Customer Reviews

Drop Shot (Myron Bolitar)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I will be the first to admit that I am a fan of Harlan Coben's work. Myron Bolitar led novels are among my favorites. Bolitar is a well-written character and you generally know what to expect from him. Wise-cracking, hard working and usually quite a bit of fun.

This novel is no exception. With that said, I have given it 4 stars because it was not as good as some of his other work. The story follows Bolitar around as he investigates the death of a potential client (former tennis star player). His current client, a rising tennis star that is making a big splash in the tourney, may be involved or have some knowledge of the dead former tennis player. Now it is up to Bolitar to figure out if there is an relationship between the dead player and is current client. The plot twists a little here and there and Bolitar continues to fight against those that want this case buried (and an older case buried).

The Senator involved and the cover up from years ago of another murder (a murder that may have a connection to the dead tennis player and his current client) left a little to be desired. The details are sketchy and though it is later cleared up somewhat, I wish there were a few more details and a little more info.

The tennis also could have been portrayed better...his current client, the rising tennis star goes through the tourney and we don't know much about this guy's tennis career even though he is rushing through the tourney. A little more backround (has he played in many tourney's before this, is he ranked, etc.) would have made his run in the tourney one that the reader could have been more interested in.

The novel is solid. It is a fun read and will keep you entertained...I just wanted a little more from a good writer and a fun character.

When a young female ex-tennis star is murdered at the gates of the U.S. Tennis Open, ex-lawyer turned sports agent (and pseudo detective) Myron Bolitar along with his slightly psycho pal, Win Lockwood, become involved in the investigation.

It seems the murder victim had intended to "make a comeback" and had been trying to contact Myron to engage his services as her agent before she met her untimely end. The mystery surrounding her death and its link to another murder six years earlier is pretty "run of the mill" and the identity of the killer is evident long before the last page of the book. The cop on the case is stereotypically stupid and stubborn, the "mob" boss comes across as an uneducated strong-arm goon, the tennis trainer is a twisted pervert, and all I can say about Myron's girlfriend, Jennifer, is "he deserves better". It's no wonder that his mother and his assistant Esperanza dislike her so intensely.

Drop Shot is a tennis term referring to the tactic of barely tapping the ball over the net thereby making it nearly impossible for your opponent to return the ball. This book is aptly titled, since the story itself barely makes it and is rescued by the interaction between a couple of the characters. The most interesting "couple" in the book are not Myron and Jennifer, but rather Bolitar and Lockwood. Bolitar has a sort of smart -aleck cerebral humor about him while Lockwood is the man of action with a skewed perception of society and together they are a the dynamic duo - - - - sort of like pairing Bernie Rohdenbahr with Jack Reacher.

Drop Shot is definitely not the best mystery you will ever read, but then again it's not the worst.

I just finished this book, and enjoyed it, but it was not up the Harlan's usually high standards. I agree with another review who said that there were places in the book that could have been "cut & pasted" from some of Harlan's other books. Again, the conversational writing is tremendous, and most of all "true to life". The characters seem to come to life and do in fact have their individual personalities. Not his best, but worth reading.

A great read with lots of action throughout.Like all of Coben's books, the one super underlying facet is the incredibly witty dialogue that would also be perfect for television or the "silver screen." Bolitar and his friend, Win, are hilarious together, not to mention the straight humor of the wrestler-turned office assistant, Esperanza. His characters are all so well-developed, and three-deimensional. Even more importantly, they all are blended together so nicely. Everyone from the snakeskin boot wearing cop, Rolly Dimonte, to the mob-muscle man, Aaron, has a very intricate role in making this such a good book.

This is the second book in the series. Though I am reading them in order, this one could probably stand alone, or at least more so than other suspense series. This one is set around the pro tennis circuit. I'm not a big tennis fan, but that doesn't seem to be an issue, this book grabbed me soon and didn't let go. There are several plots, all carefully woven together. We have dirty politicians and immoral sports people, questionable parents, not to mention a little bit of the mob. Drop Shot continues to please, with humor and well written characters.

Some months back, I went to a bookshop in New Delhi & found one copy of each of the Myron Bolitair series. I bought two titles as they seemed interesting. Two days later, having finished both, I went back & bought the entire lot & both the Non- Myron Bolitair books; which meant that I had cleaned out their Harlan Corben stock as they only had one copy each.
The bookshop owners then went & re-stocked many more copies of each title,

It's difficult to suggest a specific Harlan Coben Book: I found them all tremendously enjoyable. Read any one & you will be hooked. It isn't necessary to read them in any order but I would recommend that start from the first as Myron's life will then unfold as lives should.... The crimes at the heart of each book can be read in any order.

