The Final Detail

Rating:
Summary: Grand Slam! It's Outta Here!
Review: The last we saw Myron (One False Move) he was driving away from a rainy cemetary and Jessica. One was left with the feeling Myron had never felt as sad as he did at that one lonely moment. Fans worldwide worried about their hero. Where would he go? What would he do to get himself out of this funk? Once *The Final Detail* hit the shelves, they found they worried needlessly.

After Esperanza is arrested for murdering a MB client, Win finds Myron *recovering* on a remote Caribbean island. Myron has been there amongst the missing for 3 weeks, accompanied by a woman he barely knew, with neither telling anyone where they were going, and Win found them. Then again if you've been keeping track and know Win he could locate a single flea in a massive herd of buffalo. Pulling himself up and out of his self-imposed "I Don't Know What To Do With My Life" seclusion, Myron heads back to civilization to help his best friend in her time of need.

All the usual suspects resurface Sally Li, Big Cyndi, Mom and Dad, and of course Frank Ache Jr, mobster son at large with his various assortment of muscled goons.

Readers will be surprised to see a tad more of Win's feelings surface this round. If one can use the term for Win, the everpresent reality ground for Myron.

All in all this is one of Coben's best in his series. A page turner from start to finish, leaving readers to ponder one thing . . . when the next installment is due out.

Here's to great believable characters,

Barbara

Rating:
Summary: More, more marvellous Mryon
Review: There are worse things a guy can do when his life and business are falling apart around him. Alone in the Caribbean with a luscious brunette, sports promoter Myron Bolitar is however relieved to be dragged away from his island escapade and delivered back into the real world. His best buddy Win believes there's a lot of music Myron has to face - clients leaving in droves, upset family and friends, the usual array of thugs wanting to rearrange his pretty face and the news that his business partner and other best friend, Esperanza Diaz, has been charged with the murder. The deceased happens to be a client too, so hey, double bad news.

What Myron can't understand is why Esperanza is shutting him out. She's not allowing Myron or anyone connected with him to help find whoever it is that killed Clu Haid, recovering sports star and all round schmuck. Those who know Esperanza well - yes they know she's capable but know that she wouldn't have done it. One of MB Sportsrep's biggest clients had trusted Myron to take care of their newest recruit and said recruit winding up dead is not the best start to a business relationship. Adding to the murk and chaos that is Myron's life is one missing girl. Someone is anonymously pushing Myron to investigate, and it can't be a co-incidence that all roads are leading squarely back to number one, Mr Bolitar himself.

It just isn't possible to read a book of this series and not stock up on your witty one liners, coming away with the feeling that if you ever needed someone smart to hit the bars with, Harlan Coben and his snappy dialogue would be first choice. Every page is full of the delicious smart aleck lines that Myron and Win effortlessly deliver, and all secondary characters are pretty quick on the delivery too. "The Final Detail" is not the awesomely moving novel it has been described as, but it is a very good read in an excellent series. There is so much going on in Myron's life that you could isolate any sub plot and build a story around it; Coben manages to serve it all up at once. Myron Bolitar is a classic character no crime collection should be without, and if some of his arrested development begins to annoy, there are plenty of other unique characters in Bolitar world that will capture and hold your fascination.





Rating:
Summary: Not as action packed as previous Myron novels
Review: This is not the usual can't put down, forget what's on TV, call in sick so you can finish it Myron Bolitar adventure. Most Myron adventures are full of action and although there is a small amount in this novel this book is a more of a get to know a bit more about the lives and past of supporting characters which haven't been explored in great detail in previous novels such as Myron's dad, Esperanza, Big Cyndi and even Myron. Although Win is in this novel, he is really mostly a conversationalist in this one seeing very little action at all. Myron even decides Yoo-Hoo is no longer his favourite drink in this book. It is almost as if fans have demanded another Myron Sequel and Coben has run out of ideas so has just decided to release more information on the other characters with a basic plot to tie it together. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the Bolitar series and have immensely enjoyed them all but I don't think this one is up there in quality, suspense or the other aspects that made those great.

