Darkest Fear by Harlan CobenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: Myron Bolitar's father's recent heart attack brings Myron smack into a midlife encounter with issues of adulthood and mortality. And if that's not enough to turn his life upside down, the reappearance of his first serious girlfriend is. The basketball star turned sports agent, who does a little detecting when business is slow, is saddened by the news that Emily Downing's 13-year-old son is dying and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant; even if she did leave him for the man who destroyed his basketball career, he wouldn't wish tsuris like that on anyone. And he's not at all interested in getting involved with Emily again, not even to track down the one mysterious donor who may be able to save the boy. But when Myron learns that Jeremy Downing is his own son, conceived the night before Emily and Greg Downing married, he embarks on a search for someone who disappeared a lifetime ago. And what he finds leads him to a powerful family determined to keep an old secret, a disgraced reporter who may have plagiarized a novel to create a serial killer, a very interested FBI agent, and a missing child.
Read as an audiobook. This one left me scratching my head more than anything, after all was said and read. It came across as jumbled, with too many competing plots and implausible scenario's. The plots felt rushed, glossed over and overly complicated.
So, I'll try and elaborate with out too many spoilers - my main contention throughout the book was the journalist's - Sam Gibb's - culpability. He knew who the "Sow the Seeds" killer was. Had always known. Would he not be an accessory to murder on the grounds of aiding and abetting despite his "oath" to never reveal a source? Thus, days later I found myself discussing the actions and culpability of this character with a lawyer friend of mine. I had to know if what had happened, could actually happen and what the ramifications would be. He pointed out that a sign of a good book or movie is one that you find yourself contemplating days later.
My second contention was Big Reveal Number Three, with Myron, Win and the Suspect just sitting in a production booth talking about how it all came down. It was too much blah blah blah for me. "You did this and you did that, we know the truth..." Too much telling and not very interesting telling at that.
Despite my contentions, I still enjoyed this selection. The topics of kidnapping, being manipulated, and the exploration of multiple father-son relationships were engaging enough to keep me popping in the next CD. It is a fast "read", a mere 7 disks which is pretty short compared to the 12 and 13 disks I usually get.
Overall, recommended; especially if you've read previous Bolitar selections.
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