Long Lost

This is the 9th book in the Myron Bolitar series. I started reading this series when there were only two books but it's been 12 years since I read number 8. Even after a long absence it was fun to spend some time with some familiar characters that I've enjoyed for a long time.

While there is a mystery involved this one is much more of a suspense thriller than it is a classic mystery. The action takes place in Paris, London and back in the US. Myron and his best friend the wonderfully inappropriate and wealthy Win help out a long lost love of Myron's, tangle with the French Police and several other international law enforcement agencies, unearth long buried secrets, run up against international terrorists, and beat up some really show more annoying kids basketball coaches.

Believable? Certainly not. Entertaining? You bet! show less

I think Coben’s books might get worse the more he tries for plausible explanations for the terrific coincidences on which his books rely. This one features a long-lost love who reappears in Paris needing the protagonist’s help with a secret involving her dead daughter, skeevy Middle Eastern terrorists, and waterboarding. But see, Coben has his POV character worry that we treat people differently depending on whether or not they have blue eyes and blond hair, so he’s aware of the racial problematics! I also didn’t appreciate the trying-to-cover-all-the-bases discussion of torture: we’re against it, of course, a good-guy character says, but it’s a difficult issue because what about the conceded terrorist who definitely knows show more where an active nuclear bomb is? This, and nobody bothers to mention that the torture in this book was inflicted on an absolutely innocent man—including the innocent torture victim to whom this straw man argument is offered? Look, I don’t mind if Coben’s not thinking very hard—that’s not what the books are for. I mind if he’s not thinking very hard about stuff that actually matters, and since we’re apparently now making public policy based on what Jack Bauer gets away with on 24, Coben is not helping. show less

Reading a Harlan Coben novel is a bit like having another ride on your favourite roller coaster. It’s going to be fast moving with plenty of twists and turns and might make you laugh hysterically but essentially it will be the same as the last time you rode it. So here is this novel, the most recent of his that I have read, and here again is the missing female character, the is she/isn’t she dead scenario, and all the witty asides. And of course the omnipotent friend without whom Myron Bolitar would be in so much trouble he would barely get past his office door. I reckon even I could crack international crime if I had him in my corner.

I guess this book does what its fans expect – it delivers a fast moving, very exciting storyline show more and always remembers to keep personality to the forefront. There are little catch-ups too, where one character will bring another up to date with events, a subtle way of reminding the reader where we are with the plot, in amongst all the jokes. The storyline visits France and Britain, and whilst I was interested to know how this would impact on the novel, I never really felt it had left the USA. The cops for example spoke perfect American English. But I’m probably being churlish.

Not wanting to give too much away,but there is a nod towards current events, or at least modern preoccupations, in the novel’s conclusion. I’m not sure whether the whole scenario was clever and thought provoking or hysterical and unhelpful. I’m tending towards the second, though it will be interesting to find out what other readers made of it. show less

I've become a fan of Harlan Coben's over the past year. His several mini-series on Netflix are entertaining and are quite different from one another. I came across "Long Lost" at the semi-annual "Friends of the Library" book sale. This novel is #9 in the Myron Bolitar series. There are references made in this novel to Bolitar's previous adventures. I have not read any of the previous novels in this series and did not feel that I was left confused. The novel definitely stands alone from the previous ones in this series. The plot is well written, and the dialogue and actions of the characters are realistic. If you're looking for a thriller, I would recommend this novel.

This is my first Harlan Coben book and I'm not sure what to think. Well, I know what to think, how to think and thinking is something I like to do to keep me from watching reality TV. My opinion of this book, however, is rather undecided.

Myron seems like an interesting enough character, the character of Win is a scene stealer, and the mystery is interesting enough. About half-way through the book, the pace picks up and things change around a bit. Even so, I'm still left unsure as to whether I enjoyed the book or not.

I think this may be that this book is number nine in the series and is written with Myron fans in mind, rather than fresh readers. As such, the Myron character feels a little flat and sappy. It might also be that the plot show more twist is a little improbable and pointless - as another reviewer pointed out, using an expensive procedure rather than just kidnapping is a bit silly.

