Darkest Fear

Written by Harlan Coben

Narrated by Tim Machin

Life isn't going well for Myron Bolitar. His business is struggling, and his father, recently recovered from a heart attack, is facing his own mortality - and forcing Myron to face it too. Then 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 trace.

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 who can save the boy's life means cracking open a mystery that involves a broken family, a brutal kidnapping spree, and a cat-and-mouse game between an ambitious reporter and the FBI.Read by Tim Machin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Apr 10, 2006
• ISBN: 9780752884684

Harlan Coben

With more than seventy million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous suspense novels, including Don't Let Go, Home, and Fool Me Once, as well as the multi-award-winning Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in forty-three languages around the globe and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries. He lives in New Jersey.

Reviews for Darkest Fear

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Myron and Win and Esperanza. What more do you need?

[olivermagnus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Darkest Fear is the seventh book in the popular Myron Bolitar series. It opens with Myron visiting his parents home in New Jersey and reminiscing about his life. His father has recently had a health scare and his parents are selling the family home and moving to Florida. In the middle of this emotional upheaval he is contacted by his former college girlfriend, Emily Downing, now married to Myron's basketball nemesis. It turns out that Emily has a 13-year old son, Jeremy, who's in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. They've found a match listed on the bone marrow registry list, but the donor has mysteriously disappeared. She begs Myron to find him, but Myron doesn't want to have anything to do with Emily or Greg. That is, until Emily tells Myron that he is actually the boy's biological father, the result of one last fling on the night before she got married. Is Myron a father? You'll have to read this book to find that out.

I really love this series but have to admit this wasn't my favorite. Although there is plenty of humor, the story seemed to be a little disjointed. Of course, you have to love a story that also includes Myron's best friends, Win and Esperanza. Win is an amoral, self-centered man with a heart of gold who is always ready to save Myron. Esperanza Diaz, former professional wrestler, is now his business partner and is her own version of the CIA. I would definitely recommend starting this series with an earlier book, but most fans will really enjoy this one. I look forward to the next book in this engaging series.

[adam.currey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fairly typical Harlan Coben fare, which is to say fast paced with plenty of twists and turns and a little humour thrown in. I will say it didn't captivate me quite the way that others have.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little convoluted and confusing, but still a good, solid mystery novel. I wish it had been a little easier to follow, but I was a bit distracted yesterday. Lots of characters, also helped with my confusion.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Myron Bolitar’s life has been ripped apart when his ex-girlfriend confronts Myron with the news that her thirteen year old boy is his son and is dying. He needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant but the donor has disappeared. His ex wants him to find the donor in time to save his son.

[shannon.dolgos · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Myron's ex-girlfriend Emily shows up at his parents' home, Myron is anything be delighted to see her. In an attempt to send her on her way, he agrees to join her for coffee at a local coffee shop, where she begs Myron to help her save her son, Jeremy. Jeremy needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible, and the matching donor has disappeared. As Myron begins to refuse, Emily reveals that Myron is Jeremy's father.

In that moment, Myron accepts the case...during his quest to locate the donor, the case becomes entangled with a serial murderer...

[mrs_mcgreevy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Darkest Fear is the seventh novel to feature sports agent and amateur detective Myron Bolitar. Myron is a sad-sack ex-basketball pro who’s a magnet for trouble and for troubled women. In the finest hard-boiled tradition, he’s also a confirmed smart-ass. Myron runs MB SportReps. His best friend is Win, a.k.a. Windsor Horne Lockwood III, wealthy eastern socialite, loyal friend and amoral killer. His assistant and now partner in MB SportReps is Esperanza Diaz, who worked her way through law school as Little Pocahontas, one of the Fabulous Ladies of Wrestling (or FLOW). Myron’s receptionist is Big Cyndi, a gargantuan lady who was formerly Little Pocahontas’s wrestling partner, Big Chief Mama, and who works nights as a bouncer at an S&M bar called Leather-N-Lust (motto: Hurt the one you love).

This book finds Myron pulled into trouble yet again. An old girlfriend contacts Myron and hits him with a double shot: Myron is the father of her child, and the child needs a bone marrow transplant or he will die. A donor was found, but has since disappeared. Myron (whose marrow does not match) begins searching for the donor and ends up dealing with a series of brutal kidnappings, an ambitious reporter, and the FBI. Will Myron find the missing donor? What’s the connection between the ambitious reporter and the kidnapper? Is the child really Myron’s?

Coben is absolutely wonderful at creating odd, off-the-wall characters who somehow manage to remain believable. He’s also adept at putting these characters into situations that cause real pain and where the outcome is by no means a given. Because you like the characters so much, you suffer when they do, and that’s the sign of a good book. But where Coben really shines is the humor.

