappeared. Brenda also asks Myron to find her mother, who disappeared 20 years ago and hasn't been heard from since. Myron is threatened by mobsters who claim that Brenda's father signed a contract with them. By his side is his friend, Win, with his playboy looks and underlying lethal tendencies. Win always manages to turn up when Myron needs him most. Coben combines a humorous dialogue with sensational characters that make this series fun to read.
Rating:  Summary: surprisingly good Review: I was expecting the typical "whodunnit" mystery lines but reading this book made want to grab the next Myron Bolitar mystery. Reading was never this fun and entertaining...
Rating:  Summary: Only for Myron Bolitar fans Review: I would only recommend this book to those who are already addicted to Coben's Myron Bolitar novels. It's definitely not a good book by itself, and in my opinion it's the first of the Myron books to begin declining.
I don't really understand Harlan Coben's obsession with main characters who are complete and utter wimps. He probably thought he was being fresh and original by creating a protagonist who is in his mid-thirties, drinks NOTHING but Yoo-Hoo, lives with his parents, makes constant sarcastic comments regardless of the situation, is a complete spineless worm when it comes to his girlfriend, refuses to punish bad guys because of some weird moral rules, and, worst of all, makes himself feel morally superior to others by chastising them when they do stuff he doesn't approve of.
For instance, whenever Myron gets into a scrape, his buddy Win always comes and saves him (this happens about fifty times per book). Then, instead of being grateful to Win for saving his butt for the two-hundredth time, all Myron does is lecture him about how it's wrong to hurt people, even bad people that are trying to hurt you. Win just rolls his eyes every time, and I wonder why a cool character like Win still hangs around with Myron, who is anything but cool. The answer, of course, is that Coben wants Myron to be the perfect guy -- peaceful, witty, kind to women and everyone else, et cetera. So he uses Win to do the dirty work.
Bottom line: I don't CARE if Coben is being "realistic" by portraying Myron this way. I don't want to read a mystery novel where the hero is a complete whiny baby who does nothing but make sarcastic comments at inappropriate times and lets his hard-hitting partner do all the real work. If you want to read a noir book with a main character who is actually cool and can fend for himself without having to be saved by an infinitely cooler partner, I would suggest the Parker series by Richard Stark (pen name of Donald E. Westlake), or the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. NOT this book.
Rating:  Summary: Myron Bolitar - gotta love him! Review: I'm still trying to figure out why this book doesn't have a complete 5-star rating. This was by far one of the best books I've ever read. Myron Bolitar and Win must have the most unique relationship of any duo today. The witty reparte between Myron and anyone who interferes with his plans will have you chuckling out loud.While any of the Myron Bolitar books will leave you wanting more, this one in particular will have you gasping for air at the ending. The story is well crafted and will keep you guessing until the end. Read this book!
Rating:  Summary: Sorry, but it just won't do Review: Like several other reviewers here this was my first encounter with Myron Bolitar and his exceedingly odd group of friends. I actually listened to it on tape, and so was drawn into the generally gripping plot line. When it was over, I did not say "Whew, what a master." But I did think enough of it to pick up "Backspin" and try reading it in print. Within the first 30 pages there were so many unbelievable encounters, bizarre characters, improbable coincidences, and melodramatic incidents that I started re-considering the whole experience.... And discovered that all those reactions applied to this book as well. I won't spoil it for those who wish to give it a go, but Myron's entire circle of acquaintance, and the circumstances in which he finds himself, pass incredulity into fantasy. As another astute reviewer below has put it, it's better than Lutz/Estleman, but not even close to Lawrence Block, let alone the immortal Spenser. And, oh yes: Win vs Hawk? Hawk, no question. Win would be admiring his reflection in Hawk's sunglasses. :>). And please - don't say this review wasn't helpful just because it wasn't positive! Thanks.
Rating:  Summary: A good whodunnit, but more than that it's not Review: Meaning no disrespect to the previous reviewers, this is a perfectly good whodunnit -- better than most, with a good twist ending -- but a great book it isn't. Some of the comedy works, but plenty of it lands thuddingly; some of the scenes are clever, but plenty are off-the-rack stuff out of a thousand PI movies; some of the character business feels real, but plenty feels only 2.5-dimensional. Coben is doing good work, better than Lutz/Estleman/Pronzini, but not better than Lawrence Block, not better than Jerome Doolittle, and for heaven's sake certainly not on par with the classics. Not to say you won't enjoy this book if you buy it, but it's not as fabulous as all the other reviewers seem to think.
Rating:  Summary: Myron Bolitar Series Continues Winning Streak Review: Myron Bolitar is nominally a sports agent, but spends most of his time investigating murders and missing persons cases. Myron is joined by his friend Win in the investigation of a murder involving the star player of a new basketball league; Myron and Win are ex-college roommates and ex-government agents. The usual Bolitar cast of characters are also present in the novel, including Esperanza and Jessica, the most important women in Myron's life. Harlan Coben knows how to write snappy, witty dialogue, and adds good local New Jersey color. Several plot points may remind readers of an earlier Bolitar novel, DROP SHOT, but it is the interaction between the characters that makes the book, not the whodunnit aspects.
Rating:  Summary: Caution:Genius At Work Review: Often injured, former professional basketball player Myron Bolitar still misses the fame of being a white man who could jump. However, he has somewhat adjusted by becoming a sports agent, who reluctantly spends more time protecting his company's clients from threats than from drumming up new business. He is hired to serve as a bodyguard for Brenda Slaughter, the star of the new WNBA, a women's professional basketball league. Brenda has been receiving death threats and everyone associated with the new league is taking these warnings very seriously. However, soon Brenda's estranged father is murdered and the police look to the rising superstar as the prime suspect. Myron begins to investigate the killing and the threats to his client. However, several individuals have motives to both eliminate Brenda's father and do likewise to the hoops star if she fails to cooperate. ONE FALSE MOVE is the fifth Bolitar mystery. Like its predecessors, this novel is a well-written, fun to read tale about murder, big money, and sports. Myron is an intriguing semi-professional sleuth (former government experience) who can slam dunk a story line with the best sleuths. However, it is the support cast, especially the female athletes, who are brilliantly handled by Harlan Coben, that turns this book into must read by fans of sports mysteries, amateur sleuths, and great wit. Mr.Coben is a brilliant master storyteller Harriet Klausner
Rating:  Summary: Bolitar Scores Again! Review: Once again, Harlan Coben and Myron Bolitar are true to form. The witty Bolitar finds himself invloved in a mystery involving murder, a disappearance from twenty years ago and political intrigue. Along with his sidekick Win, he cracks the case, while giving the reader a jolly good time. Hard to put down!
Rating:  Summary: Bolitar Scores Again! Review: Once again, Harlan Coben and Myron Bolitar are true to form. The witty Bolitar finds himself invloved in a mystery involving murder, a disappearance from twenty years ago and political intrigue. Along with his sidekick Win, he cracks the case, while giving the reader a jolly good time. Hard to put down!
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