One False Move

'One False Move' was my first Harlan Coben novel, and while it had its moments, overall I was disappointed. I understand that Coben is a prolific writer with a large fan base, but I found Coben, at least in this effort, far inferior to today's best writers of crime fiction: Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, and Lee Childs all do a better job with plot, setting, and characters. And if you prefer to add witty dialogue and one-liners to that mix, consider Robert Crais, William Lashner, or David Rosenfelt (who also does a better north Jersey). In 'One False Move', ex-basketball star and current sports agent Myron Bolitar agrees to protect Brenda Slaughter, the bright and beautiful star of the WNBA, the women's professional basketball league. Her mother had deserted Brenda some twenty years ago, and now her father, Horace Slaughter, has vanished. Bolitar has a personal stake in this, as Horace was Myron's mentor as he was rising through the ranks of amateur basketball. This seemingly innocent assignment begins unraveling a sordid 20-year old tale of bad love, murder, deception, corruption and power. Perhaps a reader needs a couple of installments of Myron Bolitar to appreciate him, but I couldn't figure out what Coben was trying to do with himr. While the big ex-jock persona was incongruous with the indecisive, somewhat neurotic mamas boy image, neither of these fit with the gun-toting tough guy always ready with a snappy wisecrack. We are to believe that Myron, who struggles to decide whether or not he some make is assistant a partner in his firm, and who only recently moved out of his parent's home, can stand down ruthless mobsters and power-crazed gubernatorial candidates? Believe that, and you probably can believe that, as positioned in this story, the WNBA really does matter. But while Bolitar was somewhat of an enigma, Bolitar sidekick Winston Lock-Horne manages to add an entirely new dimension to 'annoying'. (As an example, in answering his phone, the insufferable 'Win' inserts 'articulate' for 'hello). The reader is to believe that the manicured and polished Win, of old money and Ivy League society, is really a Clint Eastwood in a blue blazer and tasseled loafers. Yet the mere mention of this pretty-boy's name sends chills down the spine of even the most hardened of New Jersey's mobsters. Right. Add to this a plot that is wholly unbelievable, cluttered with a love tangent that turns as sappy as it is unnecessary, and you have 'One False Move', fiction that while mildly entertaining leaves little to recommend it.

What if you were a former professional basketball star, and your knees were your worst enemies and your former coach turned up missing?Myron Bolitar turns to running a professional sports agency, and at the urging of friends, seeks to protect the premier basketball princess, whose Dad just happens to be the missing coach. Myron is interested in three things: protecting/defending the young star against possible charges of murder, signing her as a lucrative addition to his successful agency and possibly forming a love interest with the beautiful and intelligent lady, now that his own on again-off again relationship is on the skids.Interwined with this hydra-headed purpose, is the fact that some very unpleasant mobsters are out to sign the same basketball star, and will stop at nothing to get what they want. Plus, the young woman's mother has been missing for a number of years, and was the only witness, or first to find the body of a prominent man's wife, something the Police have termed an accidental death. The fact the man is now running for governor, makes it extra hard for Bolitar to get any sort of a handle on what happened so many years ago, and exposes him to the ire of the political handlers as well.Assisting the dashing Bolitar, is the nearly sociopathic Yuppie, Win, who delights in the sort of visceral violence that belies his Ivy League appearance. Win always seems to be in the right place at just the time Myron is hurting the most, and proves to be useful in solving this nasty nest of murder, cover-ups, kidnappings and other actions most foul.Crisp writing style, with dashes of humor, and character insight make this a most enjoyable read, and a highly recommended addition to the Myron Bolitar series.

Love the Myron Bolitar series! This one had a twist I didn’t expect!! One False Move was grittier than some of the others and I loved it! I look forward to the next one in the series.

Coben does it again! Let him lead you down the twisty trail of mystery and murder and so much more.

I liked the book in spite of sports background. If you love sports you will view that as an added bonus. I can’t put my finger on how to describe the end❔I loved the main character and his buddy.