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Back Spin
488 pages
A fast-talking, high-stakes thrill ride where country club polish hides deadly, decades-old family secrets.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like riding shotgun with a fiercely loyal, endlessly sarcastic friend who just happens to be navigating a deadly labyrinth of lies. The experience is defined by its crackling, dialogue-heavy energy, balancing the manicured, high-pressure world of professional sports with the gritty reality of a ticking-clock kidnapping. It is a propulsive, twist-laden journey that never takes itself too seriously, yet manages to land surprising emotional punches when the wisecracks fade. The atmosphere shifts seamlessly from the sunlit greens of elite country clubs to the shadowy corners of desperate cover-ups. It will thoroughly delight readers who crave a clever, fast-paced mystery anchored by a protagonist whose sharp tongue is matched only by his strong moral compass.
- Mood
- tense
- energetic
- twisty
- suburban-noir
- Tone
- wry
- suspenseful
- sarcastic
- empathetic
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- buried family secrets · the dark side of ambition · loyalty and friendship · past mistakes haunting the present
- The writing
- Punchy and dialogue-driven, balancing sharp, self-deprecating wisecracks with moments of genuine emotional weight.
- The arc
- Moves from a snappy, urgent investigation into a sobering confrontation with the devastating cost of long-held lies.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love their twisty, high-stakes thrillers anchored by a fiercely loyal, fast-talking protagonist who hides a bleeding heart behind a smirk.
Content notes
- kidnapping
- child endangerment
- murder
- gun violence
About the book
Kidnappers have snatched the teenage son of super-star golfer Linda Coldren and her husband, Jack, an aging pro, at the height of the U.S. Open. To help get the boy back, sports agent Myron Bolitar goes charging after clues and suspects from the Main Line mansions to a downtown cheaters' motel--and back in time to a U.S. Open twenty-three years ago, when Jack Coldren should have won, but didn't. Suddenly Myron finds him self surrounded by blue bloods, criminals, and liars. And as one family's darkest secrets explode into murder, Myron finds out just how rough this game can get.In novels that crackle with wit and suspense, Edgar Award winner Harlan Coben has created one of the most fascinating and complex heroes in suspense fiction--Myron Bolitar--a hotheaded, tenderhearted sports agent who grows more and more engaging and unpredictable with each page-turning appearance.From the Paperback edition.
Description from Open Library.
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