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LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben is the tenth book in his Myron Bolitar series.

A few years ago I went to a Harlan Coben event in St. Joseph, Michigan. At that time he mentioned that he was considering ending this series. I spoke out from the audience to say, please don’t. He’s written two Myron

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Bolitar (with his indispensable friend Win) novels since then, so I guess he was listening.

But is this the last in the series?

As a former basketball great and now co-owner of an agency that represents sports and entertainment personalities, Myron is visited by a client, Suzze, former tennis star. She wants Myron to find her husband, Lex, rock star and also Myron’s client. Lex ran out on Suzze, pregnant and all, when he saw an anonymous post on Suzze’s Facebook page: “NOT HIS.”

Right off the bat this book disappoints. Who would take seriously an anonymous post on the Internet? Everyone knows that anyone can say anything on the Internet.

But if you just go with it and not think about that, LIVE WIRE does have Coben’s typical plot and subplot, twists and turns, and Win. So Myron Bolitar fans can count on that even if the book doesn't quite measure up to Coben's others.

Myron, who can’t help but become involved in his clients’ lives, finds Lex in a nightclub and, coincidentally, also finds his long-lost sister-in-law, Kitty. Or is it a coincidence?

Kitty, another former tennis star, is now a mess. She's a heroin junkie so far gone she’ll do anything, I mean ANYTHING, to get a fix. And she’s at this nightclub without Myron’s (also long-lost) brother, Brad. Where is he?

Myron’s father wants him to find out. One thing we love about Myron Bolitar is that he loves his parents. So Myron, in spite of great danger, finds out. After all, he has Win.

While Myron looks for Brad, Myron finds his 15-year-old nephew, Mickey. And, wouldn’t you know it, Mickey is tall like Myron and a basketball player.

Does this introduction to Mickey signal the end of the Myron series? Is Myron now retiring? Clues seem to indicate that.

I love Myron, and I love that he’s getting older just like me. But could his age be reason to retire him?

Lots of readers have loved this series, and I think they should read this. It’s not Coben’s best, but they’ll want to know what happening with Myron. I think they, like me, will not be happy that Myron might be banished to the sidelines in favor of a teenager.

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When you get a good one of this ilk you realize what skill it takes to write a throw away novel. Live Wire will never be confused with Crime and Punishment. What it will do is bring you several hours of entertainment with characters that you really care about. Lately I've read so much bad popular

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fiction that it really made me appreciate Mr. Coben. This one is not that different from his others. Myron gets involved in some kind of predicament involving one of his sports agent clients. Win supplies the muscle and we enjoy the ride. Like Dolly Parton used to say, its hard wok looking this cheap. Another solid entry from Harlen Coben

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Coben back at the top of his game. Plot twists abound in another mystery featuring Myron Bolitar. One of his best page turners.

What Hercule Poirot was to Agatha Christie, what Sherlock Holmes was to Conan Doyle, so is Myron Bolitar to Harlan Coben and Harlan, following in their esteemed footsteps, seems to have grown tired of his beloved sleuth and although Bolitar shows no evidence of wanting to become a bee-keeper or an

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avenging slayer, it seems Live Wire will be his final outing.
While investigating a problem for one of his clients, Myron runs into his sister-in-law Kitty: since she is the cause of his decades-long estrangement from his brother, he is naturally anxious to talk to her. Before long Myron is emeshed in a maelstrom of madness and needs the combined efforts of his team, Win, Esperanza and, of course, Big Cyndi, to rescue him and his new-found nephew.
The book ends with Myron's retirment: the business is sold, Esperanza - en-route to a divorce and showing signs of returning to her lady-loving ways - will run waht's left of it with Big Cyndi's help, Myron's parents, El and Al, will return to Florida, the New Jersey house sold, leaving him free to go to Angola to join fiance Terese.
We are warned of a new series of books for young adults featuring nephew Mike [real name Myron] who has taken after his uncle in many ways - not only the name and smart mouth but also the supurb basketball skills. So perhaps Myron Bolitar, super agent and superslueth, is not completely lost to readers. Through Mike we will, hopefully, keep au fait with his doings, those of Esperanza and lovable Big Cyndi and, of course, everyone's favourite sociopath, the urbane and blue blooded homocidal maniac Win.

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On a plus side it is a very fast paced and makes you trying to get to the end as quick as possible ( as good thriller should do). On a negative side, it suffers from using the same characters (Myron Bolitar, et al) for so long. I love Bolitar and Win characters but I don't remember any mention in

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previous novels of Bolitar's brother. Bringing this subject now - especially when it's supposed to affect Boplitar's family so much - made me cringe a bit. It definitely broke the mood of this novel for me.

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Many readers have come to know Harlan Coben through the stand alone thrillers he writes - most of which are bestsellers. And really really good. But he also writes a great series featuring recurring character Myron Bolitar - a sports and entertainment rep who is also a lawyer - and his sidekick the

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enigmatic Win.hi Win is a very dapper, very wealthy, very scary kind of guy.

