One False Move (1998) by Harlan Coben is the 5th novel in his series of a crime solver and sports agent named Myron Bolitar.

Today Harlan Coben is known for his many TV adaptations of complex mysteries and thrillers. 

His early career Myron Bolitar books are much different. Funny. Irreverent. Filled with pop culture references. Very entertaining.

Philosophical, at times.

Bolitar’s best friend, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, is one of the great characters of fiction.

One False Move follows Myron as he is hired to protect rising women’s basketball star Brenda Slaughter.

What starts as a “bodyguard” job quickly spirals into a complex investigation when Brenda’s father disappears—just as her mother did twenty years prior.

The investigation brings Myron into conflict with the Mob and a powerful political family, uncovering secrets that some are willing to kill to protect.