Although cleverly plotted and paced well, Mr. Coben has come down with the formula disease far too early in his career. In Drop Shot, I see paragraphs and scenarios that could have been cut and pasted from his two earlier novels. An enjoyable read, but not up to the standard Mr. Coben (and his many awards) have set.

I'm a fan of Coben's stand alone works (The Innocent, Hold Tight, Just One Look, to name a few). So I finally decided to go back and start reading the Myron Bolitar mysteries. I started with Deal Breaker, and I wasn't overly impressed, but decided to give Bolitar one more chance with Drop Shot. I can't say that I'm hooked.

Drop Shot starts off interestingly enough, with a murder at the U.S. Open. Myron convinces himself he must solve this murder, even though his client, up and coming tennis star Duane Richwood, specifically asks him to leave it alone. The cops ask him to stay out of it. The murder victim's family asks him to stay out of it. But Myron will not be dissuaded.

And thus begins a fairly interesting who dun it. The plot itself was readable, but not in the same way Coben's stand alones have been. Aside from the lack of suspense in this book, I was also disappointed with the characterization. I'm just not a huge fan of Myron Bolitar. He pulls off a few funny one liners, but he's just not that richly drawn. Not enough for me to feel the kind of connection that I think is required to have a successful long running character series.

And then there's Win. I just don't like this guy. It's like Coben tries to dress up a psycho path as a side kick, and it just comes off as unsettling. There are times when I'm tempted to like Win, then he says something that lets you know he enjoys killing people.

Now for Jessica. Perhaps Jessica is written more for male audiences, and that's why I don't like her. I didn't care for her in Deal Breaker (where she was more a part of the story than in this one). And I like her even less after reading Drop Shot. There's no substance to her whatsover. It seems like the only reason Bolitar likes her is because she is soooo beautiful and this irresistible sex kitten. That's how she's written. And it's annoying.

For those that like a heads up on profanity: There's quite a bit in this novel. Pretty much all the usual curse words make an appearance. I will say that the Bolitar novels seem to have more in them than Coben's standalones, but I could be wrong about that as I haven't read all of them.

If you've never read Coben before, skip this one. In fact, skip the Bolitar mysteries altogether and try one of his stand alones like Hold Tight first. Coben does a much better job with characterization and development of plot in these novels.

Harlan Coben spins a dramatic series with Myron Bolitar that out does Evanovich's Plum. It's intelligent and yet funny, funny. I intend to read the entire awesome Bolitar series.

After becoming a huge fan of Coben by reading his recent novels, I decided to go back and read all the Myron Bolitar novels in order. Drop Shot is the second in the series and is a great Coben novel. I've read enough of his novels to know they all have similar feel, a similar style. Most of the big, ending twists are just a bit detached from reality, but believable enough to keep me coming back for more. All the standard themes are here: loss, betrayal, sacrifice, innocence and love.

Bolitar is an sports agent watching his star client, Duane Richwood, compete in the US Open. Duane his a suave, handsome 21-year old black man who is on the verge of superstardom and a huge Nike contract. While his match is in progress, Valerie Simpson is murdered in the concourse. Valerie was a former tennis prodigy, who at 24 years of age, was looking to make a comeback and hoped for Myron to be her agent. Myron is troubled by the murder for several reasons. First, Valerie had left several messages with Myron that hadn't been returned, and, second, one of Valerie's last contacts before she died was with Duane Richwood.

Concerned about the connection between Duane and Valerie, Myron begins looking into Valerie's past. He finds that, when she was 18, she dated Alexander Cross, a Senator's son. Their relationship ended, and also her career, when Cross was murdered by two inner-city thugs at a posh country club. That's the plot right there. Myron begins looking for the truth, talking with anyone from a Senator, to an ex-teacher to a coroner. I actually figured out the ending on this one sooner than I usually do, which is never, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment I had in listening to this book on tape.

Drop Shot has all the humor you expect from Coben, as well as the return of Win, Esperanza, the Ache brothers and the thug Aaron. It is satisfying to know that Coben's early novels are just as good as his current ones. A must read for Coben fans and those that like Sandford, Connelly or Crais.