Fade Away by Harlan Coben

Both East Coast Don and Midwest Dave have previously reviewed books by Harlan Coben with mixed reviews, some laudatory, some just average, but I thought I’d join the parade and check him out. He’s written at least 25 novels since 1995. Fade Away is a 1996 book and the third in his Myron Bolitar series which now numbers 10 books. Fade Away won both the Edgar and Shamus awards in 1997. Bolitar is an appealing character, a former high school and college basketball star who became a first round draft choice of the Boston Celtics. But, Bolitar suffered a severe knee injury during a pre-season game and never got to play a regular season NBA game. He wasted no time going to Harvard Law School and becoming a successful players’ agent. While his knee had mostly recovered after a couple years of dedicated rehabilitation, his playing was now limited to low-level weekly pickup games, until unexpectedly, the owner of the New Jersey Dragons offered him a contract. The story was that his long-time high school and college basketball foe, Greg Downing, had disappeared. Downing, one of two superstars on the Dragons, had also been a first round pick, but he had gone on to NBA greatness. Bolitar and Downing had more in common, including Downing’s wife, who had been Bolitar’s girlfriend until they broke up shortly before the career-ending injury. The owner of the Dragons thought Bolitar was just the right guy to find Downing, and since some intrigue among the Dragon teammates in Downing’s disappearance was possible, it was thought Bolitar’s best chance to find Downing would to be on the inside, as a player.

The reader gets to work his way through the crime novel which has lots of twists and false leads. There are complimentary subplots and enough sex and violence to satisfy the average fan of crime novels. Also, there are some well-written sections on Bolitar’s thoughts and feelings about the game, from his thoughts about what might have been to the nature of the characters who were playing. Overall, I’d rate this book as a classic airplane book – one that would entertain you on a cross country flight, but not one that would interfere with a nap or break your heart if you left it unfinished on the plane. It’s a B to B+ read. I’ll probably try another Coben book, but I have a reading queue right now that is fairly long and does not include another one of his. Maybe it’s hit and miss with Coben, which is why I chose one of his award winning books, so I’m disappointed I did not have a more favorable response.