One False Move by
Harlan Coben
hbk out November 98
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
at £16.99
I very nearly didn't get through ONE FALSE MOVE: it's an awful,
overused title; the cover is terrible; the back cover copy makes the plot sound like a yawner; and the prologue and opening pages are
dreadful. And, oh yeah: if you don't guess the central plot twist by page 82, you've probably never read a mystery before. But for
some reason, perhaps something that appealed deep in the authorial voice - or perhaps the fact that I just moved house and it was the
only unread book immediately at hand I stuck with it and was ultimately glad that I did. ONE FALSE MOVE is not the most original or thought-provoking novel of the year, but it proves to be quite a little page-turner and is a great deal of fun.
The big problem I had getting into the book is the premise behind Myron Bolitar, the hero: he is an ex-basketball player, ex-government
operative, sports agent-cum-private eye. With a best friend who is a cross between James Bond and George Soros. And Myron is Jewish, to
boot. Oy! A Jewish basketball player? Not even my dear yiddisher mama would buy all that. I gather from the back story and list of
other titles by the author, that Coben has written several novels with these characters, but they are more than a little hard to swallow much less take seriously. And yet…
If you can manage to suspend every microgram of disbelief in your body, ONE FALSE MOVE is a very absorbing read. The plot concerns a woman basketball player who is the key to establishing a new league and who finds herself under threat from several, seemingly unrelated forces. Myron looks after her, then represents her, then.. falls in love with her, of course. The story moves along largely predictable
lines, but Coben writes with such energy that you find yourself carried along by his sheer zeal. There are lots of jokes and a fair bit of shtick - about three-quarters of which works - and the author is manipulative as hell. But for all these *very* many flaws, I really enjoyed the book in the end. It comes down to the fact that
Coben is a natural writer and clever storyteller. If only he didn't feel it necessary to so absurdly gild the lilies of his characters.
(
Jay Russell
- one of the greatest talents the horror industry has produced for some time… (Black Tears))
One False Move by
Harlan Coben