Promise me

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It has been six years since entertainment agent Myron Bolitar last played superhero. In six years he hasn't thrown a punch. He hasn't held, much less fired, a gun. He hasn't called his friend Win, still the scariest man he knows, to back him up or get him out of trouble. All that is about to change...because of a promise.The school year is almost over. Anxious families await word of college acceptances. In these last pressure-cooker months of high school, some kids will make the all-too-common and all-too-dangerous mistake of drinking and driving. But Myron is determined to help keep his friends' children safe, so he makes two neighborhood girls promise him: If they ever get in a bind but are afraid to call their parents, they must call him. Several nights later, the call comes at 2:00 AM, and true to his word, Myron picks up one of the girls in midtown Manhattan and drives her to a quiet cul-de-sac in New Jersey where she says her friend lives.The next day, the girl's parents discover that their daughter is missing. And that Myron was the last person to see her. Desperate to fulfill a well-intentioned promise turned nightmarishly wrong, Myron races to find her before she's gone forever. But his past will not be buried so easily - for trouble has always stalked him, and his loved ones often suffer. Now Myron must decide once and for all who he is and what he will stand up for if he is to have any hope of saving a young girl's life.

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ISBN
9780525949497
9781101128602
9780786285617
9780451219244
9780739465653
9781594131950
9781409150503

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Also in this Series

  • Deal breaker (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 1) Cover
  • Drop shot: a Myron Bolitar novel (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 2) Cover
  • Fade Away (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 3) Cover
  • Back Spin (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 4) Cover
  • One false move (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 5) Cover
  • The final detail: a Myron Bolitar novel (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 6) Cover
  • Darkest Fear (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 7) Cover
  • Promise me (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 8) Cover
  • Long lost (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 9) Cover
  • Live wire (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 10) Cover
  • Home (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 11) Cover
  • Think twice (Myron Bolitar mysteries Volume 12) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Hardboiled fiction fans will enjoy these fast-paced series that chronicle the dangerous cases of a private investigator (Ashe Cayne) or sports agent (Myron Bolitar). -- CJ Connor
These suspenseful and compelling hardboiled fiction series star amateur detectives who are both former athletes. Intricate plots and fast-paced scenarios detail the efforts of sympathetic male leads, hell-bent on finding justice for folks who ask for their help. -- Andrienne Cruz
Though former cop August Snow has more crime-fighting experience than sports agent Myron Bolitar, both doggedly pursue a variety of tough and complex cases in these gritty, hardboiled series. -- Stephen Ashley
These fast-paced hardboiled fiction series star wisecracking amateur detectives -- social worker Stella Hardy and sports agent Myron Bolitar. Readers will find plenty to enjoy in these compelling mysteries led by sympathetic and hard-nosed leads with a heart of gold. -- Andrienne Cruz
Though Aaron Gunner focuses more on racial and social justice issues than Myron Bolitar, both gritty hardboiled series star complex crime solvers determined to uncover the truth behind a bevy of compelling cases. -- Stephen Ashley
Sports agent Myron Bolitar and lawyer Stone Barrington are good-looking, likeable, and charismatic protagonists who shifted careers due to a bad knee injury; both investigate criminal cases for wealthy clients. Each series is fast-paced, suspenseful, and intricately plotted. -- Andrienne Cruz
These gritty mystery series are full of complex, dangerous cases and plenty of intrigue. Joe King Oliver is a ruthless private investigator, while Myron Bolitar is a crime-solving sports agent. -- Stephen Ashley
Readers looking for a gritty mystery series that doesn't shy away from disturbing details should check out these compelling reads. Blue Mumbai is a police procedural, while Myron Bolitar stars a crime-solving sports agent. -- Stephen Ashley
Though police chief Koa Kane has more experience investigating crime than sports agent Myron Bolitar, both find themselves pulled into complex cases in these hardboiled series. Koa Kane focuses more on scene setting, while Myron Bolitar has more disturbing detail. -- Stephen Ashley

