The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben
Here's the part of the blurb that made me want to read this one:
"The man known as Wilde is a mystery to everyone, including himself. Decades ago, he was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. After the police concluded an exhaustive hunt for the child's family, which was never found, he was turned over to the foster system.
"Now, thirty years later, Wilde still doesn't know where he comes from, and he's back living in the woods on the outskirts of town, content to be an outcast, comfortable only outdoors, preferably alone, and with few deep connections to other people.
"When a local girl goes missing, famous TV lawyer Hester Crimstein--with whom Wilde shares a tragic connection--asks him to use his unique skills to help find her."
Sounds good, right?
I loved Wilde; he's such a great character with his mysterious past and unique skillset. Hester, too, is feisty and fun. And I found myself wanting to stand up for Naomi, the missing girl, or have her stand up for herself. So many great characters in this book....there just wasn't enough of them. I wanted more. More about Wilde. More bits with Naomi. I wanted the story to just be about them.
But it's not.
Naomi appears at the beginning, and again at the end, but the majority of this book revolves around the wealthy Maynard family and their son, Crash, along with Wilde's investigation into Naomi's disappearance, some political intrigue involving yet another character who has his own secrets from the past, and there's also a whole thing about the negative influence of social media on society, and a murder, too. Then at the end, there are two twists I wasn't expecting, one of which shouldn't have been such a complete surprise to the reader.
It's not that this book isn't good. It's entertaining, and it reads fast. It just wasn't the story I thought it was going to be...or the story I wanted to read. I still liked it. Just not as much as I hoped I would. At least I got to read this one with Melody. That's always fun. Be sure to check out Melody's review to see what she thought of this one!
Happy Reading!
Melody's questions to me...and my answers:
1. Wilde and Hester may be the lead characters in this story but are there any other characters that you wish you could learn more about? Who are they?
I really wanted to know to know more about Naomi. And also Crash. They were in the story, but were never given enough time or attention. I also wanted to know more about Wilde and get the rest of his story, too. Hopefully Coben will write another book about him.
2. What is most appealing to you about this story? The multi-layered plot or the characters? Why?
Definitely the characters! I didn't love all the elements of this particular plot. And for me, characters are always the most important part of any story.
