There were plenty of twists that kept me guessing. I couldn’t quite figure everything out. I have always been amazed with Coben’s work. He has the ability to tell a story and keep you wondering. I had a few suspects and scenarios going but I wasn’t even close. Wilde is such a character. He was perfect for each storyline and in the end everything came together, with his help, perfectly.

This book is quintessential Harlan Coben. Long time fans will not be disappointed and new comers will be hooked!

Before you start this book make sure your day is has been cleared. This book weaves a wild tale that will leave you gasping for breathe.

I have read all of the author'ssbooks and find them to be a good escape. This was no exception. A fun diversion for an afternoon read when the rest of the world seems to be coming apart, more every day. The book was some what predictable but always enjoy the writing and the occasional surprise.

Harlan Coben has created yet another great set of characters. I liked Wild, Hester, Oren, Ava, and Naomi. I hope we hear more of their story. There are a lot of plots and subplots - all woven together to keep us guessing. I did feel the storyline was not as tight as many of his past novels - but it keeps you turning the pages and wondering. There were also a couple of instances that didn't feel right to me - just flashes that I can't go into as not to supply any spoilers and they didn't spoil the enjoyment of the read. The ending has an unexpected twist which was an added bonus but there are many situations in the end that I wanted much more resolution. All and all, Coben supplies an entertaining read and this novel is no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me with an ARC of the newest Harlan Coben thriller, The Boy From the Woods. It did not disappoint!!!! In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

As a longtime fan of Harlan Coben, I was eager to see if his newest stand alone would be as satisfying as his last novel, The Runaway. Well much to my delight, nods & winks from that story appear in this book and even grander, beloved criminal attorney and all around badass Hester Crimstein takes center stage. Hester’s grandson Matthew reaches out to Hester when one of his classmates disappears. Matthew fears schoolroom bullying might have led to her disappearance and though he wasn’t directly involved, he didn’t speak up either. Hester has an affinity for Matthew and can’t deny his request. Hester reaches out to Wilde, once known as “the boy from the woods” to help track and locate Naomi, the missing girl.

I don’t want to give too much away but know this book has ALL the trademarks of prior Coben thrillers; witty banter, memorable characters, twisty surprises, relevant & timely cultural references and plenty of page turning action. I absolutely loved this one and hope to see more stories involving several characters. Whether you’re an old fan or completely new to Harlan Coben this book will easily satisfy any reader.

There were lots of themes and streams in this book. There was a lot about abandonment and adoption. There was a fair amount about foster parents. There was bullying in high school. There was teenaged drinking. There was miscarriage of justice resulting in an innocent’s man’s lifelong prison sentence. There was lots of denial and misdirection. A key feature, mixed in with all these others was politics with issuing false news and spinning facts to change things from black to white. Oh yes, there was rape. There was obscene opulence. Gosh, what wasn’t there? It was hard to keep the good guys and the bad guys straight.

This was definitely not one of Coben’s best, but I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley. I’m sure it will be enjoyed by many.

In 1986 a young boy is found living alone in the Ramapo Mountain State Forrest. He’s never been to school and doesn’t know his own name or where he’s from. Flash forward thirty four years the young boy is now an adult and his name is Wilde. After serving in the CIA And military he’s a private investigator and works along his foster sister. He’s still lives alone and doesn’t like being around large groups of people in fact he lives in a portable accommodation in the forest where he was found as a young boy. Hester Crimstein is a well known lawyer and tv personality. When her grandson Matthew approaches her about about Naomi a girl from school who has gone missing and no one seems to care , Hester asks Wilde to help with the investigation, she’s known Wilde since he was a young boy and he was friends with her son who died in a car accident. Wilde uncovers that Naomi was bullied and hazed by the popular kids and Matthew played his own part, he begins to wonder did she just simply run away? When Crash Maynard disappears and he’s the popular/ rich child of the wealthy Maynard family. Wilde soon finds himself caught up in the twisted life of the wealthy, which includes secrets, a presidential runner, ransom and when a severed finger arrives he knows he’s needs to uncover some secrets that someone wishes would just remain hidden. Filled with twists and turns Harlan Coben never fails to impress me! I know when I pick up one of his books I’m in for an amazing mystery that never fails to disappoint! I give this five stars I was hooked from page one!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

As soon as I find out the release date for a new Harlan Coben book I rush to my reading calendar and make sure I keep a date open to review it. Then I anxiously wait for the book to pop up for review. Coben is my favorite author when it comes to suspense and he never disappoints.

The story starts out with Naomi Pine being bullied and soon after the teenager disappears. No one seems to care that the girl is missing except a classmate who feels guilty for not stepping up to defend her and even played along with some of the pranks played on her. He is worried so he reaches out to his grandmother, Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney. Hester then reaches out to Wilde, a man who was found in the woods near her home 30 years ago and was befriended by her son. Wilde feels he has things in common with Naomi and immediately begins his search. A search that could cost him. A search that could hurt others. A search that will reveal secrets that could destroy lives.

This story is absolutely fabulous!

