Series
Genres
Publication
ORION (2003)
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:She's smart, beautiful, and she doesn't need a man to look after her. But sports agent Myron Bolitar has come into her life�big time. Now Myron's next move may be his last. . . Brenda Slaughter is no damsel in distress. Myron Bolitar is no bodyguard. But Myron has agreed to protect the bright, strong, beautiful basketball star. And he's about to find out if he's man enough to unravel the tragic riddle of her life. Twenty years before, Brenda's mother deserted her. And just as Brenda is making it to the top of the women's pro basketball world, her father disappears too. A big-time New York sports agent with a foundering love life, Myron has a professional interest in Brenda. Then a personal one. But between them isn't just the difference in their backgrounds or the color of their skin. Between them is a chasm of corruption and lies, a vicious young mafioso on the make, and one secret that some people are dying to keep�and others are killing to protect.... Praise for One False Move �Fast-moving, funny�an altogether good read!��Los Angeles Times �Consistently entertaining . . . Coben moves himself into the front ranks of mystery fiction alongside heavy hitters like Robert B. Parker, Sue Grafton and Robert Crais.��Houston Chronicle �Must read . . . combines Chandler's wry wit with Ross Macdonald's moral complexity.��Philadelphia Enquirer �A superb book!��Christian Science Monitor.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member klarusu
Don't want to spoil this for anyone - nothing worse than giving away the twists and turns of a mystery novel in a review! Another of the Myron Bolitar novels, this time centring around women's basketball. Some people love Harlan Coben's stand-alone books and hate the Bolitar novels - I'm not one of
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them. Crime fiction is disposable reading for me but I like the characters enough in these to keep them on my bookshelves and come back to them and re-read them on occasion. A pleasant diversion from more mentally challenging reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member lonepalm
You can't go wrong with Myron Bolitar: Harlen Coben books - particularly the ones featuring Myron Bolitar - are dangerous things. You shouldn't pick them up unless you have the necessary time to read a good chunk of it. Coben is not one to be read in small bits; his novels are too hard to put down.
In One False Move, Coben's principal series character, Myron Bolitar, is recruited to look after an aspiring female basketball player, Brenda Slaughter. Brenda is young, beautiful, intelligent (she's pursuing a medical degree) and the best player in her game. She is also receiving threatening phone calls that may or may not be linked to her estranged father. Myron, who often winds up fighting crime in addition to representing athletes, is asked to help her by the owner of her team.
Myron's efforts to assist open up all sorts of problems and invite the interest of a number of shady parties, most notably the Ache brothers (a pair of especially vicious criminals who run a rival sports agency) and the Bradford family, New Jersey's answer to the Kennedys. Arthur Bradford is running for governor and resents Myron's digging. It turns out that twenty years early, Brenda's mother was entangled in the "accidental" death of Arthur's wife; a few months later, she disappeared.
Before Myron can piece everything together, there will be more dead bodies and it will require a lot of effort for Myron to not be one of them. In addition, he is having problems with his long-time girlfriend Jessica and his secretary Esperanza is giving him an ultimatum to become his business partner. At least Myron's best friend Win, a sociopath who loves to act violently against those who deserve it (and is an expert at it), is in his corner.
I've read enough Coben books to know he rarely (actually never) disappoints, and this book is typical in that respect. The only "weakness" in the novel is that it is better enjoyed by those who've read the other volumes in the series; but, even if you pick this up first, it stands alone well. So if you have a couple hours you can set aside, this is an excellent way to fill that time.
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And for a writer, what higher compliment can there be? In One False Move, Coben's principal series character, Myron Bolitar, is recruited to look after an aspiring female basketball player, Brenda Slaughter. Brenda is young, beautiful, intelligent (she's pursuing a medical degree) and the best player in her game. She is also receiving threatening phone calls that may or may not be linked to her estranged father. Myron, who often winds up fighting crime in addition to representing athletes, is asked to help her by the owner of her team.
Myron's efforts to assist open up all sorts of problems and invite the interest of a number of shady parties, most notably the Ache brothers (a pair of especially vicious criminals who run a rival sports agency) and the Bradford family, New Jersey's answer to the Kennedys. Arthur Bradford is running for governor and resents Myron's digging. It turns out that twenty years early, Brenda's mother was entangled in the "accidental" death of Arthur's wife; a few months later, she disappeared.
