Long Lost (Myron Bolitar)

by Harlan Coben

Paperback, 2010

Call number

MYST COB

Collection

Genres

Publication

Dutton (2010), Edition: 1st, 422 pages

Description

Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call but then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down.

Media reviews

A significantly more credible effort [than other summer books, it] features the diabolic interplay of cord blood and Islamic jihad.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Ciska_vander_Lans
Myron Bolitar gets a call from an old friend that she is in Paris and needs him to come. As he has not heard from her in years he wonders what it is about. During the trip that leads from Paris to London and back to the US with a round trip Myron gets involved in something that is way bigger than a
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local thug.

Harlan Coben is ever so flawless, his stories pick you up on the first page and wont let you go till the last one. The interaction between Myron and Win (the best friend) are often hilarious though the deep respect they have for each other comes out clear too. Always a good read no matter what time of the day it is. Just make sure you got time to finish the book.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
I think Coben’s books might get worse the more he tries for plausible explanations for the terrific coincidences on which his books rely. This one features a long-lost love who reappears in Paris needing the protagonist’s help with a secret involving her dead daughter, skeevy Middle Eastern
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terrorists, and waterboarding. But see, Coben has his POV character worry that we treat people differently depending on whether or not they have blue eyes and blond hair, so he’s aware of the racial problematics! I also didn’t appreciate the trying-to-cover-all-the-bases discussion of torture: we’re against it, of course, a good-guy character says, but it’s a difficult issue because what about the conceded terrorist who definitely knows where an active nuclear bomb is? This, and nobody bothers to mention that the torture in this book was inflicted on an absolutely innocent man—including the innocent torture victim to whom this straw man argument is offered? Look, I don’t mind if Coben’s not thinking very hard—that’s not what the books are for. I mind if he’s not thinking very hard about stuff that actually matters, and since we’re apparently now making public policy based on what Jack Bauer gets away with on 24, Coben is not helping.
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LibraryThing member claude_lambert
This is a very nice work. It does not have to be believable, it has some eerie quality that fascinates you and brings you in the story. The book starts with a very personal affair: an old mistress of the hero, Bolitar, calls for help and it gradually expands into a terrorist - anti-terrorist
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battle.
Well constructed and nice to read. Great description of the Rive Gauche in Paris. I always like Coben's sensitivity: the feelings of his characters come through.
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LibraryThing member Darcia
I have long been a big fan of Harlan Coben, with both his stand-alone novels and his Myron Bolitar series. While still an enjoyable read, Long Lost is far from Coben's best work. Some things were lacking for me, such as the usual banter between Myron and his best friend Win. The plot was a little
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over the top and at times stretched my ability to believe. In an attempt to create mystery and suspense, the story often lingered in a foggy mist that was more irritating than interesting.

That being said, this is a quick, entertaining read that will appeal to many Harlan Coben fans. If you have yet to read a book from the Myron Bolitar series, I would not recommend starting with this one.
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LibraryThing member sjmccreary
Terese Collins, with whom Myron spent a couple of weeks on a Caribbean island about 3 books ago, calls from Paris begging Myron to meet her there right away. Since he and Winn had gotten into a fight over a youth basketball game with the opposing coaches, breaking one man's knee before discovering
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that he was a local policeman, the timing was convenient for Myron to leave town for a while, so he went. Once there, he discovered that Terese was in Paris at the request of her ex-husband, who was found murdered. He also discovered that Terese had fled to that Caribbean island after a traffic accident killed her 7-year old daughter. Somehow these facts must be related to the men who are now trying to kill Myron.

