The title of the San Jose Mercury News review of Harlan Coben’s latest mystery novel says “Promise Me worthy of bestseller list spot.” I can’t argue with that, and Harlan is surely happy–the book did in fact make the NY Times list for a few weeks, as did the new paperback of last year’s The Innocent.
The big news in Promise Me is the return of Coben’s alter ego Myron Bolitar, psychotic best friend Windsor Locke Hart and partner with street smarts Esperanza. The basketball star turned lawyer/sports agent was the hero of the author’s first seven novels and many fans, including me, were wondering if he’d ever feature after Coben’s last five novels turned away from the light comic style of the Bolitar books, all of them serious thrillers with protagonists trapped in holes dug by others.
So Myron is back but Coben is still working out the negative emotions from 9/11 and this story is not even slightly comic; in fact he brings in three key characters from those other novels, DA investigator Loren Muse, Livingston PD detective Lance Banner and lawyer Hester Crimstein.
Promise Me is an integration of these two streams. Some fans may be a bit disappointed but not to me, I think Harlan has written a powerhouse which should elevate him to the top ranks of American suspense. Myron quickly becomes the prime suspect for Muse and Banner but while he knows someone else is responsible, he cannot escape the realization that his best intentions often lead to disaster for the people in his life.
Frankly I couldn’t put the book down, especially for the last hundred pages.
definitely recommended
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