Live Wire finds Myron dealing with problems much closer to home than ever before. His estranged brother's wife ends up on a video in a club, showing her shooting up and more. When Myron approaches her she runs. Two of his high profile clients - Lex, a musician and Suzze, a tennis star. are expecting their first child. But Lex has disappeared and online postings insist the child isn't Lex's. As he digs deeper, he finds an unlikely connection between the two mysteries.

This is a fun series. The witty banter between Win and Myron is amusing. It's an unusual pairing that really works. Myron's ability to get himself in (and sometimes out) of problems using his silver tongue is always entertaining. The cases themselves are well plotted and move quickly. In Live Wire though, we get to see beneath the shiny surface of Myron and see some emotional underbelly.

A great set of recurring characters to get hooked on.

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A mystery book that revolves around great hero's that exist as sports agents in New York. Myron Bolitar was a great basketball player who had promise for a professional career until he blew out his knee. His best friend Windsor Horne Lockwood III is a rich blue blood from the right side of the

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tracks and self described Rake. He owns the Dakota building where their office is located. His family has memberships to all the best clubs and he knows all the important people. Most importantly, Myron and Win love each other and would do anything to help and protect each other. They are also young, big, athletic and dangerous (especially Win). Coban is an author who tells an engaging story and peoples it with characters that are easy to visualize and either love or hate. The office receptionist, Big Cindy, is a tall large women who having been an intercontinental Women's Wrestling Federation Tag Team member can pull off wearing a shimmering purple Bat Girl costume while following someone through the streets of New York and (in her words), blending in. Her former team mate is now a recently law school graduate, 49% partner in the Sports Agency and was an extremely hot, compact foil for Big Cindy who went by the moniker, Pocahontas during her wrestling days. Coban also describes the physical attributes of the area his characters are occupying, with enough detail to make you feel if you are there. His descriptions also lend an atmosphere that contributes to the joy, fear, tenseness or other emotional content of the scene. The action never drags and the family warmth makes you want to join Myron's extended family (all of his clients he treats as family, interested in their lives and concerned for their welfare, he is loyal to them and they in return respect him for his attitude and loyalty). The story has lots of twists with characters that range from really evil mobsters to hormone enhanced muscle who love to be bullies. Myron and Win deal with either with equal aplomb. The running dialog is humorous and entertaining. Watching the extremes his players are subjected to and the endless drama they bring upon themselves and others, makes you glad to be a reader and not a player. Harlan Coben is an author who has come into his own and ranks among the very best. Reward yourself by spending time with one of his books!

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This was a good mystery and the first book in the Myron Bolitar series that I have read. The story was good and the characters were interesting. Overall an enjoyable story.

I read a lot. I've found some good writers and not so good writers. Harlan Coben is one of the best. As soon as I picked up Live Wire, I was engaged in the story. I like the characters; even Win and I look forward to HC's next book. The reasoning that some would give this less than 5 stars because

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they were afraid this would be his last book in the series escapes me. I realize that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, but why an author would end a great series also escapes me. We just went through this with Lee Child and Jack Reacher. Of course, if they allow Tom Cruise to play the part of Jack Reacher, that alone may very well end the series for me. The same for Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum. I sometimes think it's better to leave a book as a book. Making a movie out of a great character is about picking the right actor to play that part. You're never going to please all of us. I see Live Wire as a new beginning for Myron and I'm wondering how the relationship between Myron and Win is going to change. Too much to write. No time for the series to end. Relax everyone. They'll be back.

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Best-selling writer Harlan Coben, author of close to two dozen superb, exciting, well-written crime novels, wrote two such books in 2011. This one is for his usual readers staring Myron Bolitar and featuring his zany friends: Big Cynti, the grossly overweight ever-helpful ex-wrestler with zany

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makeup; Esperanza, the beautiful sometime lesbian expert with computers, who is Myron's partner; and, of course Wyn, his devoted friend, multi millionaire, with a frightening ability to hurt people, which he enjoys, who has two oriental girlfriends Yu and Mee. The second novel called Shelter, which should be read after this one, is focused toward young readers, Coben's first such novel, which can be enjoyed by adults.

The two books describe different incidences that occur at about the same time. This mystery is called Live Wire because this is the name of a musical band that plays a major part in this tale. Six foot four ex-basketball player Myron is an agent for entertainment people but he frequently stumbles upon situations where people need help and like a sensitive white knight he rides in to help despite the threat of personal danger. Myron's younger brother Brad who he loves dearly goes missing. Myron hasn't seen him for about fifteen years. The two very close siblings got into a fight about Kitty whom Brad was determined to and did marry. Where was Brad? Was he still alive? Why does Kitty refuse to tell him where Bad is?