This is the grittiest Bolitar book yet, and I think it is also one of the best. After suspending reality to accept that Homeland Security, Interpol and Mossad would tolerate Myron and Winn inserting themselves into an ongoing investigation of a suspected terrorist cell in any way, the story is really quite good. The plot is intricate, and not everything turns out well in the end. This series is one that has begun to change and develop and improve with age, just when its smart aleck light bantering was wearing thin. (Janet Evanovich, are you paying attention?)
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LibraryThing member norinrad10
Starts out really strong. I was excited because at a recent appearence Coban said no more Myron books. Unfortunately this one fizzles towards the end. Oh well still good to spend some time with Myron.
LibraryThing member she_climber
I've done all of the Myron Bolitar books in audio format (all of Harlan Coben for that matter) and this was no different. What was different was the reader, which I had to take with a grain of salt. When readers change I have a hard time because characters, just like people in your life, voices
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don't change so drastically over time. That said Steven Weber did a fine job with all but Esperanza who came out sounding way too manly for Little Poccohanits and I'll always love the preppy accent that seemly only Jonathan Marosz could pull off.

Also different was the general feel of this book, while this book dealt with some pretty serious, timely and morality issues which often come up in Coben's books I felt like the body count and violence was much higher in this book than others - but perhaps that's just to be expected when dealing with terrorism.

All in all, I loved it, of course! And I will be waiting for the next installment, however, as someone who has now gone through everything that Coben's written, save his very first two which are taking a little more effort on my part to find, in the last 9 months I think I need to put some distance between his books. Coben, I believe, should recognize his huge fan base and leave out the tired old explanations of each character’s past which seem to be in each book verbatim and even recognized at least one line in this book that was in one of his standalones as well.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
I read this in one sitting as I wanted to find out just what happened. This is a dark tale with several twists and turns, although I guessed the main element of the plot several pages before it was . Not sure about the ending though but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else.
LibraryThing member DrApple
I really enjoyed this one, perhaps because a great deal of it was set in Paris.
LibraryThing member Kathy89
Interesting premise surrounding a child who was killed in a ca r accident years earlier. Myron goes to France to help a former girlfriend who was contacted by her ex-husband and then he was murdered before he could tell her anything. Ending was violent, creepy and thought provoking.
LibraryThing member adpaton
Some parts of South Africa enjoy wet, windy winters – ideal reading conditions: The balmy mid-year Gauteng climate however encourages one to spend one’s days outside so a recent and unseasonal rainy snap has provided a welcome excuse to bundle up with a book.

Harlan Coban fans will welcome the
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long over-due return of witty wise-cracking agent Myron Bolitar together with his usual entourage – homicidal hombre Win, partner Esperanza and receptionist Big Cyndi.

Myron joins former flame Terese Collins in Paris just in time to experience the proverbial hitting the air conditioning: what follows is far fetched in the extreme, a mixture of Robin Cook meets Boys from Brazil.

Not his best, a disappointment in fact and I can’t help feeling Coban has tired of Bolitar and is trying to write him off. Despite the unlikely plot, the prose is as funny and sharp as ever with guaranteed laugh-out-loud lines.
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LibraryThing member mikedraper
After Coban's success with the French adaptation of his 2001 novel "Tell No One" the author brings us back to Paris for the start of this novel.
Myron Bolitar, main character of 8 other Coban novels, gets a call from an old girlfriend.
He travels to Paris to see her and is detained at the airport by
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the police.

He meets with Terese and the police pick them both up. Myron tells the officials that Terese had a call from her former husband, Rick Collins. He had something urgent to discuss but then vanished.
The police had put a listening device in Myron's cell phone when they detained him and what Terese said, cleared her. They tell Myron and Terese that her former husband has been murdered and there's blood and DNA. The DNA shows that Rick and Terese's daughter was also at the sceen. Terese tells them that she only had one daughter and she was killed in an auto accident years ago.
How is this possible?
Once again Coban shows that he is the master puzzle master.
His solution is so logical I scratched my head that I couldn't have thought of it.
Myron is a well developed, believable character.
HIs friend Win continues to improve and I hope to see him as the star of a future Coban novel.
The final conflict is so ingenious that it once again demonstrates why this author is among the top authors in the mystery and fictional fields.
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LibraryThing member marient
A thriller-diller.Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since theri torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance-her struggles to get pregnant,
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the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born...and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all.
Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call.
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LibraryThing member Marcierr
Myron and Win are back! This story had me turning pages until it was finished. Myron's old flame Therese calls him from Paris wanting him to meet up with her again. The problem is, he is already in a relationship. Within the chapter, his current relationship ends, he gets into some trouble with the
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police and decides that leaving the country may be his best bet.

