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LIVE WIRE (AUDIO)
by Harlen Coben, read by Eric Meyers
Whole Story Audio Books, March 2011
Unabridged pages
28.55 GBP
ISBN: B0050OZ506


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Former tennis star Suzze T and her rockstar partner Lex are about to have a baby. Except, Lex disappears into the sunset following a claim on a Facebook page that the baby isn't his. Cue another job for sports agent and reluctant investigator Myron Bolitar.

Life, though, is far from simple for Myron. His parents are ageing, and an underlying thread of the book concerns family and relationships and the passage of time – he must also deal with Kitty, the wife of his estranged brother Brad. And we're also introduced to Myron's nephew Mickey, whom he's never met before. It looks like the feisty teenager is set to become the focus of a YA series from Coben.

If you're a fan of the Myron books, it's very much business as usual here – Nu Joisey gangsters, wisecracks, Myron being persistent and Win being a psycho. But it's slow going, as Myron plods around nightclubs, shopping malls, exclusive islands and schools. The book briefly ignites halfway through with a death out of left field. Then the plodding (well, being whisked around by limousine and executive jet) recommences, interrupted by a sudden blast of violence, also out of left field, towards the end.

There are just too many threads in the book for the reader ever to feel totally engaged – and no one plotline seems to dominate. Reclusive popstars, failed tennis starlets, dead teenagers, Facebook threats, drug dealing and family problems all bubble along without ever coming to the boil. And if this review is starting to read like a list, that's because the book feels like one as well!

For various family, personal and professional reasons, it does feel like the end of an era for Myron. Based on this lacklustre showing, Coben might do well to give the series a rest.

The narration by Eric Meyers is clipped and matter-of-fact, hinting at the darkness behind the book. He does well by Myron and Win, but there are some ill-advised attempts to pitch women's voices and Lex's Aussie accent goes walkabout and never comes back.

§ Sharon Wheeler is a UK-based journalist, writer and lecturer.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, March 2012

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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