If you have read other Coben thrillers the name Hester Crimstein may be familiar. She is a woman who is tough as nails but we now see she has a soft spot for her grandson. Until now she has been a supporting character that pops up here and there. Through this story, we finally get to know more about this sassy broad who comes to town to see what her grandson Matthew really knows about a girl he says is missing.

We also meet Wilde, a boy found living in the woods about 30 years ago when he was between 6-8 years old. He spoke English but didn’t know his name or anything about where he came from. He soon became known as Wilde. No family ever claimed him so he was placed in foster care and he excelled in school. Upon graduation, he joined the military excelling there as well. That led to a post-military career in security and investigation. But the man is clearly a loner and is happiest living in the woods that will always be his home.

The thing Mr. Coben really does well is create characters with many layers. Some like Hester’s are revealed over time. Other’s like Wilde, Naomi, and Matthew are peeled back over the course of the story but I always feel like he holds just a bit back in case he wants to revisit them again in the future. All the characters are interesting and held my attention and I wanted to know more.

He has wrapped these characters into a story that starts as a missing person case and quickly becomes so much more. Wilde truly was all in when it came to finding Naomi and went to great lengths to get answers. He runs into roadblocks but pushes through, literally at times, to get in people’s faces to find out what the know or what they did. A surprising twist changes the game and ratchets up the suspense and takes us in new directions.

Coben blends social and political themes, really highlighting how far the rich will go to keep their secrets. We are immersed in the dark side seeing people who have created a great public facade but who truly have no morals or ethics. It made my cringe in places.

Mr. Coben also shows us a softer side as characters deal with loss and grief while trying to move forward. Grieving the loss of a loved one is something I am very familiar with and he captured and told this part of the story in a heartwarming and believable way. It was a nice little subplot alongside all the action and suspense.

As I said, this story is fabulous, it is filled with twists and thrills. I totally escaped into every aspect of the story. Well-plotted and written, with a perfect pace. The ending was a complete surprise, The Boy From The Woods is a complex story that was so compelling. I loved it! My world completely stopped when I started reading. In fact, Harlan Coben is responsible for my latest book hangover because I stayed up until the early morning hours to finish this book.

The Boy From The Woods deserves more than 5 stars. It earns my Paradise Rating and a place on my Best Reads of 2020.

This was a highly entertaining read. Most of the books I’ve been picking up lately have been pretty disappointing, but The Boy from the Woods ended up being even more enjoyable than I was expecting.

One thing Harlan Coben does really well (among the many things he does really well) is character development. There are a lot of characters in this book and I felt really invested in all of them. I’ve read in other reviews that one of the main characters of this book, Hester, has shown up in many other of Coben’s books, but as I am woefully behind in catching up on his backlist, I think I’ve only read of her once before. While I’m sure more familiarity with her characters would make people love her in this book even more, I found her very compelling without all the backstory. Like I said, Coben does a great job with character development and we get to learn a lot about Hester and her past and her future. What I really love about her is her quick wit. She has so much great banter with multiple characters and I was here for it.

I also really liked Wilde. He has a fascinating backstory and was a really unique character. I really hope there are more books to come with Wilde as a main character because this story ends with a whole lot of unsolved questions about him. I am one of those readers that like things tied up in neat little bows at the end of a book, so not getting those questions answered about Wilde really bugs me.

I thought the story was really well paced. Even though it was very character driven, the plot moved along with every chapter and I was disappointed any time I had to put it down. There were a lot of threads to the mystery, with several red herrings. I found it interesting, if ultimately kind of far fetched. I did like the discussion about today’s political landscape. Without actually going into political agendas, it explored how volatile things are right now and how extremists are becoming more of the norm and how dangerous that is. I had a bit of a hard time, though, with getting on board the train of thought that Rusty, the presidential candidate, was going to be responsible for the death of millions through manipulation alone.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Boy from the Woods. I loved the characters and the banter and the steady pacing made for a very addictive read. There were a few things I found a little too unbelievable and was frustrated by some big unanswered questions, but it was still a really fun book. I will be anxiously waiting to see if another book with these characters will be coming soon.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

The mysterious man known as Wilde, who was found as a child in the woods, lives a relatively solitary life back in those same woods on the outskirts of town. But when his godson, Matthew, asks him to help him find a missing classmate, Wilde becomes in a tangled web of disappearances, secrets and politics.

Like all books by Harlan Coben that I've read, I was instantly pulled into the mystery and drama through his stellar writing and storytelling. The characters were interesting to get to know and the story kept me guessing until the very end; there was only one component I was able to figure out before it was revealed in the story. At times, the parallels to the "real world" felt a bit on-the-nose for me and what really kept this one from being a 4 or 4.5 star read for me was that not all of the seemingly central mysteries to the story were answered by the end of the story. It left me feeling like a whole chunk of the story was completely pointless to the plot.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5 stars

Special thanks to Harlan Coben, Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Well, my binge of all things Harlan Coben continues. This is my fourth book of his in the last few months. I think I'm starting to get a feel for his writing style, his tricks & how he creates such a suspenseful read. All I can say is...

I recognize Hester from Run Away, but my buddy Amy at Novelgossip tells me Hester is in a lot of Harlan books. I love her!

