Back Spin

Thank you, Janette (and you know who you are!), for recommending that I read Harlan Coben.  I was in the mood for something new the other day, and wandered into the stacks to find the oldest available Harlan Coben book I could find after I saw his latest in the New Books section.  What I found was Back Spin (#172), his fourth Myron Bolitar novel.  Life pretty much stopped as I devoured this one. 

How appropriate that this particular book involves the world of professional golf (which Coben admits rates a huge yawn from him!) with all the hype about the Master's this week, and kind of a parallel story line with the attempted come back of a big name golfer against an upcoming wunderkind at the US Open at a hide-bound traditional course, but without the murders one would hope!  Since my husband and I play golf, (but not seriously!) and live where many famous golfers are thick on the ground, I appreciated how spot on Mr. Coben was with his descriptions of the peculiarities of the golf world. 

So how did Myron Bolitar, who is most definitely a non-golfer, get mixed up with the US Open?  His friend Win, the blue-blooded money man, and member of Merion, the fabled real course where much of the action takes place, suggested that the Open would be the perfect venue to troll for new new clients for Myron's MB Sports Agency - more clients for Myron equals more clients for Win (and no, I won't go with the obvious here). Win is proved right when a fellow Merion member approaches Myron in the gallery about a problem involving the Coldrens; Linda, the number one woman's golfer and her spouse Jack who famously choked on the sixteenth hole of this same tournament twenty three years ago and is desperate to win this tournament, Myron takes the bait.  But instead of a nice simple, clean deal, he finds himself smack in the middle of  a kidnapping involving their sixteen year old son.  If Myron can safely retrieve the son without involving the police, he's got a brand new contract to represent Linda. But is the kidnapping real, or is it staged, and if so, by whom?  The surprises don't stop coming until the final page. (And don't be like my husband and read ahead, or you'll spoil a great read for yourself!) 

Mr. Coben, I believe you have two new fans in this household!