Total Zone [Mass Market Paperback]

Martina Navratilova (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1995

High pressure, high risks, high profile: the passwords of professional tennis. Nobody knows them better than Jordan Myles, tennis champ turned sports therapist, who helps players achieve the Total Zone, when the mind and body are in perfect harmony and winning is inevitable. Gorgeous Audrey Armat, already considered a teenage phenomenon with a laser serve, comes to Jordan to achieve the Zone. But when the young tennis star suddenly vanishes, it is up to Jordan to find her, in the darkest unknown shadows of the international tennis world....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Not content with having delivered her own outspoken memoir, the tennis ace now ventures into the mystery field, with novelist Nickles's help. It's a workmanlike story, involving the mysterious disappearance of a teenage tennis whiz, the strange behavior of her horribly pushy parents and the efforts of heroine Jordan Myles, tennis veteran turned physical therapist, to find her. But the key element is the authenticity of the tennis background, shifting from Forest Hills to Wimbledon, with excursions to a racquet expert in Florida, a sports physique center in California and Madison Square Garden. Navratilova offers absorbing asides on life on the tennis circuit, the customizing of racquets and the game's sometimes weird "groupies." She even gets to create a perfect image of herself as a cool Russian-born dynamo called Mariska Storrs, who repels a stream of young challengers to her crown. Tennis buffs will lap it up, but mystery aficionados may feel that Myles, despite her pluck and her adorable dog (named after the legendary Alice Marble), is not sufficiently colorful or perceptive to become a competitive series sleuth.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

In the five years since a stinging Wimbledon defeat sent her into retirement, physical therapist Jordan Myles has learned to turn a colder eye on the pro tennis tour. So she's not unduly impressed when a call from the family of 16-year-old superstar Audrey Armat sends her home to the Desert Springs Sports Science Center to start a high-pressure rehab program with Audrey. But when star-crossed Audrey and her twin brother, E.J., take off from Desert Springs after only one day, Jordan realizes she's dealing with something a lot worse than a pair of stage-mother parents--and that's even before (1) a younger rival of Audrey's is fatally wounded on the courts at Wimbledon; (2) Audrey apparently leaps to her death from the family balcony; and (3) Emilio and Corinne Armat hit Jordan and Desert Springs with a $40 million lawsuit. Audrey's anxieties mask some ugly secrets on the women's tour--and Jordan, joining forces with a shamus called the Fish, is ready to make every sacrifice to expose them. Legendary tennis star Navratilova and her co-author's expos‚ of the women's tennis scene is heavy on you-are-there bromides and dirty (very dirty) linen, light on coherent plotting, detection, and actual tennis. First of a series that has a ways to go before it's ready for the Grand Slam. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 341 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (May 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345388674
• ISBN-13: 978-0345388674
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,481,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Navratilova and Nickles serve up an ace of a mystery!, September 14, 2000

By 

Bruce Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Total Zone (Hardcover)

Ex-Tennis pro Jordan Myles is looking for answers. She travels to south Florida, Wimbeldon, and Flushing Meadows to find out just what has happened to Audrey Armat, the best female tennis players in the world. When Audrey turns up dead, Jordan is determined to expose the killer, or die trying.

A suspense-filled whodunnit that will keep you guessing up until the very end. Navratilova's extensive knowledge of tennis and tournaments make this an interesting read for enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. Very similar to the "Brad Smith" tennis novels authored by Jack M. Bickham and just as enjoyable.

Looking forward to more courtside suspense from Nickles and Navratilova!