Drop Shot

"He sounded genuine, but Myron knew that meant nothing. People were amazing liars."

Duane Richwood, an unseeded tennis player, is playing against an opponent ranked much higher than him in the US Open and beating that opponent comfortably. Towards the end of Duane's first ever Grand Slam win, his agent Myron Bolitar, who is watching his client from the player's box, hears a gun shot. Myron goes to investigate the disturbance and discovers the body of Valerie Simpson, herself once one of the hottest new prospects in tennis until she career dramatically plummeted.

Valerie Simpson had tried calling Myron earlier but failed to get through to him. Myron feels a certain responsibility because of this and decides to investigate the murder show more himself. He finds a connection between Valerie's death and another one that took place outside an exclusive tennis club six years previously. When his client, Duane, seems to be involved, what will Bolitar do? Keep digging in to the past or protect his client’s future?

I found the ending a little predictable but overall this didn't really spoil things for me. Mixing sport and crime made this book an engaging read. Myron is a wonderful character. He’s an agent, but he cares about his clients rather than simply looking to make money out of them. He’s honest, conscientious, determined and very persistent. The secondary characters, Win and Esperanza are also well drawn. I'm unsure as yet about Jessica, Myron's love interest, but hopefully we will learn more about her in future novels. This is a nice piece of escapism and as such well worth reading. show less

Right off the bat, I get a little irritated when a character seems to be doing something ridiculously out of place, and being successful at moreso than the authorities.

In "Drop Shot," sports agent Myron Bolitar looks into the shooting death of former rising tennis star Valerie Simpson. This is in part because she tried desperately to meet with him just prior to her death, and also because his newest tennis star is somehow involved.

He immediately butts heads with the cops, then proceeds to interview folks related to the murder of Valerie's boyfriend six years ago (who happened to be the son of a powerful US Senator). These interviews help him along the way far more than it did the cops originally. Granted, author Harlan Coben does a show more pretty good job explaining why but again, it takes a sports agent to figure all this out?

And while the dialogue between Bolitar and other characters is often witty, it's often misplaced too. He's in a rather sticky situation and keeps being a wiseass. Quite similar to Nelson DeMille's John Corey, but since I like Corey much better, I give him more of a pass than I do Bolitar.

I've enjoyed the other Coben books I've read ("Gone for Good" and "Caught") better; and since this was Coben's second book, I'll give him a bit more of a pass. show less

Drop Shot is the second book by Harlan Coben featuring Myron Bolitar, a former basketball phenom, now working as a sports agent. Drop Shot opens with Myron watching his client, tennis star Duane Richwood, make it to the finals of the U. S. Open. Former tennis legend, Valerie Simpson, has been trying to get in touch with Myron all day but he's been unable to return her calls. During the match, a gunshot is heard and Myron finds out that Valerie has been shot dead in the Food Court.

The police want to question Duane as a possible suspect because Valerie's phone records show she called his house several times. His alibi seems to be airtight since he was playing tennis in front of millions at the time she was shot. Myron feels some guilt show more about Valerie's death because she was on her way to see him, so he and his best friend, Windsor “Win” Horne Lockwood III, decide to investigate the murder.

Myron's banter is quick and funny, and the secondary characters are very well developed. Myron is quirky and a real master of the one liner, especially during times of stress. Win is one of the most interesting characters I've ever encountered, as is Esperanza Diaz, Myron's associate and a former wrestler with the Fabulous Ladies of Wrestling. I'm becoming a huge Myron Bolitar fan and plan to read the rest of the series throughout the year. show less

Drop Shot is the second book in the Myron Bolitar series from Harlan Coben, in which we see the character of Bolitar developed further. It is a thriller that will grip you from the first chapter and keep you guessing all the way through. Though Coben does drop hints and tips throughout the book to who the protagonist may be. The reader just has to pick up on them.

The story opens during a big match at the US Open, a tennis star is gunned down and killed. It is complicated by the fact that the star killed was about to sign up to Bolitar’s sports agency, and the lead suspect, is represented by Bolitar. The only saving grace for him is that the player was on court at the time, playing one of the biggest games of his life. What it does show more mean, Bolitar needs to solve a murder that happened six years previous to work out who killed this starlet.

There is a lot of toes Bolitar needs to avoid stepping on, from the NYPD to the New York Mob, a US senator to two mothers. The problem for Bolitar is that he has a need to find the truth even if it does mean he could be shooting himself in the foot.

Drop Shot was originally published in 1996 and republished in the noughties it still feels fresh and very prescient in its observations about the problems in commercialised sport today as it was back in the 1990s. A very enjoyable thriller which the reader will love and not feel that it is dated, but of the moment. show less

Valerie Simpson is a young female tennis star with a troubled past who's now on the verge of a comeback and wants Myron as her agent. Myron, who's also got the hottest young male tennis star, Duane Richwood, primed to take his first grand slam tournament, couldn't be happier. That is, until Valerie is murdered in broad daylight at the U.S. Open and Myron's number one client becomes the number one suspect.

Clearing Duane's name should be easy enough. Duane was playing in a match at the time of Valerie's death. But why is his phone number in Valerie's black book when he claims only to have known her in passing? Why was she calling him from a phone booth on the street? The police stop caring once they pin the murder on a man known for show more having stalked Valerie and seen talking to her moments before the murder. But Myron isn't satisfied. It seems too clean for him.

Myron pries a bit and finds himself prying open the past where six years before, Valerie's fiancee, the son of a senator, was brutally murdered by a juvenile delinquent and a straight-A student was subsequently gunned down on the street in retaliation, his death squandered in bureaucratic files. And everyone from the Senator to the mob want Myron to stop digging.

The truth beneath the truth is not only dangerous, it's deadly. And Myron may be the next victim. show less

Loved this! The story line is a bit convoluted, but it doesn't matter as the characters are brilliant!
Can't wait to get to know Myron and Win better!

Wow, this book already feels so dated! One of the characters is watching a VHS tape, for goodness sake. Coben's second book featuring sports agent Myron Bolitar pales in comparison to his more recent standalones but his writing potential is obvious. This one has a few too many characters and not enough suspense but the resolution is unexpected and Myron's sarcastic sense of humor and ambiguous sense of justice are on full display.