Fade Away (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
by Harlan Coben
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Book Reviews of Fade Away (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
Book Review: Coben "Articulates" Quite Well In This Book
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, even Win would have to agree with my title. Once again, Harlan Coben takes us on a remarkable journey with former fed turned sports' agent, Myron Bolitar.Anyone who ever had a dream of playing professional sports, but fell short, would truly appreciate this book. Bolitar, injured in his first professional basketball pre-season game, gets his chance once again several years later. He is signed on to play in the NBA in hopes of finding his old college rivalry, Greg Downing, who has recently disappeared.
The plot twists and shocking discoveries are a plenty, as several times, my eyes seemed to have popped out of their sockets to join my jaw on the floor. This story is well-developed, and the characters are so nicely defined, the book just flows one smooth page after another.
The best part of this book, as well as all other Coben books, is the witty and often hilarious dialogue. I can easily see this appearing on the "silver screen," but for the purposes of the book, it is perfect. It makes for very entertaining reading.
Coben does a masterful job of tying all of his characters together, and the ending is so surprising, you can't help but enjoy the book. FADE AWAY is a can't miss.
Book Review: Just Plain Enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
In this 3rd Myron Bolitar mystery, Myron finally realises his dream of playing NBA basketball, although the circumstances aren't exactly how he would have expected to gain the start. As with all of the Myron Bolitar books, the tone is light while the content is actually a little more serious. The interplay between Myron and Win, and Myron and Esperanza is always a highlight of these books, and certainly doesn't disappoint in this one.Myron is asked by the owner of the New Jersey Dragons to search for the missing star player, Greg Downing. Myron has a history with Downing, which plays a bit of a part with Myron being hired for the job. While searching for Downing, he can't let on to anyone that Downing is actually missing, making the job particularly difficult. His search uncovers numerous surprises, which threatens Myron's hard won acceptance of past failures.
This is a fast-paced thriller that continues on what is a very entertaining series. It's better to have read the earlier books, if only to get a better idea of how the characters have come to depend on each other and why they put up with their behaviour. It's also worth reading the others because they're all just plain enjoyable reading.
Book Review: Witty dialogue, but there's some story problems
Summary: 3 Stars
Ok. Don't get me wrong. I'm a MB fan and I thoroughly enjoy the freshness of Coben's writing. Fade Away does a very good job of bringing out the details of the series back story, especially with HC's deft use of dialogue. But, I thought there were some serious holes in the story. First, Greg was supposed to have this job driving taxis. It was an unnecessary storypoint--one that was summarily ignored during any of the investigations.I guess I should read the MB series as thrillers rather than mysteries. HC doesn't create a puzzle for you to solve. No clever clues to point you to the killer.
As I progress through the series, I'm finding Win to be more and more of a superfiscial prop to the story--nothing more than a utility "black ops" mercenary. I think it's rather sad to have a crutch like the Win character to rely on for nearly anything having to do with lock picking, number tracing, or blowing off a bad guy's head.
Book Review: Best of a not quite first-rate series
Summary: 4 Stars
This Bolitar novel, #3 is pretty clearly just a little deeper than the others, while still maintaining all the peripheral features that make the series so fun. Typical characteristics include lots of characters, very intricate plotting, a few startling revelations, a great deal of generally dry humor, and ongoing relationships which Coben is careful to add to and change a little within each installment. That's all here, and the basketball angle which dredges up Bolitar's past is more compelling than the personal angle of the other books in the series - with the exception of the most recent, where it's pretty heavy. My two quibbles with the series are (1) that Win, the sidekick, extends the Hawk/Meyer tradition even further out into the realm of total implausibility, and (2) one gets the impression that Coben uses substantially the same diagram for the plots of all his books, particularly the later ones. Still, much fun.Book Review: HARLAN HAS DONE IT AGAIN!
Summary: 5 Stars
First and foremost, I do NOT consider myself a reader of mysteries, UNLESS of course, they are written by Harlan Coben. "Fade Away" is a wonderful example of what a writer can do with character development in a book series. With each book, we learn a little more about Myron Bolitar and what makes him tick - and we always like what we learn. This is the third of Coben's "Myron Bolitar" mysteries that I have read and each one just gets better. By now, I have learned to not try to figure out whodunnit before Myron does, because I will fail misrably. Coben tosses you red herrings like you were a performing seal at SeaWorld. And you will gobble each one up, with enthusiasm! Honestly, I resist the urge to read all of the Bolitar novels at once (even tho' I own them all). Coben's books are like Godiva Chocolates. You love them so much you just hate to gulp them down all at once.