The Boy from the Woods: Wilde, Book 1

It pains me to write this as I’m a huge Harlan Coben fan but this book was a disappointment. I’ve read all the author’s books and my favorites of his have always been his stand alone novels. I love the mysteries in these novels about missing people and all the twists and turns I know are coming. As a voracious reader he’s always been one of the few writers who manages to stump me no matter how hard I try to stay ahead of him. That being said this novel is not what I love about those novels. At its heart this is not really a missing person novel or about the characters listed in the description. This novel is largely overshadowed by a political story that involves money and power and all that goes along with politics. I will say Coben does it better than other authors I’ve read lately have done. I’ve been annoyed to find some of my favorite mystery writers lately ruining their books with their political obsessions. I don’t think many mystery fans want to debate the merits of the president in what should be a mystery novel. To his credit the political candidate in this book that I took to be a stand in for the president turns out to be more than a caricature. Coben actually makes an excellent point about the obsessions that come with hating a political figure and what happens when the ends justify the means. I do think he wrote himself into a problem trying to make a point by allowing certain things to happen but again this is not a one sided rant as I’ve seen in other books. But unfortunately I could not find myself caring about this large part of the novel so it fell flat for me.I really liked a lot of the characters in this book but it just didn’t have a good enough story. The novel is from the POV of Wilde, the man with the mysterious path found in the woods as a boy or Hester, the famous criminal defense attorney, and Coben uses brilliantly to showcase her role in his last book Run Away. If you’re wondering about the case mentioned at the beginning and end of the book that’s where to find out what happened with the punch that went viral. Both characters are sympathetic and interesting but unfortunately they just weren’t enough to make this novel interesting when so much of the story is overshadowed by the political element. Again this novel is not really about Naomi or Wilde’s attempt to find her. For that reason it was a disappointment and not at all what I was expecting or would have wanted to read.

i find that eventually even good writers run out. this book was on the level of a young adult read. Harlen called this one in or found it in a bottom drawer of rejected submissions. Not good enough.

I’ve read many of Mr. Coben’s books and have never been this disappointed..The storyline is actually very interesting. The main characters are a man who as a boy, was left in the woods by someone, a 70 yr old criminal attorney who knows just the right questions to ask, a politician who will do anything to get elected, two teenagers and an ultra rich couple.A teenager goes missing. The there’s another ... the storyline proceeds with drama, suspense, the usual twists and turns and would have ended on a great note if one didn’t have the read the chapter “three weeks later.” I know you’ll read it even if I say not to. But it wrecks the whole book. If it weren’t on my iPad, I would have torn out that chapter or just simply stomped on the book, tore the whole thing up and set it on fire.The ending is stupid, nonsensical and ridiculous. It doesn’t even belong in the story. Mr. Harlan Coben, you are much better than this!

Very good read but you'll be disappointed that he doesn't answer the big question, must have a sequel in the works.

Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors. This book has all the ingredients found in his novels: interesting characters, twisting plot, surprises throughout. It just didn't hit the mark. The first half of the book was slow and had trouble moving with any pace. Characters like Wilde, the boy from the woods, though interesting, has many unexplained issues and inconsistencies in his complex personality. He's kind of a mix between Jack Reacher and Tarzan. Hester Crimstein, an attorney and TV personality, has a Judge Judy like persona and supplies the witty repartee so often found in Coben's books. The rest of the cast is an amalgam of people from almost all walks of life and every social strata. How their lives intersect was too contrived for my taste. All in all, good but not Coben's best.

So much in one book! Do you like mysteries? You have multiple mysteries. Do you like books about politics? You have a book about politics - fictional, but not really given todays political environment. Do you like legal plots? You have several - and before you get too complacent - they aren't what you think. Do you like stories with twists and turns? You have it - along with surprise endings on top of surprise endings.In other words this is the kind of book I love. The characters have actual personalities - believable ones. No one is perfect, but they are believable. Some of the people do good things, for good reasons - with bad results, sort of. Does that give you an idea of what this book is like? It's about well meaning, fallible people. There are bad people too - except they are maybe more weak than bad. One thing for certain - the author understands human nature and used it to create a compelling, interesting and educational story.There are multiple threads in this story, but no loose ends when the book is finished. Definitely a good read.

God-like good! Just read it, you’ll understand! Absolute perfection...the twists and turns, witty repartee, real imperfect but lovable characters. Thank you Harlan.