Might have to try one of the earlier Myron Bolitar novels to see if I enjoy Harlan's work. show less

I should know better than to start a Harlan Coben book ten minutes before the World Series game between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. Thinking I could start Long Lost and then put the book down while I watched the game was foolish.

Once Coben gets his hooks into you, you're stuck. His tightly crafted story keeps you turning the pages until you finish the book and realize that not only has three hours flown by, but so has the baseball game.

But during those three hours, the reader is captivated. Long Lost is the newest entry in Coben's Myron Bolitar series, but if you haven't read any of his other Myron books, you will still be able to enjoy the story without being lost.

Bolitar is a sports/entertainment agent in New show more York City. He receives a phone call from a woman he had a torrid affair with ten years ago, asking him to join her in Paris. Although memories might make any man run for the first available flight, Myron is involved with a single mom who lost her husband in 9/11.

Myron and his loyal best friend/multimillionaire Win (think Bruce Wayne/Batman) are forced into a fight with a bully of a middle school basketball coach (anyone who has ever been involved in youth athletics will recognize the type). The coach humiliated Myron's girlfriend's son in front of a gym full of people, and when Myron calls him out on it, violence follows.

Myron's girlfriend tells him that she is moving to Arizona, and when word comes down that the coach and his buddies are cops and Myron and Win could be in serious legal trouble for the beating they gave them, Myron decides that a trip to Paris is a good idea.

Nothing is ever easy in Myron's life, so naturally his trip to Paris is fraught with danger. Terese, his long lost love, has brought him to Paris to help her find her ex-husband, whom she believes is in trouble.

Terese's ex-husband is murdered, and she becomes a suspect. While Myron tries to help her clear her name, he runs afoul of Paris law enforcement, and somehow Homeland Security, Israeli Mossad, and Interpol become involved. Add in some weird kind of cult, genetic disease, and the possibility that Terese's daughter whom she believed she killed in a car crash years ago may still be alive, and you've got yourself a barn burner of a story.

The great thing about Coben's books is that you never know where he is taking you. You can try to figure out where it is all going, but he always manages to surprise the reader in the end. You find yourself literally holding your breath as you read, and when you get to the end, you can finally let it out. Sometimes I'm surprised that I don't pass out from lack of oxygen before I finish reading.

His characters are well drawn, and Myron is one of the classic good guys in comtemporary fiction. His relationship with his parents is touching, and he and Win make one of the best buddy teams around.

One section of the book particularly interested me- Myron makes a visit to a doctor at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center in New York, and I was so excited when I read that because my husband has a connection to the center. It was such a cool shout-out!

I give Long Lost my highest recommendation. If you are looking a thriller with terrific characters, a fun sense of humor (his one-liners are hysterical)and one that will keep you turning the pages, pick this one up. Then get busy with the rest of the Myron Bolitar novels. show less

Terese Collins, with whom Myron spent a couple of weeks on a Caribbean island about 3 books ago, calls from Paris begging Myron to meet her there right away. Since he and Winn had gotten into a fight over a youth basketball game with the opposing coaches, breaking one man's knee before discovering that he was a local policeman, the timing was convenient for Myron to leave town for a while, so he went. Once there, he discovered that Terese was in Paris at the request of her ex-husband, who was found murdered. He also discovered that Terese had fled to that Caribbean island after a traffic accident killed her 7-year old daughter. Somehow these facts must be related to the men who are now trying to kill Myron.

This is the grittiest Bolitar show more book yet, and I think it is also one of the best. After suspending reality to accept that Homeland Security, Interpol and Mossad would tolerate Myron and Winn inserting themselves into an ongoing investigation of a suspected terrorist cell in any way, the story is really quite good. The plot is intricate, and not everything turns out well in the end. This series is one that has begun to change and develop and improve with age, just when its smart aleck light bantering was wearing thin. (Janet Evanovich, are you paying attention?) show less