Whilst during the third quarter of the book you do experience the don't want to stop, can't put the book down experience, that does unfortunately die out and it certainly never was there before that part of the book. I hate to say it but in some parts there is so much uninteresting talking amongst characters that you are willing them to hurry up and get on to the next scene. I think Coben should concentrate on the independent masterpieces he is writing for the moment until he can come up with better adventures for Myron. It is a great series and like Patterson's Alex Cross series you don't want to read novels forced out to appease impatient fans and publishers which lessen the overall quality of the collection.

Anyway the basic plot for this novel is Myron has taken off for a lengthy period of time to a deserted island without telling clients or friends with anchor woman Terese Collins. Meanwhile one of his clients Clu Haid, is found with a bullet hole in head and his MB SportsReps partner and best friend, Esperanza is in custody awaiting trial for his murder. She also no longer wants to have anything to do with Myron.

This book I would only recommend to fans of the series. The Myron Bolitar books are sensational and you have to check out the seires. Definitely do not start either your Coben or Myron Bolitar experience with this novel. With the Bolitar books I would highly recommend starting at the first book Deal Breaker, as parts of the plots of earlier books are given away in novels which follow earlier ones in the series. Coben's indenpendant books are masterpieces, check them out as well.

Rating:
Summary: Not as action packed as previous Myron novels
Review: This is not the usual can't put down, forget what's on TV, call in sick so you can finish it Myron Bolitar adventure. Most Myron adventures are full of action and although there is a small amount in this novel this book is a more of a get to know a bit more about the lives and past of supporting characters which haven't been explored in great detail in previous novels such as Myron's dad, Esperanza, Big Cyndi and even Myron. Although Win is in this novel, he is really mostly a conversationalist in this one seeing very little action at all. Myron even decides Yoo-Hoo is no longer his favourite drink in this book. It is almost as if fans have demanded another Myron Sequel and Coben has run out of ideas so has just decided to release more information on the other characters with a basic plot to tie it together. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the Bolitar series and have immensely enjoyed them all but I don't think this one is up there in quality, suspense or the other aspects that made those great.

Whilst during the third quarter of the book you do experience the don't want to stop, can't put the book down experience, that does unfortunately die out and it certainly never was there before that part of the book. I hate to say it but in some parts there is so much uninteresting talking amongst characters that you are willing them to hurry up and get on to the next scene. I think Coben should concentrate on the independent masterpieces he is writing for the moment until he can come up with better adventures for Myron. It is a great series and like Patterson's Alex Cross series you don't want to read novels forced out to appease impatient fans and publishers which lessen the overall quality of the collection.

Anyway the basic plot for this novel is Myron has taken off for a lengthy period of time to a deserted island without telling clients or friends with anchor woman Terese Collins. Meanwhile one of his clients Clu Haid, is found with a bullet hole in head and his MB SportsReps partner and best friend, Esperanza is in custody awaiting trial for his murder. She also no longer wants to have anything to do with Myron.

This book I would only recommend to fans of the series. The Myron Bolitar books are sensational and you have to check out the seires. Definitely do not start either your Coben or Myron Bolitar experience with this novel. With the Bolitar books I would highly recommend starting at the first book Deal Breaker, as parts of the plots of earlier books are given away in novels which follow earlier ones in the series. Coben's indenpendant books are masterpieces, check them out as well.

Rating:
Summary: Let's Get With It, Folks!
Review: This is series writing at its best! Harlen Coben has created the most realistic, complex, likeable, yet human, character in crime fiction. Myron Bolitar is somebody I'd like to meet and get to know. Sure, he has his faults; that's what makes him so interesting! All the novels have been layered with brilliant plotting, clever denouements, and some of the most fleshed out characters I've ever had the pleasure to read. This one is a gripping and suspenseful entry in this wonderful series! Harlan should try and put out two of these a year, they're so good. Of course, if that would mean sacrificing the incomparable quality, I guess I'll just have to wait for my yearly fix. By the way, my wife introduced me to Harlan about eight months ago, and I read all of his books at once. I see now why she was so anxious to get his books once a year. I had the pleasure of getting them all at once! Keep up the amazingly good work, Mr. Coben. I may be your greatest NEW fan!

