Book: Live Wire

Harlan Coben is a writer of mystery and thriller novels who has had a few #1 New York Times bestsellers.  And yet, somehow I have never read any of his books until now. As an author, Coben has recently dabbled into young adult writing with his novel Shelter, even though he's mainly a writer for adult readers. Live Wire, the 10th book in the Myron Bolitar series is one example of his many adult books.  

Live Wire centers around  the character Myron Bolitar, who is the owner and agent of MB Reps, an agency which represents athletes, writers, and actors.  He's an understanding agent, one with a heart that is always looking at his clients best interests, such as Suzze T, a retired tennis star.  Suzze is pregnant with her first child with Lex, a member of a well-known rock group called Live Wire.  Because she is close to Myron, she wants him to be her child's godfather; yet she also wants Myron to find out who wrote "Not His" on her Facebook page and look for Lex (who has disappeared since the posting went live).  However, what seems to be a simple request turns into much more as Myron's search becomes more like an investigation, with new problems arising when he runs into his sister-in-law Kitty, who he has not seen for many years.  Her sudden appearance brings back a rush of negative emotions.  He wants to know why she has returned and where his younger brother is.  But those answers don't really come that easily when he realizes Kitty has some dark secrets she doesn't  want anyone to know about.

Live Wire is an easy read with a straight to the point plot that has twists and turns that keep the storyline moving.  Each new information learned is connected to a past discovery and somehow in the end, everything comes together.  My coworker used to tell me that was one of the reasons she loved reading Harlan Coben books.  "He keeps you guessing and he surprises you at the end," she once said.  I remember how her eyes used to light up as she talked about his books, a true fan I might add.

I haven't read other Harlen Coben books to judge, except a few pages of No One There, which seemed to be more interesting than Live Wire.  In fact, when I came upon other reviews for Live Wire, some readers mentioned that they felt the book was the weakest of the Myron Bolitar series.  Lucky reading for me right?

The plot in itself was decent, but I admit that it was hard for me to say I enjoyed it because I really couldn't relate to the 34+ year-old Myron, rock music, and drugs.  Everyone I know who reads Harlan Coben books are around my parents age or older, so maybe that's the reason why?  I sometimes felt Myron was actually older than he was portrayed to be, yet at other times I felt he was immature and sometimes flawed to the point of annoying.  I know his character likes to live in the past (e.g. He still holds onto his childhood home.), but the way he talks paints in my mind a pathetic man. 

Some examples:

Pg. 6  "Seventeen, whatever."

Pg. 23 "Why? Am I too chunky?  By the way, seriously, do these jeans make my ass look big.  You can tell me."  -- From a scene in which Myron is trying to get into a club to look for Lex.

Moreover, the sexual nature in which Myron describes women he finds attractive also made me feel as though this book was more meant for guys with raging hormones than a female reader.  The most pathetic part was Myron's buddy Win, who has two lovely Asian lady "friends" who happen to have the names Mee and Yu.  Some jokes are made in reference to this to add humor to the story, but somehow it just felt flat and insensitive to me.  Did this book seriously come out in 2011?

Finally, the biggest issue I have with Live Wire is that problems that occur in the story are solved in an effortless manner. From Myron's cell phone that has special features which ensures that Win will always be there to save him from harm, to the fact that Win is insanely rich and seemingly powerful enough to fix EVERYTHING.  Perhaps I should have viewed this book simply as a fun read, but there were issues I had with it that made it less than thrilling for me, and I couldn't overlook the flaws that kept reappearing time and again.