Back Spin

Coben, who just won the Edgar for best original paperback (Fade Away) scores a hole in one with this fourth outing for basketball star tuned sports agent Myron Bolitar. Golf takes center stage, but the sharp plotting and emotional density, as well as nonstop wisecracks, make this a book even for the golf-averse. When someone kidnaps the son of golfer Jack Coldren just as he's poised to win the U.S. Open, the boy's grandfather asks Myron to help. The mother, golf champion Linda Coldren, is afraid to notify police, and Myron sees an opportunity not only to save a life but also to sign up a couple of new clients. Bodies and clues pile up, and as the past unravels, Myron discovers that the Coldrens' skeletons touch even his close but enigmatic friend, Win. The characters are deftly etched and the details keenly observed (regarding a group of mall girls: ""There were four girls. Or maybe five or even six. Hard to say. They all seemed to blend into one another""). (Aug.)