Your Hammett/Chandler tough guy detectives have always known their way around a wisecrack, and Myron is no exception. He cannot have an encounter with anyone, it seems, without attempting pithy commentary (his success rate varies). But Coben has surrounded Myron with smart people who know him all too well, so Myron doesn’t necessarily get the best (or the last) laugh. Then you add in a character like Big Cyndi—a sweet, wonderful person, but not the brightest star in the sky—and the way is paved for some absolutely hilarious interactions. The cool thing is that all of these oddball characters are never played just for laughs; they have lives, and problems, and, most importantly, feelings, and you are never allowed to forget that. Coben walks a fine line between the dark and the humorous, and he manages to do it without cheating either one.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Myron Bolitar is one of my favorite characters. The series has a fine sense of humor laced with a good mystery. The beginning starts off well with Myron trying to be nice to his mother, a lawyer who never, ever cooks, but who has just turned out a pastry that Myron thinks tastes just like urinal cakes.In this novel, Coben mixes the serious with levity. He is contacted by an ex-girlfriend who had ultimately married his arch rival on the basketball court and whom he blames for his career-destroying knee injury. It seems her son has a life-threatening disease that can only be cured with a bone marrow transplant and the one match in the registry has disappeared. She wants Myron to find the donor and save her son’s life. From there it gets really complicated mixing a serial killer with a discredited journalist whose being staked out by the FBI and a very rich family who has a secret they refuse to reveal.Coben ties it together very nicely, but I sometimes wonder if the excellent narration by Jonathan Marosz doesn’t make the difference between 3 and 4 stars.

[buffalogr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coben thriller where our hero, Myron, is entangled with a pre-Jessica girlfriend--married to the guy who ended his basketball career. "Ah, soap opera, where's the thrill?" said I...until it became a fun listen. There were characters who lied, every time they opened their mouth and of course, the regulars, Win and Esperanza. Both played a fun role. Win is like Trump--says what you're thinking. The richness of the witty speech was also enjoyable--wish I could be that glib under pressure. I was guessing until the very end. Excellent entry at #7; Where's the #8?

[sberson_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

fun to read- not one of the best of the series.

[fictionzeal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From FictionZeal.com:
A thirteen year old boy will die without a bone marrow transplant. The good news is there is an exact match to a donor in the system. The bad news? The donor is missing.

In a recent episode of this series, Myron’s father had a heart-attack, increasing Myron’s awareness of love; family; closeness; and possibly mortality. His old girlfriend (pre-Jessica) has returned; her name is Emily. She married Greg Downing, the man who deliberately destroyed Myron’s pro basketball career (backstory to this in Book #3 – Fade Away). Their 13 year-old son Jeremy is in need of the transplant. And, why should Myron care – for more reasons than you know! Myron pulls Win, Esperanza and many other characters from the series into the search for the donor. The probable donor is a long-missing son of a rich and powerful family; they have a secret they are determined to keep. A disgraced reporter is also in hiding. The FBI are questioning and WARNING Myron to leave it alone. Then, the child comes up missing.

Don’t worry about all the facets of this novel. As is the case for most Harlan Coben novels, all of them come into place nicely before the end. This is the 7th in the series and they keep getting better. I like the way these books tie together personal information from the main characters with truly suspenseful tales. I do think that the lines of morality were a little narrower between Myron and Win in this book. Win is the sociopath with a brutal ‘ends to justify the means’ streak, but Myron crossed over a bit this time. Not sure if I want to see those patterns continue. Rated 4 out of 5.

[heavydnilbett · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Typical Coben thriller with pleasurable twists and turns that keep you guessing throughout. A personal journey for Bolitar as well.Coben is always entertaining and Darkest Fear, which was the last Bolitar book before Coben ventured into stand alone territory, is no exception.Buy, read and enjoy!

[teeth_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great Myron Bolitar novel byHarlan Coben. I enjoy all Coben's novels but this was one of his beat! Myron finds out he has a son and is sick and needs a bone marrow transplant This book has all sorts of twists and turns and I couldnt put it down.

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my favourite of the Myron Bolitar books. Unfortunately when Myron gets too personally involved in the mystery it doesn't work for me. Still a good read though and, as usual with Coben, I wasn't quite expecting that last twist in the tale.

[permaswooned · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 7th in the series of Myron Bolitar books. The amazing thing about this series is you can pick up almost any of them and not feel tremendously lost. Coben writes character extremely well, and it is very easy to "see" these people in the mind's eye.I really like that Myron is sort of an unlikely hero. Someone with potential whose dreams were nipped in the bud. Someone for whom things do not always work out.This story takes things in several new directions and makes for a very satisfying read.

[isaacfry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Myron's former girlfriend, Emily, comes to him for him concerning her son, Jeremy, who needs a bone marrow transplant. A match was found, but the donor has disappeared, and oh, according to Emily, the son is Myron's.

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

7th in the Myron Bolitar series.Coben continues in this installment to deal with more serious issues other than a witty approach to the mystery genre. Aging parents—particularly his increasingly fragile father—and the sale of the only home he has ever known have sobered Bolitar.Then lightning strikes in the form of his former lover Emily Downing and, we discovered in the last book, the mother of his 13 year old son. Jeremy is dying and needs a bone marrow transplant. But the one potential donor that has been located so far has vanished—and there is not much time left for Jeremy. Myron and Win start a frantic search for the missing donor—having no idea that on the way they would uncover the traces of a serial murderer who may still be at large. The plot is excellent and has enough twists and turns to satisfy. Coben’s writing is up to his usual standard, with a different take on the serial killer genre. The FBI makes an unflattering appearance. The hallmark wit is still there, and Win is still the same lovable sociopath, but this book, like recent ones, is more subdued, grimmer, as Coben continues to explore the personal impact of the mortality of one’s parents and (worse) children. Highly recommended.

[fw2334 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Scary, but fun.

[klarusu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyed this Bolitar book - one of my favourites, I think. The usual well-crafted, convoluted plot that we've come to expect from Harlan Coben. You either love 'em or you don't. I love 'em!

[edwardsgt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent mix of thriller and humour carefully crafted to keep you on the edge of your seat