Harlan Coben

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Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American author of mystery novels. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past (such as murders, fatal accidents, etc.) and often have multiple plot twists. Both series of Coben's books are set in and around New York and New Jersey, and some of the supporting characters in two series of novels have appeared in both.

Background

Coben was born to a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey but was raised and schooled in Livingston, New Jersey. While at Amherst College, he was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. Also a member of the Amherst chapter of Psi Upsilon at that time was Dan Brown, author of the DaVinci Code. They remain good friends to this day. After graduating from Amherst College as a political science major, he worked in the travel industry, in a company owned by his grandfather. He now lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.

Career

Coben was in his senior year at college when he realized he wanted to write. His first book was accepted when he was twenty-six but after publishing two stand-alone thrillers in his twenties (Play Dead in 1990 and Miracle Cure in 1991) he decided on a change of direction and began a series of thrillers featuring his character Myron Bolitar. The novels of the popular series follow the tales of a former basketball player turned sports agent (Bolitar), who often finds himself investigating murders involving his clients.

Coben has won an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award and an Anthony Award, and is the first writer to have received all three. He is also the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the New York Times op-ed page. He wrote a short story entitled "The Key to my Father", which appeared June 15, 2003.

In 2001 he released his first stand-alone thriller since the creation of the Myron Bolitar series in 1995, Tell No One, which went on to be his best selling novel to date. He followed Tell No One with four more stand-alone novels. In 2006, Coben returned to his character Myron Bolitar with the eighth installment of the series, Promise Me, released May 17 in the United Kingdom. His next novel was another stand-alone thriller titled The Woods, which was released on April 17 2007 in the United States. His latest work, Hold Tight was released on April 15, 2008 release. Although this is another stand-alone novel, Coben commented on his official website that certain key characters from The Woods will make brief appearances.

Novels

Year	Title	ISBN	Comments
1990	Play Dead	ISBN 0-945167-28-8	Currently out of print
1991	Miracle Cure	ISBN 0-945167-39-3	Currently out of print
1995	Deal Breaker	ISBN 0-440-22044-0	First Myron Bolitar novel. Movie announced
1996	Drop Shot	ISBN 0-440-22045-9	Second Myron Bolitar novel.
1996	Fade Away	ISBN 0-440-22268-0	Third Myron Bolitar novel.
1997	Back Spin	ISBN 0-7528-4916-6	Fourth Myron Bolitar novel.
1998	One False Move	ISBN 0-385-32369-7	Fifth Myron Bolitar novel.
1999	The Final Detail	ISBN 0-385-32371-9	Sixth Myron Bolitar novel.
2000	Darkest Fear	ISBN 0-385-33433-8	Seventh Myron Bolitar novel.
2001	Tell No One	ISBN 0-440-23670-3	Tell No One was adapted for a 2006 French thriller film.
2002	Gone for Good	ISBN 0-440-23673-8
2003	No Second Chance	ISBN 0-525-94729-9
2004	Just One Look	ISBN 0-525-94791-4
2005	The Innocent	ISBN 0-525-94874-0
2006	Promise Me	ISBN 0-525-94949-6	Eighth Myron Bolitar novel.
2007	The Woods	ISBN 0-7528-7441-1
2008	Hold Tight	ISBN 0-525-95060-5
2009	Long Lost	ISBN 0-525-95105-9	Ninth Myron Bolitar novel.