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Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Harlan Coben (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 25, 2006
Whether you discovered him with his New York Times bestselling stand-alone novels or you fell in love with the award-winning books that preceded them—or you’ve never read him at all—anyone who loves a thriller will love international literary superstar Harlan Coben’s latest, Promise Me.

It has been six years since entertainment agent Myron Bolitar last played superhero. In six years he hasn’t thrown a punch. He hasn’t held, much less fired, a gun. He hasn’t threatened or been threatened. He hasn’t called his friend Win, still the scariest man he knows, to back him up or get him out of trouble. In the past six years, none of his clients have been murdered—a real positive for his business.

But all that is about to change. Because of the simple urge to protect two neighborhood high-school girls from the all-too-dangerous and all-too-common mistake of getting in a car with a drunk driver, Myron has them make him a promise: If they are ever in a bind but are afraid to call their parents, they should call him rather than get in a car with someone who’s been drinking. Several nights later, the call comes at 2:00 am, and true to his word, Myron picks up one of the girls in midtown Manhattan and drives her to a quiet cul-de-sac in New Jersey where she says her friend lives.

The next day, the girl’s parents discover that their daughter is missing. And that Myron was the last person to see her. Now, in a desperate attempt to fulfill a well-intentioned promise gone nightmarishly wrong, Myron must become a hero again to save a young girl’s life. BACKCOVER: “Every time you think Harlan Coben couldn’t get any better at uncoiling a whipsnake of a page-turner, he comes along with a new novel that somehow surpasses its predecessor.”
San Francisco Chronicle

“Just as Alfred Hitchcock carved out a niche with films about a seemingly innocent person caught in machinations beyond comprehension, Harlan Coben is earning the literary equivalent. . . . Hitchcock would be envious.”
Sun-Sentinel (Florida)

“Very few writers can induce in their readers the kind of trancelike state, punctuated by frequent ‘wows,’ that most of us associate with much-loved books from childhood. Coben can.”
Booklist

“Coben chisels his characters quickly, convincingly, unforgettably . . . non- stereotypically.”
Forbes

“Swift pacing, strong lead characters. . . . Coben can write thrillers that lift readers off their seats.”
Publishers Weekly

“The maestro of mystery.”
Life



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Last seen in bestseller Coben's Darkest Fear (2000), Myron Bolitar, former basketball star (Boston Celtics) turned sports and entertainment agent and occasional knight in shining armor, is back in fighting form in his action-packed eighth thriller. For the past six years Myron has been leading a quiet life, much of it at his parents' old house in Livingston, N.J. A new girlfriend, Ali Wilder, a 9/11 widow, is helping to bring him out of his shell. Concerned that Ali's teenage daughter, Erin, and Erin's friend, Aimee Biel, might fall in with the wrong crowd, Myron gives them his contact information in case either of them feels she needs help. Aimee later calls him in the middle of the night for a lift to a friend's house, on condition that her request remain a secret. When Aimee turns up missing in circumstances mirroring those surrounding another vanished girl, Bolitar himself becomes a suspect in her disappearance and must use his wits and martial arts skills to uncover the truth. Coben fans will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted suspense novel, which has a startling final twist. (Apr. 25)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Coben, the reigning master of clockwork suspense, and winner of the trifecta of mystery-writing honors--the Edgar, the Agatha, and the Shamus--produces a fascinating hybrid thriller here. Coben began his career writing detective novels starring Myron Bolitar, an ex-Celtics basketball player turned entertainment agent. For the past six years, he has concentrated on stand-alone thrillers. Coben's novels are noted for their use of technology, both as weapons used against the innocent and as ways for victims to escape their tormentors, usually with a clock ticking ominously in the background. In Promise Me, Coben skillfully grafts this deadline suspense onto the career of his series hero, Bolitar. As in his stand-alones, the novel starts with a purely domestic situation--at a party in his home, attended by friends and their offspring, Bolitar overhears two teen girls talking about driving home drunk from parties. Stung by his own memory of a high-school friend who died in a car crash, Bolitar makes the girls promise to contact him if they ever need a lift or are in trouble. The call does come a few nights later. Myron drives the caller to a friend's house, but she ends up disappearing, and guilt-ridden Myron must use all his resources to try to find what happened. Coben's resurrection of Bolitar works superbly: the melding of high suspense and high technology with a somewhat battered, very canny, questing hero is sure to produce another major hit for the way-hot Coben. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Dutton; First Edition edition (April 25, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0525949496
  • ISBN-13: 978-0525949497
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harlan Coben is the bestselling author of sixteen previous novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers "Long Lost" and "Hold Tight." Winner of the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award, Coben lives in New Jersey with his family.







