At this moment, Harlan Coben, is my favorite novelist. I am guaranteed a good read when I pick up one of his books. No flowery prose to try and slow me down from the action. He has a clear, concise, straightforward style of writing that keeps me on the edge of my seat. Events move quickly and you will find yourself up until 2:00am if you don’t pay attention to the time.
Harlan Coben was born in Newark, NJ. Yes, I am from New Jersey. No, I have never met him. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife Anne Armstrong-Coben, MD. They have four children which is a good thing considering his wife is a pediatrician. Harlan’s books are generally based in the northern New Jersey region.
Harlan Coben is the author of the Myron Bolitar series. Now here is a character you can sink your teeth into. Myron is a pro-basketball player whose career was cut short by injury. He never had his big chance to make a name for himself. In Fade Away, the third entry in the Bolitar series, Myron gets an opportunity to play professional ball again. Harlan Coben somehow manages to make this wild idea play out in words. I found myself rooting for the series to go in a whole new direction, just so Myron would be happy playing out his lifelong dream. Then I remembered I was reading about a fictional character. But, that’s how well Coben writes. He has a way that pulls you right into the story. I’ve lost so much sleep reading his material!
Coben is a wizard at intertwining characters. In the book, Caught, which is not a Myron Bolitar series novel, Coben weaves Myron’s best friend Windsor “Win” Horne Lockwood, III into the tale. What really jazzes me about his writing, is how he keeps, in this example Win, true to form. The self-centered, sharp-tongued, filthy rich Windsor is just what you expect if you are familiar with him in the Myron Bolitar series. And, you will love the snob as much as always.
I have a few books to check out from the library to get me up to date with my Coben fix. If you enjoy a good detective mystery, series or not, Harlan Coben is a novelist to check out.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_Coben