Meeting Harlan Coban’s Myron Bolitar For The First Time
Where has this book been all my life?
On the bookshelf of your local store, just waiting to be read.
We’ve Only Just Met After All This Time
Harlan Coben has been writing professionally since 1990 but he really became famous for the Myron Bolitar series, starting in 1995. I’ve known about Coben for a long time. Multiple best-sellers every time he publishes a book. Multiple adaptations of his stories on TV. And, recently, the professor of a BBC Maestro online class that helps writers craft thrillers. I’m always game to learn—especially from an acknowledged veteran of the genre—so I bought the class.
While listening to Coben talk in the class’s introduction, it dawned on me that I might want to see how he actually writes by actually reading one of his books. Why not start at the beginning?
Myron Bolitar: Not Your Typical Detective
For the uninitiated, Bolitar is a sports agent who could have made it big in the NBA were it not for a severe injury. He returned to college, earned a law degree, and spent time working as an investigator before becoming a sports agent.
A sports agent? How might he be involved in a mystery? Well, it’s not that hard, really.
The Twisty Setup
When we meet Bolitar, he is in the middle of negotiations with the New York “Giants” (Titans in the book, ironic since the Tennessee Oilers (formerly from my hometown of Houston) would change their name to the Titans in 1999) on behalf of phenom Christian Steele. He’s a rookie quarterback and he sought out Bolitar for representation, but the not-quite-gangsters running the football team want to reduce the kid’s asking price.
Complicating everything is a phone call Christian received. It’s from his girlfriend, Kathy Culver. That would be his missing girlfriend whom everyone presumes is dead. Know who’s also dead? Kathy’s dad, a medical examiner, who was killed during a mugging.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s one more thing. Christian received a manila envelope. Inside is a porn magazine (how quaint, huh?) but that’s not what gets Christian’s attention. No, that would be the advertisements in the back for a 1-900 number. One in particular has a photo of none other than Kathy Culver.
An Entertaining Detective
Now, I don’t know about you, but I was hooked pretty fast with this set of circumstances. Plus there’s football talk, so that’s just gravy. But if the person with whom you are experiencing this tale of mystery isn’t fun to be with, the reading will be a slog.
Of course it wasn’t. Myron Bolitar comes from a long line of wise-cracking detectives going back a century. He gives as good as he gets. He’s 31 at the publication date of 1995, so he’s just slightly older than I was at the time. I thoroughly enjoyed all the references that I got here in 2024—and probably wouldn’t have even thought twice about in 1995.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Jonathan Marosz, did a fantastic job. He got Bolitar’s snark down pat, and when he narrated scenes with actual criminals and miscreants from the New York area, those characters practically jumped out in front of me.
An Even More Entertaining Co-Star
Ironically, it was his reading of a co-star where he knocked it out of the park. Windsor Horne Lockwood III is Bolitar’s old college roommate, friend, and “partner.” Bolitar’s office is in a rented space in Lockwood’s office building, but Win, as he is commonly known, pretty much helps Bolitar throughout the entire case.
In the novel, Coben writes the following when we first meet Win:
People often said that Myron looked nothing like his name—an observation Myron took as high praise; Windsor Horne Lockwood III, however, looked exactly like his name. Blond hair, perfect length, parted on the right side. His features were classical patrician, almost too handsome, like something crafted in porcelain. […] Win even had that creepy accent, the one that did not originate from any particular geographical location as much as from certain prep school like Andover and Exeter. (Win had gone to Exeter.)
Now, with that name and that description, you *know* how Win sounds. And Marosz does exACTly that kind of line reading for Win’s dialogue. Pitch perfect.
The Mystery Itself
The one thing I knew about Coben before reading this book is that his stories include twists upon twists. That’s evident from the TV shows I’ve seen. But was that baked into his first major book?
Yup. Deliciously so. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming…which makes for a wonderful reading experience.
I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a long time, and by “a long time,” I mean since last week’s book. Seriously, Myron Bolitar is quite an engaging character, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. How much do you ask? I’ve already downloaded the second book in the series, Drop Shot.
I know I’m late to the Myron Bolitar party, so what are some of your favorite books in the series? And let me know your favorite standalone Coben books.