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Book Description The home was top-notch New Jersey suburban. The living room was Martha Stewart. The basement was Legos--and blood. For sports agent Myron Bolitar, the disappearance of a man he'd once competed against was bringing back memories--of the sport he and Greg Downing had both played and the woman they both loved. Now, among the stars, the wanna-bes, the gamblers and groupies, Myron is unraveling the strange, violent life of a sports hero gone wrong, and coming face-to-face with a past he can't...  read more
Reader Reviews 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: The basketball demons are finally exorcised, June 6, 2003 Reviewer: reviewerjim from Grayson, GA USA Myron Bolitar, now sports agent and lawyer and ex-FBI sleuth, was on the verge of NBA superstardom when his knee was crushed in a vicious hit in his first pre-season game ten years ago. Like all great athletes, he could never accept his fate; there was always that what-could-have-been lurking around in his mind. Then seemingly out of the blue, the owner of the New Jersey Dragons, a top NBA team, wants Myron to join the team, to suit up. Myron cannot resist, the demons have got to be put to rest; and the owner was counting on that. But there is an ulterior motive; Myron's main task is to quietly and quickly find the team's current superstar, Greg Downing, who has disappeared, while maintaining the deception of an aging jock's comeback. In this third book of the Bolitar series, Coben probably does his best work in exploring a subculture, in this case, life in the NBA. Myron finds along side the opulent lifestyles, including trophy wives, and the immense talent, the doubts and the senses of fragility, which have a lot more to do with the substance of the book than is first suspected. Myron has to pick his way through any number of characters peripheral to the team who had some connection to the missing superstar. Myron's investigation starts simply enough; he and his fair-haired financial consultant and bad boy, Win, "let" themselves into the star's home. It's the phone message from a "Carla" wanting to meet in the back booth of a diner and blood in the playroom that sets Myron off on an involved race against time to find Greg before the playoffs begin. The case ratchets up several notches when someone is found bludgeoned to death. Rumors of gambling and large debts to the crime world surface, as do bizarre connections to the political underground. Throw in the complications of any number of liaisons within the team, involving wives and hangers-on, and Myron has a confusing and intricate case on his hands. The usual Bolitar cast of characters is present. Esperanza, former female pro-wrestler and now Myron's office manager, has a larger role than previously, while Win is less prominent. Cyndi, a large, spiked lady and also from the wrestling circuit, begins work at SB Sports. And Myron's antagonistic relationship with "Rolly," the NYPD detective is renewed. Like all Coben books, this one moves quickly; it easily holds one's attention. There could be an issue of plausibility in this installment. Twists and turns are what Coben books are all about, but this one takes a turn that may seem less than satisfying to some. Nonetheless, it is another good Coben book and does nothing to lessen the appetite for more.
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