Bob Moyer had this review ready to go on the book’s publication date, but his editor (me) was off living the high life in Sin City at that time. I’ve now unpacked, done laundry and caught up on my sleep, so here it is.
Reviewed by Robert P. Moyer
THINK TWICE. By Harlan Coben. Grand Central Publishing. 368 pages. $30.
After a lengthy hiatus, Myron Bolitar has returned to his business as a sports agent and sleuth, all in the same time and place. A big hit for Coben for 11 books before this one, Bolitar and Coben were on top of the thriller world for some time. A star basketball player whose career was destroyed in his first pro game, Bolitar made himself into an agent who watched over his superclients closely, and solved many a fascinating crime when things went awry. Coben created a series with an engaging protagonist, a fast pace, and intricate plots that keep the reader guessing right up to the end.
And then he moved to New Jersey. He retired Myron, and started writing books that were even bigger successes, suburban mysteries made into Netflix series, for heaven’s sake.
But—he’s back. Before Myron can even settle into his palatial office owned by his Batman-like bro Win, the FBI has wrenched him into a mystery and his past. They want to know where one of his first clients, nemesis, and father to his son (Coben explains carefully), is — he’s wanted for murder. The problem is — the guy is dead.
At least, he was declared dead years ago. Now, Myron and Win set off to find out if he’s alive, and could he have committed the two murders? Or are there other murders linked to the first two? Were they the first two? Coben makes it all feasible and fun along the way, as witty a narrative as there is in modern mysteries. It’s a pleasure to be back in the hands of a master, knowing that the killer (who gets his own font in alternating chapters) will surprise at the end.