Harlan Coben novels — Myron and Mickey Bolitar + other thrillers

Another Book Bub series involves a guy with an interesting career, Myron Bolitar. I had heard of the author, Harlan Coben, through a number of movie and television series made from his novels, the most famous being Tell No One, a 2006 French film that my son Sam and I both loved. 

Deal Breaker. Book 1

This series stars Myron Bolitar, former intelligence agent and current sports agent. He’s a former basketball star whose injury just as he was going pro led him to an alternate career. Now he’s using his sports acumen to recruit athletes for his agency along with partners Win and Esperanza, each of whom have really fun back stories. Myron has just inked his first big client, a promising young quarterback. Dealing with an unscrupulous agent and a missing, presumed dead, girlfriend who resurfaces in quarterback Christian Steele’s life leads Myron to secrets, lies, and murders. A soft-core porn magazine is delivered to Steele, and one of the phone sex employee’s pictures is of his missing girlfriend Kathy. And there’s also Myron’s true love, the heart-breaker Jessica, who just happens to be Kathy’s sister. Twists and turns abound.

Drop Shot. Book 2

The US Open is the setting for this novel, in which a former tennis star is murdered in the crowd during a tennis match. Myron is drawn in by the sad story of Valerie Simpson, a teen who was on her way to greatness. Her death leads to an investigation of her past and why she suddenly lost her edge on the tennis court. And Myron’s tennis client Duane is also part of the mystery.

Fade Away. Book 3

An arch rival from his college basketball days, Greg Downing has also married Myron’s first love, Emily. Greg had gone on to play NBA basketball even as Myron went to law school after a career-ending injury. Now Greg is missing, and Myron is asked to find out what happened. With the help of Win, his college roommate and best friend, and Esperanza, a former wrestler and also good friend, Myron

follows a trail of blood and deceit that leads to revelations about his own life.

Back Spin. Book 4

When a golf pro couple’s son is kidnapped, Myron is called instead of the police. This disappearance leads to a 23-year-old pro tournament lost by the father — murkiness surrounds the loss. And Myron doesn’t even like golf. 

One False Move. Book 5

Myron agrees to protect Brenda Slaughter, a basketball star whose life is in danger for reasons possibly related to the disappearance of her father and the desertion of her mother. She’s not happy with the whole bodyguard thing, but their relationship eventually becomes more than professional. The Mafia has a tie to all of this, and it’s up to Myron to figure it all out and save Brenda.

The Final Detail. Book 6

Myron has escaped to a tropical island after the horrific event that ended the previous novel. He is with the beautiful Terese, a woman he barely knows but who is also escaping her own demons. These two never talk about their issues; they just engage in fabulous sex for three weeks — supposedly no one knows where they are. However, the ever-resourceful Win finds him because their friend and co-worker from the sports agency, Esperanza, has been charged with the death of their first client, Clu Haid, a relief pitcher. Clu has been a real screw-up, and he’d just been suspended for drug use. Myron sets out to clear Esperanza’s name, but she refuses to give him any information about the clues that make her a suspect. Revelations abound. 

Darkest Fear. Book 7

Emily Downing, his first love, comes back into his life with an urgent request and an unveiled secret — he has a 13-year old son who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. A donor has been found through a database, but the person has mysteriously disappeared. Myron sets out to find him and uncovers a kidnapping spree as well as more things about his own life. It’s a race against time with Myron, Win, Esperanza, and Big Cyndi helping to save his son.

Promise Me. Book 8

Without a thought for any consequences, when Myron overhears two teenaged girls (daughters of acquaintances) talking about drinking, he makes them promise that if they are ever caught in a bad situation but are afraid to call their parents, they will call him. One of the girls takes him up on his offer but then disappears. The situation is a really bad one — 40-something guy picks up teenaged-girl who then disappears. Things look bad for Myron, but his friends help him find the girl and in the process clear his name. 

Long Lost. Book 9

Myron’s friend Terese calls from Paris in desperate need of help. As he tries to make sense of the seeming discovery of her long-dead daughter, both of them reveal the secrets that took them to that Caribbean island a few years back. The search for truth leads to global intrigue with Myron once again showing his heroic tendencies.

Live Wire. Book 10

While trying to help his clients, former tennis star Suzze and her rock star husband Lex, Myron becomes entangled with his past since Suzze was best friends with his dead brother’s wife, Kitty, another tennis prodigy who quit when she got pregnant with Mickey, Myron’s mini-me nephew. A murder and a secret island stir up the pot, and Myron also has to deal with his nephew’s hatred due to the lies Myron told to his brother around the time of Mickey’s birth. An organization called Abeona Shelter seems to have sinister ties to Myron’s brother and family. There’s also a tie-in with the Ache family, with whom Myron has had run-ins in previous novels. 

Home. Book 11

Disclaimer — better to read the YA Mickey Bolitar books first, or you’ll be scratching your head at some opening chapter facts about people from Book #10. Anyway, a cold case revolving around two missing boys (one of whom is related to Myron’s friend Win) draws Myron in even though he’s in the midst of getting ready for his wedding to Terese. This final novel addresses the wrestling names given to Big Cyndi and Esperanza, who realize it’s time to move away from the whole wrestling thing. Esperanza is also involved in a custody battle for her son. And there’s nephew Mickey, who has been reunited with his family and demonstrates skills similar to his uncle’s both on and off the basketball court. And Win is part-time narrator in this last in the series.

