Darkest Fear

By: Harlan Coben

Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz

Edgar Award-winner Harlan Coben is at his electrifying best in his latest novel--a dazzling tale of seething mystery and dark family secrets. In Darkest Fear, Myron Bolitar faces the most emotionally shattering case of his career. And it all begins when Myron's ex-girlfriend tells him he is a father--of a dying thirteen-year-old boy....

Myron's sports agency is struggling. Now more than ever Myron needs to keep his eye on the ball, sign up some big-name clients, and turn away from the amateur detective work that is taking precious time away from the agency. But life is not going according to plan. Myron's father, recently recovered from a heart attack, is facing his own mortality--and forcing Myron to face it too. Then comes another surprise.

Emily Downing, Myron's college sweetheart, reappears in his life with devastating news: Her thirteen-year-old son Jeremy is gravely ill and can be saved only by a bone-marrow transplant--from a donor who has vanished without a trace. And before Myron can absorb this revelation, Emily hits him with an even bigger shocker: Jeremy is Myron's son, conceived the night before Emily's wedding to another man.

Staggered by the news, Myron plunges into a search for the missing donor. But for Myron, finding the only person in the world who can save a boy's life means cracking open a mystery as dark as it is heartbreaking--a mystery that involves a broken family, a brutal kidnapping spree, and a cat-and-mouse game between an ambitious reporter and the FBI.

Somewhere in the sordid mess is the man who once signed his name to a bone-marrow donor's registry, then disappeared. And as doubts emerge about Jeremy's true paternity, a child vanishes, igniting a chain reaction of truth and revelation that will change everyone's life forever.

At once a riveting mystery and a spellbinding journey into the secrets that haunt families, lovers, and friends, Darkest Fear proves once again that Harlan Coben is a master storyteller like no other--and one of the most original talents in suspense fiction today.©2000 Harlan Coben; (P)2000 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

Harlan Coben and the Myron Bolitar Novels:

"The world needs to discover Harlan Coben. He's smart, he's funny, and he has something to say."
--Michael Connelly

"In a genre crowded with accidental detectives who seem invented only to lure cat-loving vegetarians and other special-interest readers, Myron Bolitar stands out."
--USA Today

"Don't let Coben's wry observations fool you. They gift wrap keen insights into our society...."
--The Washington Post Book World

"Poignant and insightful...Myron is gallant, likable and delightfully original."
--Los Angeles Times

"Coben has melded sly humor, sophisticated plotting, and solid storytelling with bizarre yet believable characters."
--Chicago Tribune

"Bottom line: Slam dunk suspense from smart aleck sleuth."
--People Magazine Beach Pick of the Week

Amazing narrator

Best narrator ever! He catches all the subtle humor and sarcasm with which Coben writes. Another excellent Myron plot which did not disappoint!

Love this!

I love Myron Bolitar and Jonathan
Mayrose is my all time favorite reader. He is anything but flat!

I'm going to miss Jonathon Marosz.

Excellent book even though it sounds like the end of Myron Bolitar. I'm obviously super late to the party so maybe this was meant to be his last one. It's going to be like a whole new series with a new narrator.

Darkest Fear

Harlan Coben knows how to write. This was suspenseful and exciting. Another good one by the author.

Convoluted and Dated But Still Fun Coben-Bolitar

Things get personal for Myron Bolitar when his college girlfriend, now married to his basketball nemesis Greg Downing, tells him that her son has a rare bone disease and the only known donor has gone missing. And that her son is actually his son, the result of an affair the two had right before her wedding to Greg.

The intertwining story lines get somewhat convoluted, and it takes a talking villain (a literary no-no) to somewhat untangle them (actually, Myron does the talking to the villain rather than vice versa). But it's still a satisfying read, primarily because of the non-stop quipsterisms tendered by Myron, Win, and Co.

The pop culture references are seriously outdated -- to wit, an entire set piece based on Charles Nelson Reilly on the Hollywood Squares. But if you're my age, they're still quaint.