Promise Me - Harlan Coben

...to them and makes them promise that if they ever need his help then they should call him, no matter what time it is.

The last 6 years have been quite for Myron and he reflects on them. He reminisces about the various things that have happened and how things have changed. Myron was a professional basketball player until he had a knee injury, which ended it all. He'd not played professionally very long and when he knew his career was ...
...parents so she makes him promise her that he won't say anything. Ironically Myron has had a drink but he still goes to get her as she is upset and he did promise after all. When he does pick her up and she gets into the car he tries to find out what's upset her. Aimee doesn't want to say and demands to be taken to her friend's house as he promised. After she has gone he feels really uneasy but can't think why…

It's only when Aimee ... more

The main genre that I read is crime fiction and it wasn't until the last couple of years that I started to read Harlan Coben books. Now I've read most his novels and can't decide on whether I prefer his Myron Bolitar series or his stand alone novels. Most people I have spoken to prefer one or the other but I think they are all very good and would struggle to decide. So it was no surprise that I was pleased when I saw that Coben had written another Bolitar book after a 6-year break.

'Promise Me' opens up with Dr Edna Skylar who has spotted Katie Rochester, a girl who is missing. The girl appears as if she is okay and realises that she has been recognised and tells her not to tell anyone that she saw her. Edna speculates if she means it or whether the man she is with is holding her captive. Straight away I was trying to guess if she was a runaway or indeed being held captive. With most Coben books I've been hooked straight away and this was no different.

The story then switches to Myron who, at a party, overhears two teenage girls' conversation. The two girls in question are Erin and Aimee. He has known Aimee all her life, as he was friends at school with her Mum. Erin is Ali Wilder's daughter who he has just started dating. He hears one of the girls telling the other that she was driven home by someone who had been drinking. Worried that they'll get into a car with a drink driver he talks to them and makes them promise that if they ever need his help then they should call him, no matter what time it is.

The last 6 years have been quite for Myron and he reflects on them. He reminisces about the various things that have happened and how things have changed. Myron was a professional basketball player until he had a knee injury, which ended it all. He'd not played professionally very long and when he knew his career was over he started up a representation business M B SportsReps. It's now become M B Reps as he now represents people who aren't connected to sport in anyway. Esperanza, his secretary has now become his business partner. She has just had a baby and is also now marrying the father (who so happens to be Win's cousin Tom). Although he is happy for her he doesn't like the way things are changing. Not only this but his parents have moved to Florida and his ex girlfriend, Jessica is getting married. Win, his best friend seems to be the only one which isn't changing.

Everything is going fine until he gets a phone call at 2am. It's Aimee and she wants him to pick her up and then drop her off at a friends. She is concerned that he'll tell her parents so she makes him promise her that he won't say anything. Ironically Myron has had a drink but he still goes to get her as she is upset and he did promise after all. When he does pick her up and she gets into the car he tries to find out what's upset her. Aimee doesn't want to say and demands to be taken to her friend's house as he promised. After she has gone he feels really uneasy but can't think why…

It's only when Aimee disappears that Myron reflects more on this sense of uneasiness. It emerges that he was the last person she called and he was also the last person to see her. Inevitably the police call him in for questioning and it doesn't look good. Hester Crimstein turns up (courtesy of Win) as his lawyer. Anyone who is familiar with Coben's novels will know that she has featured in his other novels. He helps the police and shows them which house he dropped her off at. Mysteriously when they knock on the door the lady there has never heard of Aimee's friend. Why and where has she gone? Does Katie Rochester's disappearance have anything to do with it?

As with all Bolitar books Myron is on a mission to find something out. Even though he hasn't been on one of his little crusades in a while he hasn't lost his touch. He still has Win helping him out although he plays no major part as he has done previously. They still use their little tricks like hitting the speed dial to call each other so they can listen in to the conversation. In the past Win and Myron were involved in a few assaults and have never been scared to use force to find out the truth. 'Promise Me' is no different and there are a few occasions where Myron finds himself in confrontational situations. Win is referred to as a psycho a few times and Myron is usually the calm and collective one trying to do things by the book. However, there are a few times where Myron does lose his cool. This is mainly because he's been out of action for a while.

Myron is an extremely likeable character and he is trying to do the right thing. Not only because he feels partly responsible but Aimee's mother Claire makes him promise that he'll bring her home. He tires to smooth talk the ladies and this comes out all wrong and he often cracks jokes when he is embarrassed. I found this likeable as he doesn't come across cocky and arrogant which he could do. The use of humour lightens the otherwise dark tone and it's good to have this thrown in. As mentioned earlier Win (full name Windsor Horne Lockwood III) is his usual self. He and Myron became friends when they were at college and ever since then they have remained close. It appears to be an unlikely friendship as Win is rich and has everything he needs. He was born with vast wealth and looks the part of a rich boy as well. When he was younger it got him into trouble as people hated the look of him. As a result Win learnt how to handle himself and even learnt martial arts in Korea so he could inflict pain on others with out leaving any marks. He isn't afraid to use these skills and in the past has been a bit of a liability. Understandably he has a reputation and the police are well aware of him although he's never been caught.

The story is up to Coben's usual standards and is fast paced to keep you wanting to read more. Not once could I predict the ending and when I thought that was it there was a twist that I never saw coming. What made me enjoy the story more was the fact that I like the characters. I've always liked Myron and even though he does come across as unbalanced I like reading about Win. I liked the way Hester Crimstein was included even if it was brief. The only thing I was disappointed in was the fact that Tom wasn't mentioned more. We're told that he is marrying Esperanza but I found myself wondering if he was anything like Win. Maybe Coben did this for a reason and perhaps he'll be included more in a future Bolitar, who knows!

One of the things I like about Bolitar books is that they aren't the usual police officer type books. It's refreshing as they are completely different as Myron and Win often find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Coben is incredibly easy to read and I found myself reading more than I initially set out to. With this said the book didn't take me all that long to read. So anyone who like 'quick reads' will enjoy this as the book doesn't go on and on and at no point did I find myself getting bored or finding parts of it unnecessary. The chapters are short so it's easy to read a bit here and there if you needed to. So it's ideal to read on your commute or when you're short of time. The only trouble is you'd want to read more than just a short bit as I know I did!

If you haven't read anything by Coben before and you like the sound of this I suggest you the earlier Bolitar books first. You could read this and still enjoy the story but having knowledge of what's happened to the characters previously will help. I've read all of the Bolitar books up till now apart from 'Darkest Fear' and even then I felt I missed out as there were references to his son Jeremy and events which happened in that novel.
 

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