Drop Shot

By: Harlan Coben

Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Tennis has been very good to sports agent Myron Bolitar. He represents two of the hottest young stars in the game. But when his female player is murdered in broad daylight at the U.S. Open and his male player becomes the prime suspect, Myron's got a whole new match to win. His investigation leads to an old murder, the mob, a crooked senator, a jealous mother, and someone who's determined to shut down his search for good.

In novels that crackle with wit and suspense, Edgar Award-winner Harlan Coben has created one of the most fascinating and complex heroes in suspense fiction, a hot-headed, tender-hearted sports agent who grows more and more engaging and unpredictable with each page-turning appearance.

©1996 Harlan Coben (P)1999 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"The prose is lean, the story moves briskly, and the dialogue crackles...great fun in the best 'hard-boiled' tradition." (Houston Chronicle)

Obvious solution but more than that

Everything about this novel was excellent except the solution. I had that figured out maybe 1/4 through the book. But the characterizations were excellent and the overall idea was quite good. I appreciate this novel's complexities. I'd recommend it.

Dropped Shot

After reading 30 Harlan Coben titles (almost all in audio), I had to reach back to his second novel, the second entry in the Myron Bolitar series, to find one that did not wholly satisfy me. While watching a client compete in the U.S. Open tennis tournament, a prospective client of Myron's boutique sports agency is murdered out in the open at the USTA Tennis Center in Flushing.

Myron is intent on finding the murderer despite being warned off by the police, the mafia, a U.S. senator, the victim's parents, even his own client. His pursuit uncovers the truth behind another murder from years earlier as well as a serious sexual predator. When Myron finally identifies the real killer, it's quite the surprise.

But it's a bit of ho-hum moment. The final reveal may tie up many loose ends, the general feeling is, so what? It doesn't really have much to do in any interesting way with tennis, or sexual predators, or U.S. senators, or the mafia. I've never felt let down by a Coben reveal before -- and it took a number of talkers to explain it, also not a typical Coben flaw.

The saving grace is Myron himself, along with his sidekick Win, wise cracking their way through every scene and dropping umpteen cultural references (though many have become majorly outdated over the past 27 years). Still a good Coben read, but not the best, of which there is a lot of in his work.

Great story and characters

This was the first Myron Bolitar book to which I listed, and the series is so good I'm listening to it again. Never done anything like that.

Had me from word one

Great story, awesome narrator, very fast listen. Can’t wait to listen to the next one.

narrator

I prefer Steven Weber as a narrator. Maybe it's because I heard him first, but I think there is more inflection in his voice and more humor, and I find that more enjoyable.

Great series

I am really enjoying this series! The characters are building nicely. The Witt and banter are great!! Fun mysteries to figure out!

One of Coben’s best!

You’re guaranteed a great read with Harlan Coben. Outstanding, humorous dialogue & intriguing plots keep you glue to the storyline. Recommend it highly.

Another good Myron book

While I enjoy Corben's writing, especially the colorful characters and twisty plots, these books have not aged well. Old technologies and old ideologies lock these in the past, so newer and younger readers would probably not enjoy them much. I like the nostalgia of some things, and it was an overall interesting story. Unfortunately, I guessed the final twist pretty early on, so the climax was a wee less exciting than it might have otherwise been.

Kept us guessing to the very end

Excellent story telling, as usual. LOVE the reader of these books. Harlan Coban never disappoints us. We listen on our cross country road trips. Definitely gets us down the road.

Love the Narrator

I love Harlan Coben's snarky dry wit, his books keep me constantly amused. That being said, with every book I've read (all of them now) I've liked Myron less and less. Disturbingly, I find myself agreeing more and more with Win. It leaves me questioning my very sense of self, my morals, my sanity...
I was THRILLED when he came out with "Win". He's long been my favorite and wish he'd do a separate series with Win as the main character. It could be so much fun!