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Drop Shot

Harlan Coben

469 pages

A fast-talking, high-stakes mystery where sharp wit masks the dangerous reality of unearthing long-buried secrets.

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What it feels like

Reading this feels like riding shotgun with a fiercely loyal, endlessly sarcastic friend who just happens to be navigating a deadly conspiracy. The experience is undeniably propulsive, driven by punchy dialogue and a relentless unraveling of past sins that keeps the pages turning on their own. Beneath the wry humor and sports-world glitz lies a shadowy, tense atmosphere where ambition turns lethal and no one is quite who they seem. The emotional texture balances the adrenaline of a classic thriller with surprising moments of tenderness and moral complexity. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave a twisty, high-stakes puzzle anchored by a hotheaded but deeply empathetic hero who never knows when to quit.

Mood
  • tense
  • energetic
  • shadowy
Tone
  • wry
  • sarcastic
  • suspenseful
  • empathetic
Pace
propulsive
Themes
buried secrets · the dark side of ambition · loyalty and friendship · the cost of fame
The writing
Punchy and dialogue-heavy, driven by sharp, self-deprecating humor and rapid-fire pacing.
The arc
Moves from breezy, banter-filled confidence into a tense, high-stakes unraveling of dark secrets, culminating in a sobering but satisfying resolution.
Who it's for
Fans of wise-cracking, deeply loyal protagonists who love a twisty, fast-paced mystery that balances gritty action with genuine heart.
Content notes
  • murder
  • stalking
  • gun violence
  • references to past trauma

About the book

Valerie Simpson is a young female tennis star with a troubled past who's now on the verge of a comeback and wants Myron as her agent. Myron, who's also got the hottest young male tennis star, Duane Richwood, primed to take his first grand slam tournament, couldn't be happier. That is, until Valerie is murdered in broad daylight at the U.S. Open and Myron's number one client becomes the number one suspect.Clearing Duane's name should be easy enough. Duane was playing in a match at the time of Valerie's death. But why is his phone number in Valerie's black book when he claims only to have known her in passing? Why was she calling him from a phone booth on the street? The police stop caring once they pin the murder on a man known for having stalked Valerie and seen talking to her moments before the murder. But Myron isn't satisfied. It seems too clean for him.Myron pries a bit and finds himself prying open the past where six years before, Valerie's fiancee, the son of a senator, was brutally murdered by a juvenile delinquent and a straight-A student was subsequently gunned down on the street in retaliation, his death squandered in bureaucratic files. And everyone from the Senator to the mob want Myron to stop digging.The truth beneath the truth is not only dangerous, it's deadly. And Myron may be the next victim.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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