The Boy From The Woods

By Harlan Coben

Group Comments/Reviews:

I enjoyed it. It didn’t feel like a teaser to buy a series. Wilde was an interesting character.

I liked it. A bit confusing–was it a political commentary? Romance novel? Would have preferred it if the bad people were punished.

The book covered a lot of very pertinent topics aside from the mystery. Good pace, well developed characters.

I really enjoyed this. Particularly Hester and the Hester/Wilde dynamic. Hester really fascinating, well fleshed out character. Intelligently written. The very end could have been left out though. Great book overall.

Really enjoyed this book, but there were flaws. Secondary characters more compelling than primary. I liked Hester more than Wilde. There are some problems–not enough about Wilde’s past. Glimpses, but not enough.

I loved Hester. Her dialogue, her snappy lines. Like a soap opera–everyone was gorgeous. Mystery very weak. I found the political references were tiresome. And I found Wilde wearying. The “mysterious, mystic man” was too Hollywood for me. If it wasn’t for Hester I would have abandoned it.

An okay read. But did not give what the title promised. I got tired of Hester and her romance. We don’t learn enough about Wilde. The story jumped all over. Title implies the story will be about Wilde.

I really liked the book. Really unique idea. I liked Wilde as a character. I liked how it included modern problems like bullying. Smooth read. And adventure. And I liked Hester.

I liked it but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I didn’t expect all the political stuff. I liked the Naomi story line.

I liked how the author called out social media. I liked that as a first in series we still meet the characters in the present moment rather than back in the beginning of their stories.

Easy, enjoyable read. I liked that it wasn’t just a thriller (what I expected from Coben) but a mystery too. Humor is difficult to write and this author pulled off the “witty banter” better than many. And okay, yes–Wilde’s abilities seem over the top, but this is fiction. I felt okay going along for the ride and it was fun. There are a lot of red herrings and the author did an excellent job with them. I liked both Wilde and Hester. I think Coben did a great job creating a tantalizing mystery around Wilde’s backstory, and I hope next in series tells us more!