Drop Shot

Quirky, sarcastic sports agent Myron Bolitar makes his second appearance (after Deal Breaker), pursuing the killer of a 24-year-old has-been tennis star on the verge of making her comeback. When someone shoots Valerie Simpson near the Food Court during the U.S. Open, Myron learns she was urgently trying to contact him. Rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of Gregory McDonald's Fletch books keeps the pace whirring as Myron, sometimes aided by his elegantly lethal pal Win Lockwood, prowls New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Dry humor and a self-deprecating attitude make Myron an appealing hero, and minor characters are delineated with attitude and verve. The exception, Myron's girlfriend, Jessica, is so flawlessly beautiful, brilliantly accomplished and oversexed (rescued from an attempted gang rape, she immediately wants to make love), that she seems more a fantasy than a character. (Mar.)