The Boy from the Woods

Harlan Coben

Mar 2020 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this ebook

A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away.

Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn't know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father—with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde—with whom she shares a tragic connection—to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.

Ratings and reviews

Descendants of Poe’s Dupin and Conan Doyle’s Holmes, eccentric investigators with uncanny abilities of perception and intelligence have become ubiquitous in modern detective fiction. These characters are portrayed as having supernatural abilities of observation and deductive reasoning when solving crimes but are almost completely socially stunted and misanthropic. Their “outsider” status makes them exceptional, but their lack of interpersonal skills makes it difficult for them to operate within established systems of law enforcement. In The Boy From the Woods, Harlan Coben’s latest release, a nod to this canonical character takes the form of “Wilde” —a man whose feral childhood has honed his instincts but reduced his ability to operate in society. The book opens with a news article describing how he was found living on his own for an indeterminate amount of time in the woods as a young boy. With no knowledge of his past or a family to claim him, Wilde’s only connection with people are with those who discovered him and tried to re-incorporate him into their NJ community. Now an adult with a military background, Wilde’s survivalist nature comes in handy when his godson asks him to help track down a missing classmate. Matthew is concerned about this girl and feels guilty for not coming to her defense through many years of ritualized bullying. He enlists his grandmother as well, a well-connected attorney with a strong media presence and hard-earned reputation. Just as this first disappearance is resolved, another one soon follows that may be tied to a prominent family and a controversial political candidate. Wilde and his family become enmeshed in a drama that has huge ramifications, with national security implications and much higher stakes than it at first appears. The Boy From the Woods is an ambitious book, with themes of wrongful imprisonment, rich/white privilege and racism, and threats to democracy resulting from extreme political factionalism. The over-arching question posed by the book is “When do the ends justify the means?” and it addresses the idolization and vilification of the rich and famous. Wilde’s role allows for an examination of vigilantism, especially under circumstances where the system is skewed toward protecting the status quo rather than achieving justice. These are big and timely issues, and Coben does an admirable job balancing these weighty topics with a story that remains gripping enough to maintain entertainment value. The novel may be accused of taking on too many issues and having an excessive number of side plots and exposition, but Coban has the requisite experience and talent to achieve success. Thanks to the author and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book was pretty spectacular. Everything about was perfectly placed and plotted. The reveals as the story progressed were all extremely riveting and hilarious. For example, when something seemed to be horrifying, it turned out to be funny. Wilde is a great main character who was revealed to be, basically, a private detective. He is Sam Spade for the modern era. He seems very isolated and introverted, yet, his cleverness and friendliness clearly show that he is, indeed, extroverted. Finally, the twists and turns from this story were endless, funny and surprising. None of the characters turned out to be what was expected of them at the start of the book. They all ended up becoming dynamic, layered and fascinating which made the book all the more excellent.

Kept my interest throughout. Twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Really was hoping to see Raymond's case pursued. Tired of innocent black men being incarcerated.

About the author

Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-six languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries, with eighty million books in print worldwide. His Myron Bolitar series has earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and several of his books have been developed into Netflix original series, including the #1 global hit Fool Me Once, The Stranger, The Innocent, Gone for Good, The Woods, Stay Close, and Hold Tight, as well as the Amazon Prime series adaptation of Shelter. He lives in New Jersey.