Before Myron can piece everything together, there will be more dead bodies and it will require a lot of effort for Myron to not be one of them. In addition, he is having problems with his long-time girlfriend Jessica and his secretary Esperanza is giving him an ultimatum to become his business partner. At least Myron's best friend Win, a sociopath who loves to act violently against those who deserve it (and is an expert at it), is in his corner.
I've read enough Coben books to know he rarely (actually never) disappoints, and this book is typical in that respect. The only "weakness" in the novel is that it is better enjoyed by those who've read the other volumes in the series; but, even if you pick this up first, it stands alone well. So if you have a couple hours you can set aside, this is an excellent way to fill that time.
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LibraryThing member Joycepa
#5 in the Myron Bolitar series.
An old friend, Norm Zuckerman, asks Myron to serve as a bodyguard for Brenda Slaughter, a hot young player in Zuckerman's newly-formed Women's Professional Basketball Association; there have been threats and Norm is worried. Myron is reluctant--until he meets Brenda,
Myron, uncomfortably attracted to Brenda and undergoing a rough time with Jessica Culver, his long-time partner, agrees but soon discovers that he has taken on far more than a simple case of finding a missing person. It soon involves not only tracking down Anita, Breanda's mother who ran off twenty years before leaving her husband and 5 year old daughter, but also locking horns with a powerful New Jersey politic
al family whose scion is running for governor. And with all this on his plate, Myron finally has to decide what he really wants out of life, a decision whose consequences are painful both in obvious and unlooked-for ways.
This is the basis of a tightly written mystery that has excellent twists and turns throughout. Our Favorite Sociopath Win is back full bore as well as Esperanza Diaz, Big Cindy, and Myron's parents, Al and Ellen. Coben explores sexism in the story--not the overt, ugly kind but the internal, subtle stereotypes that most of us carry around within us. Brenda's race is not so much a problem as is her insistence on being treated as a fully-capable adult, notwithstanding her gender. This leads to one truly funny confrontation in Win's apartment between Myron and Brenda.
Coben's whacky, off-the-wall humor enhances the story as usual. The climax is a complete surprise and handled very well. the ending is poignant--and sobering, as Myron continues to come to grips with who he really is as compared to who he wants to think he is.
Highly recommended.
An old friend, Norm Zuckerman, asks Myron to serve as a bodyguard for Brenda Slaughter, a hot young player in Zuckerman's newly-formed Women's Professional Basketball Association; there have been threats and Norm is worried. Myron is reluctant--until he meets Brenda,
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who is young, highly intelligent, stunningly beautiful and black. But Brenda, who is nobody's victim, puts conditions on her acceptance of Myron's watchfulness; her father Horace, who mentored Myron in basketball, has gone missing and Brenda wants Myron to find him.Myron, uncomfortably attracted to Brenda and undergoing a rough time with Jessica Culver, his long-time partner, agrees but soon discovers that he has taken on far more than a simple case of finding a missing person. It soon involves not only tracking down Anita, Breanda's mother who ran off twenty years before leaving her husband and 5 year old daughter, but also locking horns with a powerful New Jersey politic
al family whose scion is running for governor. And with all this on his plate, Myron finally has to decide what he really wants out of life, a decision whose consequences are painful both in obvious and unlooked-for ways.
This is the basis of a tightly written mystery that has excellent twists and turns throughout. Our Favorite Sociopath Win is back full bore as well as Esperanza Diaz, Big Cindy, and Myron's parents, Al and Ellen. Coben explores sexism in the story--not the overt, ugly kind but the internal, subtle stereotypes that most of us carry around within us. Brenda's race is not so much a problem as is her insistence on being treated as a fully-capable adult, notwithstanding her gender. This leads to one truly funny confrontation in Win's apartment between Myron and Brenda.