Oh what a tangled web is woven. Mr. Coben is a master of mystery. Wilde is the mysterious boy all grown up. He’s a hunter working with his dear friend Hester to solve more than one mystery. In fact there are three mysteries all woven together in a tightly bundled nest. Take the journey as the threads of the plot unwind in a compelling way. You’ll be glad you did.

This was the first Harlan Coben book which left me feeling really disappointed - I've loved every other one of his books and have eagerly awaited each new publication. However, this one left me cold - the main reason being that Hester Crimstein, who has worked well as a side character in other novels, is given a much larger role in this one and I feel that the character just isn't able to pull it off. It refers quite often to her penchant for witty comebacks but we really don't see much of them - she just tends to be, occasionally, rude without any wit attached. She copies the characher of Win (who doesn't appear in this book), as she answers the phone with 'articulate' (cringy enough when he does it but completely toe curling in this instance). The solution to the plot was also pretty apparent about half way through and just had to slog through even though the big revelation at the end wasn't actually going to be one. The character of Matthew also seemed to just fizzle out at a certain point without any warning. It just didn't feel up to Coben's usual standards - am hoping his recent success in having his books made into series hasn't distracted him and dulled his skills as a writer of novels. Will still read his next one when it comes out but more than a little disallusioned for now.

I used to love Harlan Coben, particularly the early Myron Bolitar books, but this is absolute drivel. Not a single character rings true, and the plot is so bad it is almost funny. Our hero, Wilde, is supposed to be a genius, but does some really dumb things. Terrible nonsense, and I regret reading it to the end. It really did not deserve that respect, and the ending was execrable.

I grew up next to a large woods. Later down the line, after starting this book, I became the boy from the woods with disappointment and buyers remorse. What happened to HC? So many of his books are plot driven with great characters, but this was just sterile. Like every other book with a hero who has a military background and is an outcast. Of course the hero is smart beyond the normal realms of intelligence and good with the ladies. The hero is stacked and take out multiple security guards who also have military backgrounds. What other characters are similar? Reacher, Decker, Bourne, Smoak, etc.I quit this 25% of the way in. To conclude, this boy from the woods was looking for a great plot and some originality, but ended up thinking one of his favourite authors may have rushed this or just tried something new and not got it quite right.

I love Harlan Cohen and have read all his stand alone novels. This one falls short of being one of his best as it leaves too many unanswered questions. Maybe he is planning a sequel?The story centres around Wilde, who got his name because he was found living alone in the woods. No one knows where he came from and he doesn't know his own name. He is found at the back of a property owned by Hester, the other main character. She is a criminal lawyer. Fast forward over the years, the mystery around Wilde has never been solved and he still spends a lot of his time living off grid in the woods. Hester and Wilde team up to try and track down a teenage girl who has gone missing. Some of the story is a little too dragged out, but some of it is classic Harlan. Fast paced, keeps you guessing, builds lots of strands together.I liked the book, but it isn't one of his best.

This is another really great twisty story from the master. The main character, Wilde, was a found in the woods as a young boy and now as a man lives "off the grid" and works as an investigator. *Possible plot spoilers* Then first a teenager girl goes missing, found and missing again, and then a teenage boy goes missing. Add to this elements of intrigue connected to Wilde's history and family origins, complications surrounding the teenage boys family, and general dead ends. There is romance as well for some characters, family and marital problems and the baddies get their comeuppance. Very satisfying.Now I have been a Coben fan for very many years. Before Kindle, before Netflix, before the french film where some American guy stood on the railway station in the background waving for long time. (Yes I am very old) In the day when Harlan Coben had a website where you could email him and he would answer, yes actually he himself (!), I read and reread the novels of Myron and Win. (This was before he started writing the stand alone novels which I also love obviously.) I love these novels and their world. They are twisty, sarcastic, funny, but caring too. So when Mr Coben writes new novels and places them in that world I am delighted. Even if Myron and Win don't actually make an appearance the fact that Hester Crimstein is one of the main characters and we are given more information about her and her life is pleasing, especially the oblique use of "articulate", and her reference to a friend who was a basketball player. It's like Wilde could walk past Big Cyndi or Esperanza in the street - six degrees of separation.While I recommend this book to everyone as a brilliant read, and you don't need to have read anything else by this author to enjoy it, if you haven't why not read some of his other books? There isn't a bad one so take your pick.I am now left waiting for the next one to come out which I know will be a long wait...