LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben
There are some authors whose name on a book means enjoyable reading. No matter what story they write it is going to be well plotted, full of good characters, and guaranteed to hold your interest from beginning to end. Such a writer is Harlan Coben. Whether he is writing a stand alone mystery or one featuring his favorite continuing character Myron Bolitar, the quality of the work is always the same – excellent. Such is the case with his new Myron Bolitar novel LIVE WIRE.
Myron is a sport’s agent. His financial partner is a man named Win Lockwood III. Together these two present brain and brawn in their dealings as “MB Reps.” One of their clients is a former top ranked professional tennis player named Suzze T (Trevantino). Suzze tells Myron she needs his help. She and her husband Lex are expecting their first child and someone has gone on Facebook claiming the child is not his.
Myron agrees to help her out and this leads to a sighting of his brother’s wife Kitty. Myron has not spoken to his brother Brad for many, many years. They had a falling out when Kitty told Brad some things about Myron that were not true. There is also a link between Kitty and Suzze T in that they were young tennis players on the circuit together.
Myron wants to make things right between himself and Brad so he searches for Kitty to lead him to Brad. He also wants to meet his nephew Mickey. There also is the fact that his parents are getting older and want the brothers to reconcile. Still Kitty stands between Myron and a reconciliation with his brother. She seems to be back to her addictive ways and is not willing to reveal even where Brad is living.
All of these interwoven family problems are made more complicated by a couple of murders that occur. Myron soon finds himself up to his neck in problems that are more than just relational. He has to protect himself, his client and his family.
Coben knows exactly how to handle all these interweaving relationships and occurrences. He also knows how to heighten the dramatic, and to soften situations by using humor. He is a writer of complex plots who knows when and how to simplify.
Myron Bolitar is one of Coben’s best creations. He appreciates relationships, is always there to help a friend, and knows the importance of family. Any work of Coben’s that places him front and center is definitely a book worth reading, and LIVE WIRE has him solidly in the forefront.
LIVE WIRE is published by Dutton. It contains 384 pages and sells for $27.95.