Shelter. Book 1 Mickey Bolitar

Mickey’s life has fallen apart. After spending most of his childhood traveling the world with his parents, his father is now dead and his mother is in rehab. He’s had to move from California to New Jersey, living with his Uncle Myron, whom he blames for his parents’ estrangement from the family. Just like his uncle, Mickey is a talented basketball player and a curious guy whose Myron-like detecting skills come to light when his girlfriend Ashley disappears. That disappearance sparks more revelations throughout the course of this and the next two novels and results in his finding new friends: “Spoon,” Rachel, and Ema. 

Seconds Away. Book 2 Mickey Bolitar

Does everyone have a scary old lady living nearby? In New Jersey, the “Bat Lady” calls out to Mickey that his father is still alive. With his three new friends, Mickey sets out to determine the truth, stumbling onto the mysterious Abeona Shelter. In the process, one of his friends ends up in the hospital, and Mickey has to turn to his uncle for help. 

Found. Book 3 Mickey Bolitar

This is the final chapter in the Bolitar novels, tied into Book 11 of the Myron Bolitar books. Mickey’s father’s coffin is dug up with inconclusive results. His friend Spoon has been seriously injured, and Mickey’s tryout for the high school basketball team causes more angst because the boys all seem to hate him. And the Abeona Shelter mystery still remains unsolved. The police chief despises both Mickey and his uncle, and the sheriff’s son is a bully and the captain of the basketball team. Lots of twists and turns occur, but all mysteries are finally solved.

Stand-alone novels

Don’t Let Go

This novel, set in NJ, concerns an event that took place 15 years previously and involved Nap Dumas’ girlfriend Maura, his twin brother Leo, and Leo’s girlfriend Diana (whose father also happened to be Nat’s friend and mentor Augie). Seemingly disparate events — his brother and Diana’s deaths in the past along with a “hit” on a high school friend in the present — cause Nap to investigate these events and discover the connection after many twists and turns.

The Boy from the Woods

Another fun, twisty plot from Coben, this one about — surprise — the boy from the woods. Wilde, all grown up, becomes entwined with a bullied teenager, Naomi, who is friends with Wilde’s deceased best friend’s son Matthew. And there’s a Trump-like politician whose fate is somehow connected to both Wilde and Naomi. Oh, and romances blossom, too.

Missing You

Another tale of murder and secrets, this time involving NYPD detective Kat Donovan. While checking out an online dating site, she recognizes a photo of ex-fiancé Jeff, who is on the site under an assumed name. Reaching out to him causes a number of weird events, eventually leading back to the moments surrounding her father’s death. Rounding out an interesting cast of characters is Aqua, her ex’s college roommate, and Stacey, her nubile best friend. Coben’s books are always fun reads.

Play Dead

It’s kinda fun when the author profusely apologizes for publishing his first novel, written 20 years previously. So I went into this knowing that the book would be a little less something than his recent works. Initially, I was rolling my eyes as I read the beginning chapters about beautiful people newlyweds Laura, self-made former model and entrepreneur, and David, a basketball star. When David disappears on the first night of their honeymoon, Laura calls upon her family and friends to help her unravel the mystery surrounding David’s disappearance even though her mother is not thrilled that they eloped. There’s also her fragile sister Gloria and David’s creepy brother Stan to contend with. Many, many twists occur, and I was totally engrossed in the story by the midpoint of the novel. 

Caught

Alleged pedophiles, missing teens, and Princeton University — what could possibly be the connection? You’ll find out as you read another engrossing confection of a novel by Harlan Coben. This time out tv journalist Wendy Tynes exposes a supposed pedophile — but is Dan Mercer truly a predator?  And then there’s the disappearance of high school senior Haley McWaid. Wendy searches for the reality behind the appearances in these situations, and through many plot twists, she discovers many surprising things about the community in which she lives. Coben’s books are always a fun read. 

No Second Chance

Because I’ve bought so many of Coben’s books, I often get discounts on books I haven’t read — this was one of those books. Dr. Marc Seidman, shot by an unknown assailant, wakes up in the hospital to discover that his wife has been murdered and his 6-month-old daughter kidnapped. With his best friend Lenny, he makes it his mission to find his daughter. From giving in to ransom demands to becoming a suspect, Marc fights through a maze of misdirection to discover the truth about that night and subsequent events. A welcome distraction from pandemic times.

Six Years

I got another coupon for a Harlan Coben novel, so I used it for this one. College professor Jake Fisher still hasn’t totally gotten over the marriage of his true love six years ago. When he sees her husband’s obituary in an alumni newsletter, he decides to find out more about the dead man and his now-widow. Going down a rabbit hole of secrets and lies, Jake searches for the real backstory of that marriage and his break-up. Another twisty, turny adventure with Coben.

Tell No One

Eight years ago, Dr. David Beck’s wife disappeared, and he still re-lives the sounds of her screams as she was taken. Now a message appears on his computer, using words that only he and his supposedly dead wife used, along with a warning to “tell no one.” As a result, he embarks on a twisty, turny journey trying to discover the truth of his wife’s disappearance.

**made into a film