From Paris and back to the United States (for which Myron is completely unconscious and unaware). Win shows more emotion than ever before in a story, I think he might actually be human :-) ... Myron solves the mystery of whether Therese's daughter is still alive....

This book kept me wanting more and the ending while improbable in my mind, may not be impossible. All in all, I'll keep watching for new Harland Coben books!!
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LibraryThing member AvidMysteryreader
I stumbled on to this series by accident. So many authors are doing series and Harlan Coben is no different. In case you are wondering, it is not a bad thing at all. I love the Myron Bolitar series because the character is flawed and has a sense of personal justice. The character itself is
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wonderfully developed and has a wonderful cast of people around him. In this book, it starts one way and it twists and turns right up to the end! Just when you think you know what might happen, it doesn't. I would recommend this book to those who love to pick up a book and not put it down until it is finished!
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LibraryThing member bookchickdi
I should know better than to start a Harlan Coben book ten minutes before the World Series game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. Thinking I could start Long Lost and then put the book down while I watched the game was foolish.

Once Coben gets his hooks into you, you're
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stuck. His tightly crafted story keeps you turning the pages until you finish the book and realize that not only has three hours flown by, but so has the baseball game.

But during those three hours, the reader is captivated. Long Lost is the newest entry in Coben's Myron Bolitar series, but if you haven't read any of his other Myron books, you will still be able to enjoy the story without being lost.

Bolitar is a sports/entertainment agent in New York City. He receives a phone call from a woman he had a torrid affair with ten years ago, asking him to join her in Paris. Although memories might make any man run for the first available flight, Myron is involved with a single mom who lost her husband in 9/11.

Myron and his loyal best friend/multimillionaire Win (think Bruce Wayne/Batman) are forced into a fight with a bully of a middle school basketball coach (anyone who has ever been involved in youth athletics will recognize the type). The coach humiliated Myron's girlfriend's son in front of a gym full of people, and when Myron calls him out on it, violence follows.

Myron's girlfriend tells him that she is moving to Arizona, and when word comes down that the coach and his buddies are cops and Myron and Win could be in serious legal trouble for the beating they gave them, Myron decides that a trip to Paris is a good idea.

Nothing is ever easy in Myron's life, so naturally his trip to Paris is fraught with danger. Terese, his long lost love, has brought him to Paris to help her find her ex-husband, whom she believes is in trouble.

Terese's ex-husband is murdered, and she becomes a suspect. While Myron tries to help her clear her name, he runs afoul of Paris law enforcement, and somehow Homeland Security, Israeli Mossad, and Interpol become involved. Add in some weird kind of cult, genetic disease, and the possibility that Terese's daughter whom she believed she killed in a car crash years ago may still be alive, and you've got yourself a barn burner of a story.

The great thing about Coben's books is that you never know where he is taking you. You can try to figure out where it is all going, but he always manages to surprise the reader in the end. You find yourself literally holding your breath as you read, and when you get to the end, you can finally let it out. Sometimes I'm surprised that I don't pass out from lack of oxygen before I finish reading.

His characters are well drawn, and Myron is one of the classic good guys in comtemporary fiction. His relationship with his parents is touching, and he and Win make one of the best buddy teams around.

One section of the book particularly interested me- Myron makes a visit to a doctor at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center in New York, and I was so excited when I read that because my husband has a connection to the center. It was such a cool shout-out!

