cover image Live Wire

Live Wire

Harlan Coben, read by Steven Weber. Brilliance, unabridged, eight CDs, 10 hrs., $36.99 ISBN 978-1-4418-9527-1

It's no surprise that Steven Weber, a familiar TV presence (Wings, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) who specializes in glib, wisecracking characters, would be a perfect fit for both Coben's protagonist, witty sports superagent, Myron Bolitar, and his droll partner, the suave sociopath Windsor Horne Lockwood III. The investigation into the drug overdose death of a tennis star client takes a painfully personal turn for Myron. Along with the jokes, puns, and banter, the author puts his hero through the most grueling emotional roller-coaster of his 11-book story arc, with his estranged brother missing, his sister-in-law on heroin, his teenage offspring despising him, and his father suffering a possibly fatal heart attack. Weber handles Myron's mood swings and meditations effortlessly, matches Win's smugness and odd moments of friendship, and effectively creates a full cast of characters, including series regulars Esperanza, Big Cyndi, and the elder Bolitars, with vocal versatility. A Dutton hardcover. (Apr.)