Live Wire by Harlan Coben was almost too much

 

As you have read on previous posts I love Harlan Coben.  His writing is funny, exciting, a little bit dangerous and a little bit more compassionate.  Harlan wants the world to be a better place or, if not, at least there should be the good guys always standing against the bad guys.

Live Wire is no exception to his style.  In fact, I think he is almost too much in this story.  After the last book when Myron had been so horribly used and tortured one would think he would be much more hesitant to jump into a rescue scenario again even if it is for one of his clients.  Instead he is only too ready to play family therapist for his tennis babe and rock star couple and dig far deeper into the situation than he should.  Not only that but it seems his team, Esperanza, Win, Big Cindy and Dad are totally accepting of “Here we go again.”  I get it that he saw his strung out sister-in-law who is the reason for Myron and his brother Brad to be estranged and he wanted to find out if Brad was also in town.  The search is on now and in a very weird and heretofore unknown string of relationship ups and down Myron’s search for Brad intersects the help he is giving the tennis/rock star duo.  I don’t know if I really enjoyed the trip down the rabbit hole.  The whole thing becomes just this side of unbelievable.

Even for the strangeness of the plot I enjoyed this book.  Myron and Win cannot be beat in the sarcastic/sardonic humor game.  I am chuckling and groaning the entire story.  I love Win.  I want a friend who loves me like he loves Myron.  Okay, I don’t want a friend who can kill without impunity on my behalf but Win’s love for Myron is truly unconditional and I have to say I don’t know if Myron is capable of returning the same conscience free support.

For me the highlight of this, and this is going to sound weird, were the Blackberries.  Yes, the smart phone not the fruit.  Myron and Win have Blackberries on steroids.  They don’t have a Batman utility belt they have Batberries!  Get it, Batberries?  These phones, talk, track and practically think.  By the next installment they will be able to crack stupid man jokes!  I so want one!

Bottom line?  Myron has done it again and I will read the next installment.  I just wonder how he is going to find someone else to rescue without his talent agency… Maybe he will finally become a fulltime superhero.

p.s. at the end of this book there is a teaser for a YA book featuring Myron’s newly found nephew Mickey.  I am so getting it!