I give Long Lost my highest recommendation. If you are looking a thriller with terrific characters, a fun sense of humor (his one-liners are hysterical)and one that will keep you turning the pages, pick this one up. Then get busy with the rest of the Myron Bolitar novels.
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LibraryThing member BeckyJG
On the same day that he realizes his current romance is ending, Myron Bolitar gets a call from a woman he hasn't heard from in years. "Come to Paris" is what she tells him. He does, and is immediately sucked into a vortex of murder, violence, and terrorist cabals, which ricochet back and forth
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between Europe the the U.S.

Win, Esperanza, and Big Cyndi all have Bolitar's back, though, and if he doesn't end up happy, at least he ends up alive.
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LibraryThing member xn--7xa
This is my first Harlan Coban novel and admittedly he entertains! The technique of writing Myron Bolitar in to a corner and then call the omnipresent Win, is a bit too lazy to "win" my unconditional applauds. But the underlying plot is pretty addictive. Whenever the story is about to loose your
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attention, which isn't a that infrequently event, a layer of deception is dropped, or the perspective shifts and the story takes a new direction. Thus, curiosity gets the upper hand and inner voice changes the "I can't go on" to "I'll go on". And that is the greatest strength of the novel it's not just a whodunit novel but more a "what the .. is going on here?". All in all you easily read Long Lost in one sitting. You are well entertained from - well perhaps not the first page - but from the 40th page, where the main plot gets going.
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LibraryThing member yosbooks
Fast-paced but far-fetched plot. A great read. I love the characters Win and Myron Bolitar.
LibraryThing member EvilynJ
When Myron Bolitar gets a call from an old flame whose husband has been murdered, he flies to Paris to meet her only to become involved with a group of international terrorists.

Harlan Coben at his best! Suspense, witty humor, intricate plotting, and nonstop action all rolled into one. Highly
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recommend!
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LibraryThing member Mary6508
This is a Myron Bolitar novel. Myron, on the outs with his current girlfriend, goes to Paris at the request of a former love interest, Theres, who he hasn't seen for 10 years. He gets all mixed up in murder, terrorism, and is tortured by some shadowy people. Therese is missing, his memories are
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missing, and he sets out to find both.
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LibraryThing member readingrat
This book was just a whole lot of fun to read. I've read one other in the Myron Bolitar series and enjoyed this one quite a bit more. I think I'll search out some others.
LibraryThing member jimrbrown
The return of Myron Bolitar and his sidekick Win is a big bonus as I thought they were finished. This latest adventure of the dynamic duo is good but not up to the high standard previously set by Coben. Still a good read though.
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
This story takes Myron and his trusty sidekick Win into previously uncharted and more edgy territory of international terrorism. I'm not sure it was altogether successful for a series which has previously majored on humour, this book was much darker than usual. However, it did keep me turning the
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pages until the end and was Coben's usual high quality plotting which left you guessing.
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LibraryThing member Alinea
Harlan Coben's millions of fans have waited three long years for a new Myron Bolitar novel and soon their patience will be rewarded in spectacular fashion. Myron hasn't heard from Terese Collins in years. Not since their affair ended without explanation. He's had no contact with her since, so her
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call catches him off guard. She's in Paris, she says, in trouble and only Myron can help. Terese tells him a sad story she's never before revealed: a good marriage, her struggles to get pregnant, the happiest moment of her life when her only child was born, the day everything she'd ever loved was taken from her. As the years passed Terese heard nothing from her ex-husband, until the phone call that brought her to Paris. But on arrival, Terese finds her husband has been murdered, leaving her as a prime suspect. Then comes a startling piece of evidence that turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets in the most shocking way and leaving Myron nowhere to turn for help. Caught in a foreign landscape where nothing is as it seems, he must tear apart the city - and eventually the globe - fighting for answers to unfathomable questions that will take Myron, and Harlan Coben's readers, where they have never gone.
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Awards

Pages

422

ISBN

0451229320 / 9780451229328
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