From the get-go, The Boy From The Woods starts off so strong. Also, can I get a visual on Wilde?!? The boy (now a man) raised in the woods sounds like my kind of guy -tough, smart, mysterious & helpful. He sounds hot as hell too.


There's a lot going on here. Harlan introduces us to a lot of characters, a lot of subplots & sometimes it's a bit much for me. Yes, I'm invested in the story & racing to the finish line. Yet, there's a part about 60% through where I'm wanting to give up. But, I have enough trust in Harlan that he's going to wrap things up & blow my mind. Guess what? He does just that.

I have a feeling that fans of Harlan will love this title. Also, if you're feeling burnt out on thrillers & suspense novels, The Boy in the Woods is a sure win.

Terrific book. Absolutely loved it. Compelling characters and story line. Kept me interested the entire time.

5 Stars

Wow! What a great book!

This book is the first in what I hope is a new series by Harlan Coben. One can dream, right?

I have mixed feelings about the title of this story. It is not technically about The Boy From the Woods. I think I was expecting to read a story about a youngster who survived the wilds of the woods and how that experience changed him. It is sort of about that. But here we see the grown up man who used to be the boy in the woods. I like how he goes about the investigation into the missing teen since it is so different than the normal you usually see in a book like this.

However, Wilde is not the only ‘main character’ here. In the beginning that title is split between Wilde, TV lawyer Hester Crimstein and her grandson Matthew. Hester is the one who gets Wilde involved in the case. Matthew is the one who knows the missing girl and is connected to many of the players in the story.

Wilde’s experiences in the woods as a youth still colors his everyday life. He doesn’t really get involved romantically with women. He is more of the guy who gets his needs fulfilled and goes back to being alone. Even when he is with someone, he never stays the night in the bedroom. He feels more comfortable sleeping outside under the stars. Because of all his quirks, this is a pretty entertaining read. You never get what you expect. Even when you think you know how all the circumstances play out, Coben surprises is again with a last minute surprising revelation… or two or three. If you are the type who skips the end because you think you know it all, don’t bypass this one. You will miss out on a ton of insight and character growth.

Just loved this so much. I am hoping for a series. Did I say that already? :)

If you love a good mystery/thriller, you need to pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed. I was hooked all the way through. Good stuff!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Based on the blurb, I expected the book to be a lot more about Wilde and his unexplained, mysterious past growing up in the woods on his own, basically feral. There were bits and pieces about that, but the story was mostly about decades old secrets, the future of the free world, and what extremes people will go to "protect" it as they deem appropriate. It wasn't the usual story I've come to expect from Harlan Coben, it was a lot more straightforward than usual, full robust characters and a fast paced plot. Pretty good read!

Love Harlan Coben's books! "The Boy From the Woods" is another taut thriller, that is quickly-paced and I just could not put down.

This is my second book by Harlan Coben and have become a pretty big fan of his!

I would say that this isn't my favorite of the two I've read so far... but it was a solid mystery with a great ending. I think that I had issues with the unbelievability factor. It just went to that realm and had some issues believing everything completely.

But, man does Coben know how to jam pack his books with action and so much that will leave you on the edge of your feet!

I would recommend if you want a solid mystery with jam packed action and leaving you on the edge of your toes.

Overall, 3.5 stars

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 3/17/20
Published to GR: 2/29/20

Would recommend going through again for typos, but an amazing story line as always for Harlan Coben!

Harlan Coben has done it again! The Boy from the Woods is a fabulous, fast paced thriller! The mystery centers around Wilde, a boy who grew up in the woods and Hester, a criminal defense lawyer trying to find a missing girl. There were many twists and turns that I did not see coming. I could not put it down! Highly recommended! Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Harlan Coben has written several novels about searches for missing people (Tell No One is probably the most famous), and the latest may be his best. The Boy from the Woods has its share of action and violence, but the deeply developed characters are the main attraction here.

The title character is Wilde, now in his thirties, who was discovered as a small boy living feral in the forest. He still doesn’t know his own origins, and he still prefers to live in a “ecopod” in the woods, but he had a good upbringing and education by an adoptive family, served in the military in the Middle East, and is a partner in a private security agency. His friend, Hester Crimstein, a celebrated 70-year-old criminal defense attorney with a popular TV show, asks Wilde to look for a teenage girl who has vanished after suffering brutal bullying from boys at school. Always a champion of abused outsiders, Wilde throws himself into a search that leads to dangerous places far from the starting point. Soon Wilde is involved with powerful people who hold evidence that could bring down a fascistic politician. This leads to a kidnapping complete with a severed finger delivered in a box – but the kidnapping doesn’t involve the girl Wilde has been looking for. The story becomes ever more complex and engrossing and wraps up in a thoroughly satisfying way.

Hester Crimstein’s story is interwoven with Wilde’s, and she deserves mention as a fascinating character in her own right. She’s a tough, brilliant older woman who can kick any ass that gets in her way – but at the same she’s a woman capable of swooning from the romantic attentions of a handsome sheriff. Readers will love her. She’s a character Coben could build a series around if he wished. Helen Mirren could play her brilliantly in the Netflix adaptation.

Highly recommended.