'Deal Breaker': An Offer You Shouldn’t Refuse

Review of DEAL BREAKER (Dell 1995) by Harlan Coben

I decided to read my first Harlan Coben book and chose DEAL BREAKER at random, based on a description on Amazon. I was lucky in that 1) I stumbled upon the first book in the Myron Bolitar series and 2) Coben is a writer after my heart.

For anyone who hasn’t read this best-selling author or this series, Myron Bolitar is a sports agent. As the story begins, he’s on the verge of signing his first major client, a promising rookie quarterback named Christian Steele, to an NFL contract with (if the sleazy team owner will agree to it) a record-setting salary. Things get a bit rocky when a nude photo of Steele’s old girlfriend, Kathy Culver, who mysteriously vanished and is thought dead, turns up in the back pages of a porno rag. They get more bizarre when Kathy’s father, Adam Culver, is murdered during an apparent robbery. But Kathy’s sister (who also happens to be Myron’s ex-girlfriend—yes, these people are a cozy lot) isn’t convinced that muggers killed her dad. And she thinks there’s some connection between his death and Kathy’s disappearance.

Coben is, to say the least, a skillful storyteller. Bolitar is not only a likeable character, with sardonic wit reminiscent of Robert Parker’s Spenser, but he’s a sports agent with a heart of gold (sort of Jerry Maguire as wisecracking private eye, if you will). Bolitar is also a former baseketball star who lost his chance at everlasting fame and fortune in the pros due to a career-ending injury. Somewhere along the line, he also found time to acquire a law degree, do some kind of mysterious work for the FBI and (conveniently?) become something of an expert in self-defense. Lest he sound too much like a Superman here, I might add that even though Bolitar is in his early thirties, he still (for reasons not really explained) lives in his parents’ basement.

Not only does Coben manage to weave all this backstory (and more) into the narrative without slowing the pace, but he creates memorable characters and writes sparkling dialogue. Bolitar also has a wonderful sidekick named Windsor Horne Lockwood III to do his dirty work—his “psychopathic Tonto” as I think one character put it. Win Lockwood is to Bolitar as Mouse is to Easy Rawlins or Hawk is to Spenser—except Win is wealthy and white.

The plot twists along at a fast pace and Coben plays fair with the reader clue-wise. When the telling clue comes along, it’s not hard to spot—but you might skim past it because you don’t want to believe what it has to mean. And when the truth comes out about Kathy and her father, you may think of that clue and find yourself saying, “I should’ve seen that coming!”