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful and fast-paced, and they have the genres "mysteries" and "adult books for young adults."
These books have the appeal factors menacing, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "mysteries" and "adult books for young adults."
These books have the appeal factors menacing, creepy, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "mysteries" and "adult books for young adults."
NoveList recommends "King Oliver novels" for fans of "Myron Bolitar mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Blue Mumbai novels" for fans of "Myron Bolitar mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors menacing, fast-paced, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "adult books for young adults" and "psychological suspense"; and the subject "missing persons investigation."
These books have the appeal factors menacing, disturbing, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "adult books for young adults" and "psychological suspense."
NoveList recommends "August Snow novels" for fans of "Myron Bolitar mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Ashe Cayne novels" for fans of "Myron Bolitar mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the genres "mysteries" and "adult books for young adults"; and the subject "murder suspects."
These books have the appeal factors suspenseful, atmospheric, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "adult books for young adults"; and the subjects "private investigators" and "missing persons investigation."
NoveList recommends "Stone Barrington novels" for fans of "Myron Bolitar mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Like Harlan Coben, Don Winslow writes both suspense and mystery novels. Winslow's suspense is a little lighter in tone, but both authors create intriguing, sympathetic characters and quick, clever storylines. Winslow's mysteries are complicated and satisfactorily resolved, with plenty of snappy dialogue and humor, though they focus more on character than plot. -- Shauna Griffin
Both Thomas Perry and Harlan Coben's plots twist and turn and twist again with endings that often leave the reader breathless. Their works feature ordinary people faced with unexpected and devastating problems. -- Katherine Johnson
Both Gregg Hurwitz and Harlan Coben write compelling, often violent, tales of suspense featuring innocent, everyman protagonists placed in nightmare situations from which they must extricate themselves and their families. A breakneck pace drives these tales of secrets and revenge. -- Joyce Saricks
Sean Doolittle and Harlan Coben write standalone suspense stories that feature good people in trouble. The complex stories are character-driven and show how good people, by their poor choices, become entangled in murder. The stories are dark in tone and filled with action and violence. The suspense builds dramatically. -- Merle Jacob
Kathy Reichs and Harlan Coben write fast-paced, action-packed adult mysteries. Both authors have also created spin-off teen mystery series loosely related to their adult books. Though Reich's teen works tend more toward science fiction, teen protagonists confront danger at every turn in both authors' compelling, suspenseful books. -- Kelly White
Breakneck pacing, crafty characters, and twisting plots are three things readers of both Stuart Woods' mysteries and Harlan Coben's suspense novels will enjoy. -- Shauna Griffin
Sparkle Hayter's mysteries, which star hapless, saucy tabloid news reporter Robin Hudson, are lighter in tone than Harlen Coben's mysteries and have a little more exposition and description, but move quickly nonetheless. Readers will be drawn in by the zany humor and eccentric characters. -- Shauna Griffin
Readers who enjoy memorable characters and swiftly moving and engaging plots will find enjoy Harlan Coben and Brian Freeman's books. -- Shauna Griffin
Both Alison Gaylin and Harlan Coben write compelling, suspenseful tales of ordinary people caught up in terrible circumstances that, while out of the ordinary, somehow feel all too plausible. -- Shauna Griffin

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Coben, the reigning master of clockwork suspense, and winner of the trifecta of mystery-writing honors--the Edgar, the Agatha, and the Shamus--produces a fascinating hybrid thriller here. Coben began his career writing detective novels starring Myron Bolitar, an ex-Celtics basketball player turned entertainment agent. For the past six years, he has concentrated on stand-alone thrillers. Coben's novels are noted for their use of technology, both as weapons used against the innocent and as ways for victims to escape their tormentors, usually with a clock ticking ominously in the background. In Promise Me, Coben skillfully grafts this deadline suspense onto the career of his series hero, Bolitar. As in his stand-alones, the novel starts with a purely domestic situation--at a party in his home, attended by friends and their offspring, Bolitar overhears two teen girls talking about driving home drunk from parties. Stung by his own memory of a high-school friend who died in a car crash, Bolitar makes the girls promise to contact him if they ever need a lift or are in trouble. The call does come a few nights later. Myron drives the caller to a friend's house, but she ends up disappearing, and guilt-ridden Myron must use all his resources to try to find what happened. Coben's resurrection of Bolitar works superbly: the melding of high suspense and high technology with a somewhat battered, very canny, questing hero is sure to produce another major hit for the way-hot Coben. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2006 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

After a six-year hiatus, it's good to herald the return of Myron Bolitar, the former Boston Celtics basketball star who became a sports agent and crime solver in Coben's sprightly, exciting series. Even better, it's great fun to hear Coben himself performing this excellent audio version. As a reader, Coben has a quality best summed up by the Yiddish word hamishe (homelike, in its weaker translation). He may not be Laurence Olivier, but he sure knows how to make believers of his listeners. When Bolitar talks about going back to live with his parents in New Jersey, Coben catches the basic boyishness of his aging hero and the impact such a move has on Myron's love life. Of course, the world has gotten a lot more complicated: Bolitar's ladyfriend lost her husband on September 11. When he offers to help her teenage daughter, he quickly finds himself involved in some very dangerous adventures. With fading sports stars behaving badly in real life, it's a great pleasure to see that Bolitar has found ways to survive honorably. Simultaneous release with the Dutton hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 6). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

