Long Lost
A Myron
Bolitar Mystery
Harlan
Coben
Dutton (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-525-95105-9 (0525951059)
ISBN-13: 978-0-525-95105-6 (9780525951056)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $27.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since
their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call
from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission,
Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance-her struggles
to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born
... and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her
happiness and her beloved only daughter.
Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has
nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a
startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying
bare Terese's long-buried family secrets ... and the very real
possibility that her daughter may still be alive.
In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is
as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland
Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck
pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese's long-lost
little girl-but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global
implications.
Review: Sports
and entertainment agent Myron Bolitar takes on a personal case when
he's called to help out an former love not seen in 10 years in Long Lost, the ninth mystery in
this series by Harlan Coben.
Terese Collins disappeared from Bolitar's life as quickly as she
entered it. Ten years have passed since their brief, but intensely
satisfying, affair took place on a tropical island. Now she's calling
him, begging him to meet her in Paris. Curious about the urgency, but
also hoping to rekindle the passion they once shared, he agrees only to
discover she's a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband. When Bolitar
is threatened at an outdoor cafe, and kills a man in self-defense, he's
whisked out of France to England by his closest friend, Win Lockwood,
and becomes a fugitive himself. But it is in England where Bolitar
discovers the story behind Terese's current predicament, when she lost
her only daughter in a tragic automobile accident many years ago. As he
struggles to connect the death of a young girl to the murder of her
father, the stakes are raised when anti-terrorist agencies take an
interest in his investigation and assume he's in possession of
information that they need ... and will get any way possible.
Readers will be sorely tempted to finish Long Lost in one setting. The
narrative is taut, the pace relentless. That the author takes more than
a few convenient shortcuts to advance the plot is perfectly reasonable;
tangential and likely lengthy detours would simply be an unacceptable
compromise here. The riveting action scenes are crisply choreographed,
and the characters, in particular series leads Bolitar and Win, are in
fine form. The potentially trite plot, which notably shares many key
story elements with Ira Levin's 1976 thriller The Boys from Brazil,
gets a 21st century update with modern technology and a new generation
of fundamentalists.
Minor quibbles include jokes about Mee that wear thin very quickly (but
maybe that's the point) and Bolitar's occasional sarcastic interaction
with the reader. Still, the three-year pause between Bolitar thrillers
may be just what was needed to refresh this series; though far from
masterful, Long Lost is one
of Coben's most entertaining efforts.
Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing a copy of Long Lost for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Long Lost? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Deal
Breaker
Dell (Mass Market Paperback), May 1995
ISBN-10: 0-440-22044-0 (0440220440)
ISBN-13: 978-0-440-22044-2 (9780440220442)
Drop
Shot
Dell (Mass Market Paperback), February 1996
ISBN-10: 0-440-22045-9 (0440220459)
ISBN-13: 978-0-440-22045-9 (9780440220459)
Fade
Away
Dell (Mass Market Paperback), November 1996
ISBN-10: 0-440-22268-0 (0440222680)
ISBN-13: 978-0-440-22268-2 (9780440222682)
Back
Spin
Dell (Mass Market Paperback), July 1997
ISBN-10: 0-440-22270-2 (0440222702)
ISBN-13: 978-0-440-22270-5 (9780440222705)
One
False Move
Delacorte Press (Hardcover), May 1998
ISBN-10: 0-385-32369-7 (0385323697)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-32369-7 (9780385323697)
The
Final Detail
Delacorte Press (Hardcover), June 1999
ISBN-10: 0-385-32371-9 (0385323719)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-32371-0 (9780385323710)
Darkest
Fear
Delacorte Press (Hardcover), June 2000
ISBN-10: 0-385-33433-8 (0385334338)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-33433-4 (9780385334334)
Promise
Me
Dutton (Hardcover), April 2006
ISBN-10: 0-525-94949-6 (0525949496)
ISBN-13: 978-0-525-94949-7 (9780525949497)
Long Lost
Dutton (Hardcover), March 2009
ISBN-10: 0-525-95105-9 (0525951059)
ISBN-13: 978-0-525-95105-6 (9780525951056)
Omnimystery keywords for Long Lost ...
Location(s) referenced: Paris, France, London, England, New York
City.
