Rating: 
Summary: Torture as a first resort
Review: A common theme in modern detective novels: when the protagonist needs information, the first resort is torture. It's okay, because the protagonist is the good guy. Boy, I'm tired of that. When do detectives start detecting instead of getting information by torture.
Rating:
Summary: the only disappointing book in the series
Review: Back Spin, for me, only got going way late in the book. Perhaps it was my utter indifference towards the plot, which was not nearly as interesting as Coben's previous novel in the series, "Fade Away". Plus the humor just wasn't there as it was in the other Myron books. Perhaps it was due to Win's absence in most of the novel. The "twists" were only okay too.
I recommend that people read the Myron Bolitar series in order, starting with Deal Breaker, but to skip Back Spin. Fade Away was Coben's best MB book. Gone for Good is his best stand-alone.
Rating:
Summary: the only disappointing book in the series
Review: Back Spin, for me, only got going way late in the book. Perhaps it was my utter indifference towards the plot, which was not nearly as interesting as Coben's previous novel in the series, "Fade Away". Plus the humor just wasn't there as it was in the other Myron books. Perhaps it was due to Win's absence in most of the novel. The "twists" were only okay too.
I recommend that people read the Myron Bolitar series in order, starting with Deal Breaker, but to skip Back Spin. Fade Away was Coben's best MB book. Gone for Good is his best stand-alone.
Rating:
Summary: the only disappointing book in the series
Review: Back Spin, for me, only got going way late in the book. Perhaps it was my utter indifference towards the plot, which was not nearly as interesting as Coben's previous novel in the series, "Fade Away". Plus the humor just wasn't there as it was in the other Myron books. Perhaps it was due to Win's absence in most of the novel. The "twists" were only okay too.
I recommend that people read the Myron Bolitar series in order, starting with Deal Breaker, but to skip Back Spin. Fade Away was Coben's best MB book. Gone for Good is his best stand-alone.
Rating: 
Summary: If you like Robert Crais, check out Harlan Coben!
Review: Even if you hate golf (as Coben seems to) read this excellent novel. Full of thrill and chills and great dialogue, this will have you on the edge of your seat. Myron Bolitar is the best thing to hit the mystery pages since Elvis Cole!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I am a fan of Mr Coban & M. Bolitar, Eaq., but I liked this book less than the 5 I've read previously. The reason is that the plot is way too convoluted. There is no way the reader can follow, because new facts are dropped into the stew up to the very end. The author & the hero readily admit they see little sense in golf. Perhaps this is why this novel makes less sense that their others.
Rating:
Summary: Too Complicated
Review: I read "Drop Shot" and absolutely loved it, so I picked up "Back Spin" hoping it would be of the same quality. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. The plot is simply TOO complicated--twists and turns are fun, but this book read as if Mr. Coben made it up the night before it was due. Some of the character's motivations are murky, even at the end of the novel, when Myron does a little bit too much "explaining" (to me, it's always a sign of bad writing when a detective has to "explain" a bunch of stuff away at the end of a mystery), and Mr. Coben asks us to accept some pretty improbable coincidences. I guess my willing suspension of disbelief just wasn't working the day I read "Back Spin."Also, one important plot mechanism just doesn't ring true--that is, we're asked to believe that a professional golfer could possibly mistake an eight-iron for a six-iron. I'm about a 24-handicap, but even I can tell the difference between the two clubs. I'm sure a professional golfer, who hits thousands of balls a week and knows to the yard how long each club carries, could tell the difference. Anyway, I still think "Drop Shot" was great and look forward to reading other Myron Bolitar books because he is such an engaging character. But "Back Spin" has all the signs of a book produced under the pressure of an impending deadline.
Rating:
Summary: Too Complicated
Review: I read "Drop Shot" and absolutely loved it, so I picked up "Back Spin" hoping it would be of the same quality. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. The plot is simply TOO complicated--twists and turns are fun, but this book read as if Mr. Coben made it up the night before it was due. Some of the character's motivations are murky, even at the end of the novel, when Myron does a little bit too much "explaining" (to me, it's always a sign of bad writing when a detective has to "explain" a bunch of stuff away at the end of a mystery), and Mr. Coben asks us to accept some pretty improbable coincidences. I guess my willing suspension of disbelief just wasn't working the day I read "Back Spin." Also, one important plot mechanism just doesn't ring true--that is, we're asked to believe that a professional golfer could possibly mistake an eight-iron for a six-iron. I'm about a 24-handicap, but even I can tell the difference between the two clubs. I'm sure a professional golfer, who hits thousands of balls a week and knows to the yard how long each club carries, could tell the difference. Anyway, I still think "Drop Shot" was great and look forward to reading other Myron Bolitar books because he is such an engaging character. But "Back Spin" has all the signs of a book produced under the pressure of an impending deadline.
Rating:
Summary: I like this Harlan Coben guy
Review: I've read One False Move, Backspin & Fade Away ..so far. I recommend them. They're fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Backspin could send your reading enjoyment into a tailspin
Review: If ever a thriller failed to excite, this surely is it. Riddled with forced (and not particularly funny) "humor" this book grates from the first page to the last. Where the humor in Robert Crais' Elvis Cole series works and works brilliantly, it utterly fails in Coben's work. The difference is that Coben has written Backspin in the third person, whereas Crais writes in first person. When using the third person, the commentary is given far too much attribution to the author, the opinions of which have no business being stated in any work. When an author needs to express an opinion, it must only be done through the words and actions of the characters, and not the narrative. This is a basic tenet of writing (and, I feel one of many) that Coben has either never learned or chosen to ignore. There is also a huge difference in the skills of the Crais and Coben. At one stage I was wondering if Coben could possibly write a single paragraph without using the word "almost" - someone needs to instruct Coben that to "almost" acheive something is to fail. The difference that correct word usage - to say nothing of the occassional simile or metaphor - would make to Coben's work would not render a silk purse from his sow's ear, but it would at least result in something worth reading. This book shows no evidence of an editor's touch, nor even of the author performing a re-write. It is that raw. There is little or no background given to the main character, other than him being an agent for sportsmen and women. There are allusions to his having had a different career path, but this is not made clear by the middle of the book, and by then it is too late: I had given up wondering, determined to finish the book only because I had bought it. Again, contrast this work to any of Crais' pieces, and the difference is profound. Another tenet of good writing has been thrown out the window: introduce your characters and develop them. Myron Bolitar had virtually none, but Esperanza piqued the interest from time to time. Consider this: a man whose income depends upon wheeling and dealing for his sport-playing clients apparently has no knowledge or interest in one of the most lucrative sports on the planet? Add "inability to suspend disbelief" to the list of shortcomings for this book! The thriller genre need not be devoid of good writing just because it is a genre - witness Crais' work and also that of John (not Michael) Connelly. Both writers know how to please the intellect as well as excite the imagination. Their work has pace, tension, credible characters, descriptive prose, and cannot easily be put down. Andrew Klavan's superb True Crime is also in a different league to Coben's work. No, I cannot recommend this book - but take note of the authors I have mentioned and your dollar will be spent far more wisely, and ultimately, enjoyably.
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