Sports agent Myron Bolitar has a habit of getting involved in his clients' problems. This time, it is a potential client, a female basketball player who is the star of a newly-formed women's league. Brenda Slaughter is not only stunning – and – a potential client; she is also the daughter of a man to whom Harlan feels he owes a debt. Unfortunately, her father may be the one who is causing her problems.

At first, Myron is just supposed to keep an eye on her because she has been getting threats. Already having troubles with long-time girlfriend Jessica on the subjects of commitment and the future, Harlan finds himself drawn to Brenda's strength and beauty, and unable to forget her haunting story of a mother who disappeared twenty-years ago without even a good-bye, leaving behind a bewildered five-year-old. This time it is Brenda's father who has disappeared.

When he is later found murdered and Brenda becomes a suspect, Myron finds himself tracing Horace Slaughter's last days, leading inevitably to the missing wife and mother of twenty years ago and her connection with a powerful political family who still has secrets to keep.

One False Move is the fifth in an excellent series combining sharp humor, strong suspense, and memorable characters. It is rare to find a novel that appeals on so many levels. The mystery is complex and Myron is a protagonist who draws me in to the story with both his sense of purpose and his smartass comments. The relationship between him and his fascinatingly scary sidekick Win intrigues me, particularly Myron's knowledge of the brutality that Win is capable of and his uneasy acceptance of it.

The background will appeal to sports fans, but I am proof that you don't have to have a particular interest in sports to appreciate these books. This was a very satisfying read; one of the best mystery novels I've read in a long, long time.

--Jeri Wright