As Burt Bacharach once said, “What the world needs now is more sports agents.” Well, maybe if they’re only the really upstanding kind like Myron Bolitar, the star of Harlan Coben’s DEAL BREAKER. And maybe only if they’re accompanied by a near-psychotic sociopath who tends to deal out justice when justice is too rarely to be found. Maybe then.

DEAL BREAKER is actually the very first novel featuring mid-level sports agent Myron Bolitar, originally published in 1995. Titles that followed included DROP SHOT, FADE AWAY, BACK SPIN, ONE FALSE MOVE, THE FINAL DETAIL and DARKEST FEAR. But Coben stopped writing about Bolitar in 2000 and went on to other characters. His first book is now being re-released in hardback by Delacorte to coincide with the publication of a brand-new Bolitar novel, PROMISE ME. If you want to get involved in the series, it’s always more fun to start at the beginning, and DEAL BREAKER is the perfect entry point.

Bolitar isn’t a flashy agent, and most of his clients aren’t superstars. But star rookie quarterback Christian Steele is going to change all that. He seems a sure thing for the pros with a national collegiate championship under his belt; he’s a good looking, polite kid who will be a sponsor’s favorite; and he’s going to get Bolitar into the big time.

But Steele has a tragic past. His girlfriend went missing a while back and now the girlfriend’s father has been found dead, the result of a random robbery. Or was it? All of a sudden, the girlfriend seems to reappear, as her nude photo has been found in a porn magazine advertisement. Is she still alive, and if so, why doesn’t she come out of hiding? The pornographers aren’t talking. No one seems to have the answers, but there are lots of people who want to hurt Steele: his collegiate teammates, his new franchise owner who would like to bring down the amount of Steele’s contract and even a couple of loose mob goons who want to hurt Bolitar for interfering with one of their own cash cows.

It’s a complicated world. And Coben is at his best here with the complicated plot, slowly steering Bolitar and the reader through the investigation while not allowing us to get too lost in the details. The text is breezy with lots of dry, sarcastic humor and whipcrack dialogue, and the characters have a likable vulnerability that doesn’t wear thin. Bolitar’s half-crazy partner, Win, seems invincible and unrealistic, but he serves as the amoral muscle next to Bolitar’s upright squeamishness, combining to form a vibrant team.

If you’re looking for non-stop literary football action, you won’t find it here but you will find the debut of a great series character, a promising start to a career that continues to flourish. –Mark Rose

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