A promise made on a whim comes back to haunt sports and entertainment agent Myron Bolitar. Worrying about two neighborhood girls riding with drunk drivers, Myron vows to help them anytime and anywhere as long as they call. Keeping his word a few nights later, he drops off one of the young girls in a suburban neighborhood, and she promptly vanishes. Her angry parents question his motives, and eventually so do the police. Myron swears to the missing girl's mother that he will find her daughter, even if she doesn't want to be found. The return of reluctant hero Myron (Darkest Fear) after a six-year absence will be applauded by his fans and enjoyed by newcomers. Abandoning the expected thriller elements, Coben has written a compelling drama that examines the power of honesty and determination to do the right thing. This should be shortlisted for major awards. Promise to read it. For all fiction collections.-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

After six years of spinning jaw-dropping stand-alone thrillers, Coben brings back his sports agent--make that everything agent--Myron Bolitar (Darkest Fear, 2000, etc.) for an encore. Overhearing high-school senior Erin Wilder, his current ladylove's daughter, sharing confidences with her friend Aimee Biel about getting driven by wasted friends, Myron Bolitar promises both girls that if they ever need a ride, they can call him and he'll pick them up, no questions asked. All too soon he gets a chance to deliver. Aimee phones him from midtown Manhattan, where he just happens to be staying, and asks him to drive her to suburban New Jersey. Myron obliges but pushes a bit too hard with the questions, and Aimee vanishes into a strange house. The next day she's still missing, and in jig time the police, armed with Myron's credit-card slips and EZ-Pass records, come calling. It turns out that Myron's not a credible suspect. But because everybody connects Aimee's disappearance to that of fellow student Katie Rochester three months ago, Myron's on the hook with some serious people, from Aimee's parents, who beg him to bring her home, to Katie's mobbed-up dad, who's too proud to beg but has other ways of getting him to cooperate. As usual, Coben piles on the plot twists, false leads, violent set pieces and climactic surprises with the unfocused intensity that have made his thrillers (The Innocent, 2005, etc.) such a hot ticket. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

/*Starred Review*/ Coben, the reigning master of clockwork suspense, and winner of the trifecta of mystery-writing honors--the Edgar, the Agatha, and the Shamus--produces a fascinating hybrid thriller here. Coben began his career writing detective novels starring Myron Bolitar, an ex-Celtics basketball player turned entertainment agent. For the past six years, he has concentrated on stand-alone thrillers. Coben's novels are noted for their use of technology, both as weapons used against the innocent and as ways for victims to escape their tormentors, usually with a clock ticking ominously in the background. In Promise Me, Coben skillfully grafts this deadline suspense onto the career of his series hero, Bolitar. As in his stand-alones, the novel starts with a purely domestic situation--at a party in his home, attended by friends and their offspring, Bolitar overhears two teen girls talking about driving home drunk from parties. Stung by his own memory of a high-school friend who died in a car crash, Bolitar makes the girls promise to contact him if they ever need a lift or are in trouble. The call does come a few nights later. Myron drives the caller to a friend's house, but she ends up disappearing, and guilt-ridden Myron must use all his resources to try to find what happened. Coben's resurrection of Bolitar works superbly: the melding of high suspense and high technology with a somewhat battered, very canny, questing hero is sure to produce another major hit for the way-hot Coben. ((Reviewed April 1, 2006)) Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

A promise made on a whim comes back to haunt sports and entertainment agent Myron Bolitar. Worrying about two neighborhood girls riding with drunk drivers, Myron vows to help them anytime and anywhere as long as they call. Keeping his word a few nights later, he drops off one of the young girls in a suburban neighborhood, and she promptly vanishes. Her angry parents question his motives, and eventually so do the police. Myron swears to the missing girl's mother that he will find her daughter, even if she doesn't want to be found. The return of reluctant hero Myron (Darkest Fear ) after a six-year absence will be applauded by his fans and enjoyed by newcomers. Abandoning the expected thriller elements, Coben has written a compelling drama that examines the power of honesty and determination to do the right thing. This should be shortlisted for major awards. Promise to read it. For all fiction collections.--Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

[Page 77]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Last seen in bestseller Coben's Darkest Fear (2000), Myron Bolitar, former basketball star (Boston Celtics) turned sports and entertainment agent and occasional knight in shining armor, is back in fighting form in his action-packed eighth thriller. For the past six years Myron has been leading a quiet life, much of it at his parents' old house in Livingston, N.J. A new girlfriend, Ali Wilder, a 9/11 widow, is helping to bring him out of his shell. Concerned that Ali's teenage daughter, Erin, and Erin's friend, Aimee Biel, might fall in with the wrong crowd, Myron gives them his contact information in case either of them feels she needs help. Aimee later calls him in the middle of the night for a lift to a friend's house, on condition that her request remain a secret. When Aimee turns up missing in circumstances mirroring those surrounding another vanished girl, Bolitar himself becomes a suspect in her disappearance and must use his wits and martial arts skills to uncover the truth. Coben fans will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted suspense novel, which has a startling final twist. (Apr. 25)

[Page 48]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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