Really really didn't expect some of the surprises in this book. We learn more about the injury which forced Myron to give up playing professional basketball and how he came to terms, or not, with the end of this career. One of the things I'm really enjoying about this series is how the characters develop in each book. ( )

This is the 3rd book in the Myron Bolitar series. My least favorite of the series thus far. Although, I did find the book enjoyable and liked the surprise ending. I am looking forward to reading book 4. ( )

Myron is invited to return to professional basketball, but the motive is not to get him to play as such but to enable him to investigate. In the end he finds out some startling facts about himself - and I don't mean psychological facts. But alas, I cannot say any more for that would spoil it. Just read it! ( )

Myron gets another chance at pro-basketball. Great story, great mystery - didn't see it coming until the end. Still wondering what exactly did Win do at the very end. Hurrying to the next one to see if any clues will be revealed. ( )

Myron Bolitar's professional basketball careeer ended before it ever really began with a severe knee injury sustained during a pre-season game. He is therefore astonished when the owner of the New Jersey Dragons, a team headed for the playoffs, offers him a job as a player. But it turns out that this is to be a cover for the real job--finding the whereabouts of one of the team's star players, Greg Downing, who has disappeared on the eve of the playoffs. Myron and Greg have a history as rivals going back to their high school basketball days.

Myron and his Philadelphia Main Line Old Family assistant Win immediately run into signs of trouble when they discover blood in the basement playroom of Downing's house. Soon a body shows up, that of a mysterious "Carla", and the puzzle thickens.

Coben is in fine feather with this series installment. Myron and Win are two of the more original "detectives" in the mystery genre, and Coben's comic touch, as usual, really enlivens the story. Win is definitely everyone's favorite sociopath.

The plot is excellent with a gratifying number of twists and turns. The climax is completely unexpected and well-written; the ending, quite appropriately, is somewhat somber and a little ambivalent.

There are aspects of the plot, however, that do not tie up neatly at the end, and that left me uncomfortable trying to figure out just exactly how they actually did fit in to the overall plot. There is a brief and pretty superficial look at the price sports superstars pay for their celebrity status that is crucial to the plot.

As always, Myron and Win are the chief attractions in a highly entertaining--many times truly funny--book. Highly recommended for a good, light read. ( )