Coben's whacky, off-the-wall humor enhances the story as usual. The climax is a complete surprise and handled very well. the ending is poignant--and sobering, as Myron continues to come to grips with who he really is as compared to who he wants to think he is.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member she_climber
I can't get enough of this series. Yet another one that I just didn't see the end coming. Had some problems with the new love interest, not that I'm a big fan of Myron's regular love interest,
Jessica. It just seemed a little too easy. I was glad to see Win come back in full force for this book,
Jessica. It just seemed a little too easy. I was glad to see Win come back in full force for this book,
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and happy to see Norm Zuckerman make a bit of a return - loved him in the last book. Show Less
LibraryThing member IsaacFry
When Norm Zuckerman asks Myron Bolitar to keep an eye on Brenda Slaughter, Myron finds himself enmeshed in decades old secrets from the Slaughter family and the most powerful family in New Jersey.
LibraryThing member riverwillow
Fantastic read and this is a significant book in the series as Myron makes some decisions that will change his life forever and finally grows up. Its also a cracking good thriller filled with Coben's trademark twists and turns, the last few pages literally had me gasping in surprise. Superb.
LibraryThing member welshy72
Myron Bolitar might have a slightly dubious past, but he knows how to handle himself and is doing just fine as a sports agent. That is, until he meets Brenda Slaughter, one of the hottest female sports stars around. She’s gorgeous, funny and single, and also seems to have mislaid her agent. But
I really enjoyed this book and thought the character Myron Bolitar was the kind of guy that would be well liked by men or women.A funny/sarcastic sort.
This book is one of a series and wish I had read the others first,only to have kept up with Bolitar’s private life rather than the story.
A book I would recommend.
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when her father disappears, and the Mob starts leaning on her, it soon becomes apparent that potent forces are at work and Myron is quickly plunged into a whirlpool of deceit and death.I really enjoyed this book and thought the character Myron Bolitar was the kind of guy that would be well liked by men or women.A funny/sarcastic sort.
This book is one of a series and wish I had read the others first,only to have kept up with Bolitar’s private life rather than the story.
A book I would recommend.
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LibraryThing member grheault
Brenda Slaughter, pro basketball player and aspiring pediatrician. Myron Bolitar, reluctant detective, lawyer, agent, maybe lover, nice guy. A missing mother, a murdered father, Esperanza and Win, a gubernatorial candidate with cop and mob connections, Mom, Dad Bolitar and the aunts and uncles, and
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good old Livingston, NJ. Its all there, building Myron Bolitar into the guy you come to love. In two weeks, while committment-phobic girlfriend Jessica is off in LA, the story unfolds, minor characters come in and out, twisting the story, leading you down dark alleys of pointless speculation. You will remember this particular Bolitar by the snap to the end twists that come to a realistic but depressing end. Show Less
LibraryThing member raaurora
One of the best novels I have read in a really long time including a number of Connolly, Sandford, Crais and Burke novels. The clues are laid out over the course of the entire book. Myron spends much of the novel getting played...but comes to the truth in the end through actual investigative work.
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There is none of the "he figures it out through divine intervention" cop-out that plagues so many novels in this genre. The ending is page turning and gripping...you cannot put it down once you are into the home stretch. Show Less
LibraryThing member irinka87
This is the 5th Myron Bolitar book and the most recent that I have read. I have to give it 5 stars because everytime I thought I figured out the next movie, another twist happened. I loved every bit of it, to the last page!!
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Up to Coben's usual high standard with his Myron Bolitar series. Thus time he is working with a basketball star, Brenda Slaughter.
LibraryThing member MrsLee
Myron has a new client. An up and coming female basketball player named Brenda, who just so happens to be the daughter of his mentor (who may or may not have abused her), only Myron has to keep her safe because she is being threatened, her father has gone missing just as her mother did 22 years
I enjoyed this read very much. The solution to the mystery was not easy to come by, but not impossible either. The whole story pokes and prods at our prejudices and our attempts to overcome them, and how we can blind and fool ourselves the whole time. I enjoy the regular characters in these novels; so much so that I named my car after Esperanza. A dependable good read.
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ago, and can this get any more confusing and convoluted? Yes, yes it can.I enjoyed this read very much. The solution to the mystery was not easy to come by, but not impossible either. The whole story pokes and prods at our prejudices and our attempts to overcome them, and how we can blind and fool ourselves the whole time. I enjoy the regular characters in these novels; so much so that I named my car after Esperanza. A dependable good read.