Rating:
Summary: Good stuff, good stuff (4.5 stars)
Review: This is the first book by Harlan Coben I've read (it was the only one of his on the library shelf). All in all, most enjoyable! The wry humor is right on key; the characters are wonderfully drawn and empathetic; the wisdom sparse, but good old down-to-earth common sense; a fast read with great dialogue.

Mr. Coben incorporates amazing humanity into his characters -- even the 'bad guys.' As Myron learns about right and wrong, rarely is the delineation between the good guys and bad guys without a little fuzziness. They're all people doing the best they can given their particular circumstances. In the end, even Myron himself wonders if he's no longer one of the 'good guys.'

So why only 4.5 stars? The ending was a let-down. Also, there are references to past events that don't make much sense. Certainly, I don't expect the whole story. But often, just one more sentence would've satisfied me. Eh, minor complaint.

Will I read the rest of the Myron Bolitar series? You betcha!

Rating:
Summary: Myron has become a bore
Review: What's up with Myron's indecisiveness? I don't get it. In this volume, he's almost cartoonish in his pining for Jess one minute then claiming he cared for Brenda the next. I don't buy it. In previous volumes he was endearing and compelling, drawn by the author as someone with great courage and pathos. In this volume, Myron is a blithering idiot trying to get sympathy. Half way through the book, Myron's sniveling finally got on my nerves, much the same way it seemed to get on Win's nerves several times in this episode, and I put the book away for a few weeks to keep from burning it without finishing it. The author seems to be getting tired of Myron, so Myron has become tiresome. I read all the other books in the series and feel that Coben has created a fine group of characters, but lacks the guts to let them really explore themselves and the world. Why doesn't he let them take any real chances? Can you imagine the possibilities if Myron had married Brenda or Esperanza? We would be in uncharted territory.

Coben seems to have a problem opening Myron, Win, and Esperanza, and exploring them. They don't develop. They don't grow. Take for instance, Coben's treatment of Myron's reactions to Big Cyndi. His reactions to the woman have been horrible and mean since Big Cyndi was introduced. It's indicative, in my opinion, of a lack of imagination. There are no surprises in this book. No matter how many plot twists and unexpected connections are manufactured for the characters, none of them seem worth saving. I kept hoping every one of them would die like Brenda in the previous book.

Another example of Coben's loss of fire is the so-called deep friendship between Esperanza and Myron. What friendship? I've never seen any indication that he likes her very much. Myron's preoccupied and turned off by her bisexuality, but keeps trying to make it look like acceptance. Most of the time she's annoyed at him and he's patronizing her. Regardless of what the author tries to make us think, it doesn't feel like they even like each other, much less love each other. While I'm on the subject of mixed emotions, why would Coben create a fully realized, attractive, interesting character like Brenda Slaughter and then kill her off? She was a med student and a basketball player, attractive, sexually adventurous, smart, and funny. She was a far more three-dimensional character than Jessica, yet the fact that "the witch" will resurface throughout the series mystifies me. Jessica is Not interesting. She doesn't do anything but make quixotic decisions that send stupid Myron into a tail spin. So what if she's beautiful. She has as much literary appeal as road kill. As described, she is neither beautiful or intelligent, just bookish and opportunistic. She's a typical yuppie puppy (with connections) who seems to have no empathy or compassion for anyone, and, on many levels, seems to like to keep Myron around simply because she can count on him not having the fortitude to drop her. He's her lap dog. In my opinion, Coben's trying to make the reader believe Myron loves her just because he wants us to think of Myron as loyal. Hey, Coben, its been on and off for 10 years and Myron can't make up his friggin' mind? It's not worth the ink, Coben. Let Myron have an ounce of pride and give her up or marry her or kill her or something. Anything but more of nothing. Even if Myron's not through with her, I am. I haven't read the latest book, and refuse to spend a dime on it if Jess is in it, but I am curious if Myron shows any of the backbone we glimpsed in some of the earlier books. I'm also curious to see if Coben will ever provide more solidity/depth to his characters and their stories.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: Yes, yes, yes. What a guy. I recommend this to all mystery fans. Myron, Win, Big Cyndi, Myron's parents, it all comes together. Get ready to dig in and read read read.