Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

Val Penny ♦ May 29, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Harlan Coben was born in 1965 to a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, USA.  He is an American author of thrillers and mystery novels.  The plots of his novels often involve the re-surfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events of the past including murders and fatal accidents.  They also often have a multiple plot twists.  He studied Political Science at Amherst College in New York, he decided he wanted to write, indeed, he was in the same fraternity as Dan Brown.  He now lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD and their four children.

Harlan Coben has won the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Anthony Award and the Shamus Award for various of his novels.  His essays and columns have appeared in the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomsberg Views.

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In Deal Breaker Sports agent Myron Bolitar is on the edge of the big time he has secured Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback as a client.   However,  when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone believes is dead, things start to turn sour.   Myron finds himself up against the dark side of his business where image and talent make you rich, but the truth can be dangerous as he tries to unravel the truth about a family’s tragedy, a woman’s secret, and a man’s lies.   So when Christian is being drafted by the Titans nude pictures of Christian’s missing girlfriend have surfaced and the Titan’s manager is threatening to release them publicly unless Myron has his client agree to a pretty lousy deal.   Christian’s girlfriend, Kathy Culver, is also the sister of Myron’s ex-girlfriend Jessica, who asks him to investigate. Kathy has been missing for two years.

Myron is a great character: he has an interesting but mysterious background and lifestyle.  His partner, Win, is a blue blooded scary guy and his assistant, Esperanza, is a former wrestling str.  This investigation takes many twists and turns with a few revelations along the way.

Harlan Coben writes novels full of wit and suspense and he has created a most fascinating, complex hero in Myron Bolitar.  He is a hotheaded, tenderhearted sports agent who grows increasingly engaging and unpredictable.  In Deal Breaker, the investigation moves at the right pace and kept me guessing at each turn.  It was not easy to work out the result of case: the clues were all there for the reader to deduce the ending.   I really enjoyed this book and will read more by this author.

Valerie Penny