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LibraryThing member reader68
Aide memoir: Myron Bolitar, sports agency owner, tracks down killer of Brenda Slaughter's father. Again the guilty party is someone who didn't feature much except to show cooperation.
LibraryThing member buffalogr
I enjoyed "One False Move". It was entertaining,light and did not require a personal commitment beyond fun. This time, Myron's client is a female basketball star and Coben hit all the high points of that sport. But, in the end, it was a murder mystery with a lot of twists and a motive unrelated. I
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like all the characters, especially Win...Myron's best friend, a sociopath who loves to act violently against those who deserve it. Coben's wit shows again--keeps you chuckling. Myron gets played, not laid, during most of the book...but, we knew it and followed along anyway. I've become a Coben fan and am looking for book #6. Show Less
LibraryThing member jguidry
Another great episode in the Myron Bolitar series. This book had the typical Myron sarcastic wit and was, as usual, a fun read. I really enjoyed the storyline and was happy to read that Myron's relationship with Jessica is on the rocks. I ended the book wondering what would happen next between the
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two of them. She's a character I love to hate. Win still freaks me out a little and this story does not change my opinion of him. I'm ready for the next book as soon as I can get it from the library. Show Less
LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
One False Move is the fifth book in a series featuring ex-basketball star and now sports agent, Myron Bolitar. When a business associate asks him to help out Brenda Slaughter, a rising star in the Professional Women's Basketball Association, he doesn't realize that she's not only getting
This was one of my favorite books in the Myron Bolitar series which always includes a good bit of humor, wit and mystery. I love the way the characters are written and each one of them has a complexity that is diverse and realistic. I am always fascinated by Myron's best friend, Winthrop Horne Lockwood (Win), a man, who hides his violence behind his gorgeous Ivy League exterior.
The plot was complex with multiple stories that were easy to follow. It was a a real page turner with a crisp writing style and character insight that made for a most enjoyable read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, The Final Detail.
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threatening phone calls but her father has been missing for several days. Brenda's mother, Anita, disappeared twenty years ago, just months after discovering the body of Arthur Bradford’s wife. The death was ruled an accident, but who can be sure since the Bradfords are a wealthy, politically inclined family. Arthur Bradford is presently running for governor of New Jersey. Did someone want to cover up the death? What happened to Anita? Where is Brenda's father?This was one of my favorite books in the Myron Bolitar series which always includes a good bit of humor, wit and mystery. I love the way the characters are written and each one of them has a complexity that is diverse and realistic. I am always fascinated by Myron's best friend, Winthrop Horne Lockwood (Win), a man, who hides his violence behind his gorgeous Ivy League exterior.
The plot was complex with multiple stories that were easy to follow. It was a a real page turner with a crisp writing style and character insight that made for a most enjoyable read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, The Final Detail.
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LibraryThing member DrApple
Myron is hired to protect a female basketball players and ends up investigating the disappearance of both of her parents.This is a depressing tale although a good mystery.
LibraryThing member stephanie_M
A seriously heart-breaking addition to the Myron Bolitar series. Things are coming apart in Bolitar's life, and it's not good. Women's basketball is the sport in this novel, and the non-stop action makes for a very solid, fast paced mystery novel. The narrator Jonathan Marosz is brilliant. Highly
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recommended, and 4.5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mike_B
The story is not my thing, but the sarcastic comments sprinkled around are great.
LibraryThing member purple_pisces22
I love Myron. This one was a bit sad.
LibraryThing member morrisonhimself
Powerful and emotion-packed, this is one of the best Myron Bolitar novels by Harlan Coben.
I have found this series very uneven, and even almost disliked some of the entries, but the story and the characters in this one raises the whole series in my estimation.
I have found this series very uneven, and even almost disliked some of the entries, but the story and the characters in this one raises the whole series in my estimation.
LibraryThing member nyiper
I am reading all of the Myron Bolivar books in order but I had missed this one....catching up was kind of heart-breaking. Coben writes such page turner books...really hard to put one down!!
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1998
ISBN
075285609X / 9780752856094