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LIVE WIRE
by Harlan Coben
Dutton, March 2011
375 pages
$27.95
ISBN: 0525952063


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Sports agent and sleuth Myron Bolitar reaches deep into his own family history when one of his first clients, former tennis star Suzze T approaches Bolitar to help her find her missing rock star husband Lex. She wonders if is disappearance is tied to a mysterious message on her Facebook page that implies Lex is not the father of the child she is carrying.

When Myron goes in search of Lex at one of New York's hottest clubs, he discovers more than he bargained for. Along with Lex, he discovers his estranged sister-in-law Kitty (another famous former tennis star) who he had assumed was somewhere in South America with his brother doing charity work. Kitty takes off before Myron has a chance to question her, and Lex goes into hiding with the other half of his rock band, Gabriel Wire, on an exclusive island.

As the pieces of the mystery begin to fall into place, they also turn more deadly. Accessing Gabriel Wire's private estate is near impossible, as it's guarded by Mob hit men; his sister-in-law, obviously ravaged by a drug addiction, goes underground; and Suzze T herself is in peril. Moreover, just where is Bolitar's brother? To solve the mystery and gain access to the exclusive island, he employs the help of his agency employees and best friend Windsor Horne Lockwood III (aka Win) to help him sort it all out, taking no prisoners along the way.

Coben has his readers in the grip of the mystery from the opening pages, and the family secrets, both between Suzze and Lex, as well as between Myron and his brother and sister-in-law, are the undoing of these relationships. To resolve the errors of the past will require a lot of explanation on everyone's part and a little faith in the future.

Coben has won legions of fans both with his Myron Bolitar series and his stand-alone thrillers. LIVE WIRE is sure to please fans although there is some adolescent guy talk (and just too clever names) along the way between Myron and Win. All in all, this book moves along at a good pace, the story takes some unexpected twists in regard to the relationship between Lex, Gabriel Wire, and Suzze. Family fences are also mended in the Bolitar family, and just in time it seems.

Those who have come to enjoy the work of Edgar, Anthony, and Shamus-award-winning author Coben will find this book rises to his usual standards, although it's probably not his best novel. Nonetheless, for most Coben fans, this tenth Myron Bolitar novel will not disappoint.

§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, March 2011

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