Live Wire - Hardcover

Coben, Harlan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1409112527 ISBN 13: 9781409112525

Publisher: Orion, 2011

Synopsis

Over the years, Myron Bolitar has walked a tight rope between sports agent, friend, problem solver and private eye, his big heart quick to defend his clients' interests so fiercely that he can't help but jump in to save them, no matter the cost to his own happiness.

So when former tennis star Suzze T and her rock star husband, Lex, encounter an anonymous Facebook post questioning the paternity of their unborn child, Lex runs off, and Suzze - at eight months pregnant - asks Myron to save her marriage, and perhaps her husband's life. But when he finds Lex, he also finds two people he wasn't looking for: his sister-in-law, Kitty, wife of Myron's estranged brother, and her teenage son, Mickey, who is achingly familiar. But this boy that he has never met blames Myron for everything that has happened to his parents...

As Myron races to locate his missing brother while their father clings to life after a savage heart-attack, he must face the lies that led to the estrangement long ago - including the ones told by Myron himself. He must also answer the questions that Mickey's arrival has thrown up. Who is Myron Bolitar really? And can he heal the damage of the past?

We thought we knew Myron, but Harlan Coben now shows us we never did. An electric, stay-up-all night thriller that unfolds at a breakneck pace, Live Wire proves that Coben still has the ability to shock us anew.

About this title

Review:

It was only matter of time before Facebook and other electronic social media found their way into thrillers – as they do with Live Wire. For some years, Harlan Coben has been situated firmly at the top of the tree in the crime and thriller stakes, and each new outing consolidates his already enviable reputation. So far, there have been no missteps (not something every bestselling crime writer can claim), and Live Wire is another example of his command writing. Coben’s engaging protagonist Myron Bolivar is back in the thick of things again in this one. But the author has something special up his sleeve here for his beleaguered hero.

A Facebook posting sets out destructive claims about who the father of a child yet to be born. On the receiving end of the questionable revelations are ex-tennis champion Suzze T and her retired rock star partner Lex. Lex deserts his pregnant lover, and the distressed Suzze calls on private eye-cum-sports agent Myron Bolitar, hoping he can retrieve her relationship. More is, in fact, at stake – including, it seems, the life of the errant Lex. And Myron’s private life is in its customary jumbled state. He runs into his sister-in-law Kitty (married to a brother who has broken off contact with Myron) and the couple’s teenage son Micky. The boy rages at Myron, who he considers responsible for his parents’ estrangement. So Myron has multiple problems: sorting out the chaos caused by the unpleasant Facebook posting, saving the life of Lex and curing his own headaches over his warring relatives. From this busy premise, Live Wire goes off at a surprising tangent, with Myron even confronting an existential question: his own shifting identity.

Coben’s dialogue here fizzles like the best vintage crime fiction, and Myron remains one of the strongest characters in the genre. As always, the sense of place is crucial with the author: the settings here have a pungency that leaps off the page. But it’s the plotting that really grabs the interest – along with what we learn about Myron, which changes the face of this entertaining sequence of books decisively – and permanently. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

LIVE WIRE... shows Coben to be a master of intricate plot-weaving. Twists come thick and fast, and there's an immediate re-readability as you attempt to unravel the tangled web of events. (SHORTLIST)

Classic Coben: witty and twisty.***** (Boyd Hilton HEAT)

Compelling, hard-edged and wryly funny (SUNDAY SPORT)

'Coben's dialogue is as punchy and readable as ever... another novel that will manage both to raise the heart rate and serve as a relaxing treat.' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY - Novels for Summer)

Cunningly plotted and dependably entertaining (EVENING STANDARD)

The twists and turns of the clever plot will keep you guessing until the final showdown. (BELLA)

Bestselling writer Harlan Coben dazzles us yet again with a pacy thriller that's hard to put down. ***** (STAR MAGAZINE)

Coben's 10th Myron Bolitar novel is a perfect 10: providing readers with new information about the past of the former athlete turned agent and owner of MB Reps; a satisfyingly complex mystery (PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY)

Newcomers to Coben will find "Live Wire" a great starting point, and fans will be awe-struck with this latest novel, wondering how Coben maintains such a high level of excellence. (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR)

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1409112527
• ISBN 13: 9781409112525
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384