Wednesday, August 2, 2017

PROMISE ME by Harlan Coben

Part of the Myron Bolitar series

Finished Tu 8/1/17 while waiting to see if I would be needed on jury duty. I was not.

The title refers to a conversation that Myron heard between two teenaged girls. They were talking about taking a ride from someone who had been drinking or on drugs. Myron has them promise that if they ever found themselves in that situation, they were to call him, no questions asked.

The novel is basically about two young girls who are missing. Were they kidnapped or did they simply run away? Since they are both eighteen, the law is less than interested, but Myron is close to one of the girl's mother.

The single biggest connection between the two cases is that both girls withdrew money from the same ITM in NYC the night of their disappearance.

The Big Twist (and this was so convoluted, I don't think anyone could possibly guess it)
-Dr. Edna Skylar Did It!  In the opening scene of the novel this doctor sees one of the missing girls on a busy NYC street. Dr. Skylar is an OBGYN who has kind of a hobby of facial recognition. She recognizes the girl from 'missing' posters, but the girl tells her that she's OK, and don't tell anyone that she has seen her.

-This girl is pregnant by Dr. Skylar's wayward son. This young man is a failed rock musician who teaches at the girl's school and had an affair with the missing girl. Skylar wants the baby- this is why she orchestrated this dizzy plan.

Twenty pages from the end, the reader is left with the feeling that the girl had actually killed the baby's father, and her parents were involved in a cover-up. But, Myron digs deeper and confronts the real perpetrator.  The other missing girl actually did run away. She fell in with a pimp and felt that she loved this man. Both girls were pregnant. In the end, both girls return home.

Recurring Characters from the series-

Win- Myron's friend from college. This man is a trained assassin, yet he is a certified member of the exclusive 'one percent'.

Esperanza- This woman works for Myron in his office. She is an ex-pro wrestler that went under the name, Pocahontas.

Big Cyndi- This is a 300 pound transvestite that wa Esperanza's partner in the ring. She works various jobs for Myron's office.

Myron Bolitar is a basketball star that never really made it. He was a smash hit in high school and college, but he was injured only a few games into his college career. He decided to open an agency that represented sports players. Now the office has grown, and he represents almost anyone who needs his service or anyone rich and famous.

The novel is meant to be slightly funny. It reminds me of Donald Westlake in his funny stuff. Example, DROWNED HOPES.

This is an easy read and I could have read it in just a couple of days, but other books intruded. I bought the book for a buck at this year's library book sale.

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