Kitty has become a drug addict. Myron sees a tape showing her committing degrading sex to obtain drugs. She is scared of something and runs. She and Brad have a son Mickey Bolivar, the hero of Shelter. Although Mickey is only fifteen years old, he is also six foot four, confronts his uncle Myron, and insists that Myron leave him and his mother alone. What is he hiding? Can't he realize that his mother needs help? Can't he understand that he can't handle all the problems he is facing by himself?

Myron's client, ex-tennis star, and wife of one member of Live Wire is eight months pregnant. She receives a message on her facebook page that her baby is "Not His," meaning not her husband's. The message is signed with an unusual word and there is a strange symbol next to it. She insists that the child is her husband's. Her husband sees the posting and disappears. What does the name and symbol signify? What's going on with her husband?

Myron soon realizes that the current events are tied to the apparent murder of a girl by Gabriel Wire, the band lead singer, about a dozen years ago. Soon there are many thrilling events traveling at car chase speed, including other deaths and Myron being attacked and Win taking brutal revenge. Readers will enjoy the book.

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Live Wire was a rare, successful story of murder with delightful sprinkles of sarcastic humor. The more I read from Harlan Coben, the more impressed I become. His characters are the type I usually eschew, the tough guy investigator: rich, handsome, perfect. What's interesting about that? But these

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guys are actually, well, guys who have depth beyond their profile. Its their personal history, the glimpses of sadness and regret that I identify with, that pulls me through the story.

It is also a fresh storyline, with impossible twists. I can acceptt that, though, because the overall experience is all so very entertaining.

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Another excellent Harlan Coben read. Read this one, then read Shelter. Although Shelter is classified as YA, it gives you the next step in the story. Highly recommend both books

In this series entry Myron meets his nephew Mickey, who is fifteen-years-old, for the first time. Myron's father suffers a serious illness, and Myron spends a lot of time searching for his missing brother, Brad, while trying to help his troubled sister-in-law, Kitty. He also helps an aging tennis

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star track down her missing rock-star husband, and the two sagas manage to intertwine. This is a really great way to pass a long drive. Myron rocks on!

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I love, love, love this series I wait and wait until Coben comes out with a new book and then I gobble it up as if I've been starving. This book was no exception. Fantastic!

An enjoyable read in the Bolitar series, the characters are back on track and some events in this version really leave some what will become of the characters in your head.

Also a really smart segway into the Mickey Bolitar series

This looks to be the last book in the Myron Bolitar series, but Coben rounds it off nicely. Once of Myron's clients is disturbed by a posting on Facebook which she asks Myron to investigate. Before long there's a high body count and Myron is forced to revisit his past relationship with his brother

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and sister-in-law and his relationship with his parents. This is a fast read with lots of plot twists which neatly sets up the Mickey Bolitar series. Not sure that this is a fitting end to the series though.

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Hurray! A new author to pursue! I picked this audio book up reluctantly, since I am not a big fan of sports. However, I found so much more in this story. The main character Myron, an agent for sports figures and celebrities, is far from perfect. He tries to fix everything for his clients; but when

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he starts on a simple road to figure out who posted something hateful on Facebook, his good intentions soon have events and his friends spiraling out of control. The mystery is a good one, with several layers to it. There is nice humor and background between Myron and those he works with.

I listened to the audio version of this, and I'm thinking Steven Weber may be the best narrator I've heard yet. He did many voices and accents flawlessly, even females.

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Typical Harlan Coben - fun and interesting romp with twists you won't see coming, with a little humour thrown in.

Typical Coben Bolitar story, suspend all belief and go with the flow for a relatively undemanding read.

Another great read in this series, of which unfortunately this is the last book. There were a number of sad elements to the end of this book. I hope Harlan Coben writes more as I would like to know what happens next! This is one series I almost want to start back at the beginning!

Update November

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2016
Now reading this again prior to reading the new book in the series that I am happy to see Harlan Coben has written. Enjoyed this as much second time around as the first time, now interested to see where Harlan Coben takes this new book! I do thoroughly recommend this series.

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Live Wire. Harlan Coben. 2011. Well, I guess I read this book too soon after I read Home or I should have read this book before I read Home since it comes directly before. It was not as a compelling read as Home, but all the funny and good characters were in it; and Myron and Win were at their

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wise-cracking best. This book fills in missing pieces about Myron’s family. For die-hard Myron Bolitar fans!

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Another great Myron Bolitar mystery.

Another great Myron Bolitar series! Myron represents a young tennis star who asks him to find something that was posted on facebook.As always this leads to trouble and then involves Myron"s brother who disappeared 15 years ago.

I read Harlan Coben novels when they fall into my hands; but I do not go looking for them. They are all essentially quick fun reads but definitely not intellectually rewarding.
He writes competently, plots well and his ongoing characters are quite well drawn, of occasionally cartoon-like.
I would

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grade this as an above average example of his oeuvre.

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