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vickksx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
clea_h's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Myron Bolitar >>>>>>
lwalker77's review against another edition
4.0
One of the best Myron Bolitar novels yet. Highly recommend!
southernhon's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting plot twists and intriguing characters could not make up for the unnecessary and sometimes annoying dialogue.
sh543's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, and Sexual harassment
llkendrick's review against another edition
3.0
This one was a little darker than I like....kinda creeped me out at parts. Still love the series!
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
And Myron Bolitar takes a dig at the FBI, …
“And by the way, how come you’re all called ‘special’ agent? Doesn’t that sound like something someone made up one day? Like a kid’s game to raise self-esteem. ‘We’re promoting you from agent to special agent, Barney.’ ”
When lovers of the detective, mystery, or the suspense thriller genres are asked to prepare a list of their favourite wise-cracking, sharp-tongued, quick witted heroes, names like Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole, Nero Wolfe’s Archie Goodwin, Nelson DeMille’s John Corey, Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles, and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden will often appear. But virtually nobody would prepare such a list without including Harlan Coben’s erstwhile comedian and resident smart-ass, Myron Bolitar. The quantity and quality of one-liners, quips, jokes, sarcasm and ribaldry that Coben puts into the mouth of his hero simply beggars the imagination.
And, lest I give the impression that the plot takes second place to late-night one-line comedy routines, be assured that DARKEST FEAR’s story line is a solid winner. Myron’s college girl friend Emily comes out of the woodwork with the disclosure that her thirteen year old son, Jeremy, is actually Myron’s son, the result of a clandestine and definitely sordid tryst between the sheets on the eve of her wedding to another man. As if that weren’t enough news for one day, Emily lets Myron know that Jeremy has an illness that will become quickly terminal unless Myron can help to find a bone marrow transplant donor who seems to have vanished without a trace. The hunt is on and it’s a high-speed chase that leads to kidnapping and a confrontation with the FBI! Definitely exciting and gripping stuff!
A taut, entertaining, enjoyable page-turner, DARKEST FEAR can stand proud and hold its head high on any list of today’s best suspense thrillers. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
“And by the way, how come you’re all called ‘special’ agent? Doesn’t that sound like something someone made up one day? Like a kid’s game to raise self-esteem. ‘We’re promoting you from agent to special agent, Barney.’ ”
When lovers of the detective, mystery, or the suspense thriller genres are asked to prepare a list of their favourite wise-cracking, sharp-tongued, quick witted heroes, names like Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole, Nero Wolfe’s Archie Goodwin, Nelson DeMille’s John Corey, Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles, and Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden will often appear. But virtually nobody would prepare such a list without including Harlan Coben’s erstwhile comedian and resident smart-ass, Myron Bolitar. The quantity and quality of one-liners, quips, jokes, sarcasm and ribaldry that Coben puts into the mouth of his hero simply beggars the imagination.
And, lest I give the impression that the plot takes second place to late-night one-line comedy routines, be assured that DARKEST FEAR’s story line is a solid winner. Myron’s college girl friend Emily comes out of the woodwork with the disclosure that her thirteen year old son, Jeremy, is actually Myron’s son, the result of a clandestine and definitely sordid tryst between the sheets on the eve of her wedding to another man. As if that weren’t enough news for one day, Emily lets Myron know that Jeremy has an illness that will become quickly terminal unless Myron can help to find a bone marrow transplant donor who seems to have vanished without a trace. The hunt is on and it’s a high-speed chase that leads to kidnapping and a confrontation with the FBI! Definitely exciting and gripping stuff!
A taut, entertaining, enjoyable page-turner, DARKEST FEAR can stand proud and hold its head high on any list of today’s best suspense thrillers. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
bobbikaye's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy Harlan Coben's books and especially Myron Bolitar and this one didn't disappoint. With just one visit from an old girlfriend, Myron becomes the father of a 13 - year-old boy. What happens next is a ride of trying to save his son. Hard to put down.
thisguybooks's review against another edition
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Quick Synopsis: When an ex-girlfriend asks Myron to help find a transplant match for her (their) son, it starts to unravel a mystery more complex than he was expecting.
Review:
Myron Bolitor #7
The book starts out strong and keeps the pace for what is already an incredibly fun series.
Themes of parentage and fatherhood play a central role in this book. Bringing up an alleged paternity could have been clumsy but the series has done well to build up Myron's backstory and relationship with his own parents, so it all works.
From a plot standpoint - wow. There are maybe one and a half too many plot twists here but it's still super entertaining. We get a serial killer, mysterious disappearances, FBI investigations, etc...
Overall I was thrilled to jump back into this series and I just want to note how crazy it is reading a book that is set in the 90s, the technology they use is new to them but common for us and even the concept of 'searching the net' was done with Alta Vista prior to Google even being a thing.
It's a blast seeing these characters age and grow - I'm not exactly sure how many books are left in the series but I am here for them all.
Quick Synopsis: When an ex-girlfriend asks Myron to help find a transplant match for her (their) son, it starts to unravel a mystery more complex than he was expecting.
Review:
Myron Bolitor #7
The book starts out strong and keeps the pace for what is already an incredibly fun series.
Themes of parentage and fatherhood play a central role in this book. Bringing up an alleged paternity could have been clumsy but the series has done well to build up Myron's backstory and relationship with his own parents, so it all works.
From a plot standpoint - wow. There are maybe one and a half too many plot twists here but it's still super entertaining. We get a serial killer, mysterious disappearances, FBI investigations, etc...
Overall I was thrilled to jump back into this series and I just want to note how crazy it is reading a book that is set in the 90s, the technology they use is new to them but common for us and even the concept of 'searching the net' was done with Alta Vista prior to Google even being a thing.
It's a blast seeing these characters age and grow - I'm not exactly sure how many books are left in the series but I am here for them all.
nat22's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Linear plot, few twists, odd use of similes & slightly sexist protagonist.