Fade Away (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
by Harlan Coben
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Book Reviews of Fade Away (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
Book Review: Four and a half stars...
Summary: 4 Stars
I've read a few Harlan Coben books recently and I have thoroughly enjoyed his Myron Bolitar series. In Fade Away, he definitely raises the bar and moves from being not just an entertaining mystery writer, but also a well-written one.
Myron Bolitar is a 32 year old lawyer who runs his own sports agency. At one time, he was one of the top college players in the country. But after being drafted by the Celtics, he blows his knee out in a preseason scrimmage and his potential career is history. Now, the owner and general manager of the New Jersey Dragons want him to find one of their stars, Greg Downing, who has gone missing right before tournaments are to begin. In order not to raise suspicions, they place Bolitar on the team so that he can better investigate what has happened. Downing and Bolitar have been in competition since they were in high school, and it wasn't always about basketball. Bolitar finds many reasons for the possible disappearance of Downing that range from compulsive gambling to possible murder.
When I first started reading Coben, I thought the characters were a little too much like Robert Parker's Spenser and Hawk. But I've come to appreciate them on a new level. As a person who has played and coached basketball, Coben is right on in his observations about the game and the players. In describing Bolitar's complicated relationship with Downing, he says "there is a special bond between competitors. Kinda like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. You become defined by one another. It was like that with Greg and me. It was unspoken, but we both knew the bond was there." TC, the other Dragon star tells Bolitar about the price of being a star. " The real price is you ain't a person anymore. You're just a thing, a shiny thing like one of these Benzes out there. The poor brothers think I'm a golden ladder with goodies at every step up. The rich white boys think I'm a fancy pet."
The plot in Fade Away is also much more intricate than usual, and the ending has a stunner of a surprise. I never saw it coming. The one thing that kept me from giving it five stars is that the plot line where Bolitar is recruited to play is a big stretch. Otherwise, this was a pretty awesome book.
Book Review: Mini-Review of "Fade Away" by Harlan Coben
Summary: 5 Stars
I continue with my summer of reading my way through most of Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels. Bolitar and his cadre of colorful compatriots are beginning to feel like old friends. Picking up one of these novels feels like putting on an old and comfortable pair of running shoes.
In "Fade Away," Bolitar finds himself back in the word of professional basketball. His career, ended during his Boston Celtics' NBA rookie camp by a devastating knee injury, is given a brief reincarnation when he is signed to a contract with the New Jersey team - replacing an injured and missing player - Bolitar's old rival and nemesis, Greg Downing. Bolitar and company set out to find Downing, and in the process, Myron uncovers the painful truth about his own injury - suffered in a collision with a player who seemed to be intent on hurting him. The fact that Greg Downing's ex-wife was once in love with Bolitar adds intrigue and texture to this fascinating plot. The usual Cobenesque assotrment of thugs and ne'er-do-wells added just the right pinch of spice to keep the action fast-paced and fascinating.
In addition to Coben's always crisp and wry writing style, he explores with sensitivity the complex web of emotions that entangle an athlete as he struggles to walk away from the sport that had been the single focus of his life.
In this excerpt, the narrator describes the two loves of Bolitar's life:
"Funny being back in Ridgewood. Jessica had grown up here. She didn't like coming back any more, but now the two loves of his life - Jessica and Emily - had something else in common: the village of Ridgewood. That could be listed to the list of commonalities between the two women - stuff like meeting Myron, being courted by Myron, falling in love with Myron, crushing Myron's heart like a tomato under a stiletto heel. The usual fare." (Page 22)
"Fade Away" is nothing but net!
Enjoy!
Al
Book Review: Buy now, before advice to read Coben books memory fades away
Summary: 4 Stars
Note - Read this novel before Coben's novel titled Darkest Fear, otherwise a lot of this book's plot is given away in that novel. This is another novel in the continuing Myron Bolitar and Win thriller crime series. I made the mistake of reading Darkest Fear first as I did not even know there was a Bolitar series as it was not mentioned on the cover of that book (or this one for that matter) which was my first Bolitar book. So be aware that my rating and comparison to other books in this series may be tainted because of that.
Like all Coben books this is a great read. It isn't the best of Coben's novels that I have read or even the best Bolitar series book for that matter however I did enjoy it. You certainly don't need to have read any other books of his to enjoy this as a stand alone novel but there are other previous books in the series before this so you may get more out of this novel if you read them first.
In this adventure Myron is asked by Clip, the manager of the NBA team, the New Jersey Dragons, to find out the whereabouts of his star player Greg Downing. Greg Downing is incidentally Myron's arch nemesis and former rival but the offer to play for the Dragons as well as a heap of money makes Myron overlook any hesitancies he may have had to take the job. The discovery of a murder victim puts the police spotlight on Greg as well so Myron must find out what the deal is as well as avoid those of an unscrupulous nature who also wish to find him.
Book Review: Another great mystery featuring Myron Bolitar
Summary: 5 Stars
When Myron Bolitar, a sports rep and one time first round draft to the NBA, is signed on by the New Jersey Dragons it isn't so that he can make a comeback. In fact, Bolitar has been signed to track down his teammate and former arch-rival Greg Downing. What he doesn't know when he accepts the job is that far from being a simple missing persons case, this becomes a murder hunt. But, who is the victim, who killed her, what is their motive and, why is someone attempting to blackmail not only Greg, and the team but also Myron himself?Full of twists and turns the third book in Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series is also full of the usual witty dialogue. Although Myron is of course the protagonist in this story numerous appearances are made by other familiar characters, Jessica, Esperanza, Big Cyndi, Myron's parents and of course Win, and it's great to follow what's going on with them. Don't think that you have to have read the earlier Bolitar books to get into this though, it's a great stand alone novel but once you've read it I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to read the rest.
I initially bought this book to pass time on a train journey but still found myself reading it that evening long after I was home and I finished it the following day. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery novel. If you're new to Coben I'd say read these great books and then don't miss his great thriller Tell No One.
Book Review: Nothing but net - almost
Summary: 4 Stars
There's a t-shirt that says "The older I get, the better I was." In "Fade Away", Myron finally gets his chance at the NBA - when he's hired to take the place of a missing superstar (who just happens to have been his rival when he played hoops). It's all an undercover job to try to locate the missing star. But when blood turns up in the player's home, things get complicated.Complicated is a good word to describe this, the third book of the Myron Bolitar series. The first half of the book moves along pretty cleanly. The second half brings in numerous complications and red herrings -- maybe more than was absolutely necessary. And the ending, in classic Coben style, is strictly out of left field (although, as usual, it makes sense in hindsight).
Critical acclaim for the book includes awards for best paperback of the year from both the Edgar and Shamus folks. It was also nominated for the Anthony and Dilys book for the year. But the reason I like this series is the wit and humor. Myron and Win belong to my late boomer generation and I love the references to that culture. The wisecracking and the inuendos are also lots of fun. And, what can I say, I'm a woman who likes sports. It's nice to read a combination of mystery and sports.