Harlan Coben Is At the Top Of His Game – THE BOY FROM THE WOODS Proves It!

THE BOY FROM THE WOODS by Harlan Coben

We live in a Harlan Coben world. He writes best seller after best seller both in the adult genre as well as the young adult. He has had three of his books turned into series by Netflix and there are many more planned for the days ahead. Now when he should be taking a breather he pops up with another new novel and it is one of his best ever. It is titled THE BOY FROM THE WOODS and you want to get it now.

THE BOY FROM THE WOODS focuses on a man named Wilde who as a small child was discovered living in a wooded area of New Jersey on his own. No one knows who his parents are or how he came to be “the boy from the woods.” Now, thirty years after his discovery, he has been assimilated into the normal life of the area but he still feels best when alone in the woods.

During his life he was best friends with a boy named David. David was killed in an automobile accident but Wilde has remained close with his widow, their son and also David’s mother Hester Crimstein. Hester is an energetic seventy year old attorney who holds great sway in the area where she lives. And it is Hester in whom her grandson Mathew confides when he becomes concerned about one of his classmates in high school. A girl named Naomi Pine has seemingly disappeared.

Hester promises Matthew she will look into the matter and her first contact about the situation is Wilde. He has learned a lot of skills over the years and they all will help him in his search for Naomi. He agrees to help Hester and in turn help Matthew.

This engaging plot grabs you from the very start of the story and it gets bigger and better as you turn the pages. This is Harlan Coben writing at its very best as the author creates absorbing dialogue, intriguing characters and a mysterious locale. You would think after writing thirty one other books his wellspring of imagination in creating stories might falter. It hasn’t.

THE BOY FROM THE WOODS is one of Coben’s most intense and enjoyable books ever and with his books having been so praised and having sold zillions of copies, this is a hard statement to believe. But it is true. I have never fallen into one of his stories quite as fast, and never been so reluctant to put it down even for a few minutes.

I am sure THE BOY FROM THE WOODS will one day be a Netflix series, and it will be terrific. For now, however, let’s just celebrate the fact it is such a good, readable book. Go Wilde, read THE BOY FROM THE WOODS.

THE BOY FROM THE WOODS is published by Grand Central Publishing. It contains 432 pages and sells for $29.00.

Jackie K Cooper

www.jackiekcooper.com