Book Review — THE BOY FROM THE WOODS: Wilde #1 by Harlan Coben
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.
Released: March 2020
My ThoughtsI’ve been a Harlan Coben fan since the mid ‘90s, when Myron Bolitar was born, and I’ll happily read anything he writes.
The Boy from the Woods, the first in the Wilde series, brings us an intriguing main character. Wilde reminds me a bit of Jack Reacher, one of my favorite characters ever. He’s smart, tough, a loner, and lives in a morally gray zone.
The plot gives us spoiled rich people who bend the law at will, along with some profound content regarding today’s political and social climate.
My one quibble is Hester, a middle-aged, intelligent lawyer, constantly mimicking Win from Coben’s Myron Bolitar—and now his own—series by answering the phone with, “Articulate.” That’s signature Win, and it works exceptionally well for him, but it doesn’t at all fit Hester’s character. It felt too much like a deliberate tie-in to the other series.
I listened to this on audio, via Scribd. The narration is excellent and kept me fully engaged.
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