If Myron Bolitar had had a wife it may never have happened. After seven years and seven books together, Harlan Coben dumped the crime-solving sports agent because he wasn't married.
It was hard for Coben to make the break from the character whose popularity had made possible his escape from tour guide with his family's travel company to life as a full-time crime writer. But he had a great story idea that needed a wife. And Myron, who has suffered his share of heartbreak, didn't have one.
So Coben cut Myron loose - and when Tell No One, the book based on that idea-with-wife, was published in 2001, Coben shot from middling success as a writer to the international big league.
'It was very freeing, once I managed to shake him off,' says the American, who was the first person to win the big three US crime writing awards - the Edgar, the Shamus and the Anthony. 'I had to get people to try reading it, and they were much more willing to try Tell No One than one about a sports agent who solves crimes.'
Coben, 42, has since written three more non-Myron thrillers, each more successful than the last. The latest, Just One Look (Orion) - newly released in paperback - has fulfilled his dream for No1 status in Britain.
In this latest story, Coben wrote a female lead character for the first time. Grace Lawson, once seriously injured when trampled by the crowd at a rock concert, must look for clues in the past after her husband is kidnapped. Coben says he likes to try new approaches - after breaking his earlier mould, he now doesn't want to get stuck on any particular style. 'I like to think I upped my game,' he says.
On tour in Melbourne, Coben is a hot ticket. Although he's reluctant to leave his family for more than 10 days, he remembers what it was like outside the big league. 'Some writers complain about going on tour. But I remember calling my publisher and saying, 'Hey, can I get a paperclip?' and they would say, 'No, we can't do that for you'. When they mail me the first copy, it's really cool; when they mail me the cover for the first time, it's really cool. I try not to get jaded about it because I know how lucky I am.'