 

Customer Reviews

166 Reviews
5 star:
 (72)
4 star:
 (43)
3 star:
 (20)
2 star:
 (20)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (166 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this book without reading the earlier books in the series..., May 30, 2006
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L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries) (Hardcover)
If you do, you'll miss the subtleties as skillful author Harlan Coben pays another visit to see his first protagonist, the wisecracking sports agent, Myron Bolitar. If you read this alone, you might like it, but to appreciate what Coben's trying to do, you need to let the fact that he's letting everyone in the series grow up (except for Win, Myron's sidekick)to the tune of six years passing since Myron's last adventure.

There's much to appreciate - Myron gets caught up in childrearing drama when he gets the teenage daughter of friends and the daughter of his girlfriend to promise that they'll call him if they are ever in a situation where they have no ride home that isn't drunk or drugged out. The reader is squirming a little at how suburban Myron has become, including new love Ali (not a winning combination), and being drawn, mouth-agape into the complex and risky world of teenagers in today's culture.

Coben probably brings back a character or two that are not necessary, in an effort to please his old fans. The subplot of visiting his folks in Florida would be ludicrous, if the context of the dialogue between El Al (his parents, Ellie and Al) wasn't so darn funny. Big Cyndi, however, a character I swear he shares with Janet Evanovich, did not bear revisiting.

The final twist in the book is just a little over the top, and I, for one, hope that Bolitar goes back to repping sports figures and not celebrities, but all in all, Coben's given us a great continuing chapter in a series that thrives on wisecracks, while blending the over the top humor and violence with some of today's real tragedies (college entrance pressure, dysfunctional families, domestic abuse. Coben attempts a lesson, and succeeds, but "Promise Me" falls short of some of the earlier and more cartoonish Bolitar fare.

Nevertheless, not to be missed if you're a Coben fan!
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to put down, March 13, 2007
This review is from: Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Needing some plane reading, I recently grabbed Coben's Promise Me as I ran out the door to the airport. I started reading as I waited at the gate to board the plane to depart and only stopped for the few minutes required to get on board. Thankfully I was able to finish prior to landing at my destination because this book was impossible to put down. Coben effectively provides a wide range of characters, strong character development, and numerous plot twists and surprises. Having read one of the early books featuring Myron Bolitar, however, I was looking forward to the return of Bolitar and friends. Coben presents a compelling, fast paced thriller that keeps the reader guessing throughout. He effectively captures the human turmoil associated with every parents' nightmare - a missing child. Clearly, this is better if you have some familiarity with the characters from previous novels, but even if you haven't, you should find Promise Me to be a great read. I promise.
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38 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome Back Myron and Gang, June 6, 2006
This review is from: Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Several years ago I emailed Harlan Coben and told him Myron Bolitar should have been the blueprint God used to create all men. I still feel the same way. I have missed Myron and Win and all the zany characters that make up Myron's world. Once again Coben has written a story with twists and turns that kept me guessing and surprised at the ending. I read the book in two days because I could not put it down and thought about it when I was away from the house. I just hope we see a lot more of these characters.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The missing girl-there had been unceasing news reports, always flashing to that achingly ordinary school portrait of the vanished teen, you know the one, with the rainbow-swirl background, the girl's hair too straight, her smile too self-conscious, then a Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aimee Biel, Katie Rochester, Edna Skylar, Drew Van Dyne, Harry Davis, Jake Wolf, Loren Muse, Big Cyndi, Myron Bolitar, Joan Rochester, Lance Banner, Big Jake, Dominick Rochester, New York, Erik Biel, Randy Wolf, Lorraine Wolf, Livingston High, Ali Wilder, Planet Music, Jessica Culver, New Jersey, Sally Ann, Maxine Chang, Claire Biel
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