One False Move

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2007 Harlan Coben (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A superb book!" ( Christian Science Monitor)
"Fast-moving, funny - an altogether good listen!" ( 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)

I've missed Myron, but this isn't quite right.

Would you listen to One False Move again? Why?

No. I know what happens. It is formulaic and derivative of Coben's earlier Myron Bolitar books. The jokes are still good, but there is WAY WAY WAY too much plot, so much that it boils over and confuses the reader with its wretched excess. And, there are so many other things to read and listen to.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No. Again, way too many twists and turns. Way too many characters. Obviously I welcome the return of Esperanza and Win, but the entire world of Brenda Slaughter and of the governor-elect: it is just much too much and well beyond confusing. It rises to the level of frustrating. Like, do we have to have yet another plot twist?

Which scene was your favorite?

Not one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No crying. No LOL, either, but plenty of chuckles, which is the kind of humor that Coben does best.

Any additional comments?

I think it is time for Myron to hang up his cleats. Too bad (spoiler) that Brenda gets killed, because she might have made an interesting wife for Myron, much better than, say, the evil Jessica. Win has become a cartoon, which some might argue that he has been all along. Au revoir, Myron. It's been fun.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Good story

loved it! it was good story with an unexpected ending. which is to be expected from coben

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

a great series

If you just like to read for the enjoyment and don't care too much about the plot, this is the right series. I would compare them to the Janet Evanovich's
books. Myron Bolitar is quick witted and fun to spend time with.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Too "cute" with words

Coben writes a fair story, but he is way over the top in trying to be descriptive. Many times it's just plain silly. He seems to feel the need to try to outdo himself in finding a new comparison of words to describe what he wants to say. I've enjoyed other books by him, but this one is way down the list.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

So Far The BEST in this Wonderful Series!

Jonathan Marosz creates Harlen Coben's cast with haunting power.... I cannot imagine Myron Bolitar or any of the ensemble through another filter.

Look... this series is so great that you really should start from the first and work toward the VERY HIGH LEVEL of 'One False Move'. Coben's characters grow through this series. While this book does, I suppose, stand upon its own bottom, why not enjoy the evolving nuances?

Sports agent and attorney Myron Coben deepens with each new tale's pressures. There's a maturation happening to the entire ensemble... I recommend each of the steps. And by the way... don't let the sports aspect deter you. None of the novels so far has repeated a sport and the author provides everything the reader needs to navigate each plot.

6 of 9 people found this review helpful

Comic book characters. Soap opera plot and twists.

I've enjoyed many of Coben's mysteries, but this one is a bit over the top, more complicated than a never-ending, daytime TV soap. Although Coben can write well and is often humorous, I think this will be the last of the Myron Bolitar series I will read.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Always a twist at the end! A must read.

Harlan Coben is an excellent author and I love listening to Jonathan Marosz! I wish he narrated all of the Harlan Coben books.

slow growing

this book was a little slow getting moving once it got going it seem to be an improvement I didn't see the end coming wondered if there could have been a few more hints along the way seemed to come out of nowhere but a good conclusion.

Worst Coben book

The narrator sounds like he's reading the news. Horrible! Marlin Bolitar sounds like a jerk. I can't waste another minute of my life reading this. i can't believe I stuck with it this long.

love him

He's a master weaver. Never a dull moment, and it's all believable. I think his books get better with time.

good story with interesting semi twist

good story with interesting semi twist at the end. Perform reasonably well. a good read from Coben's Character Myron Bolitar.