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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Fun formulaic popcorn reading. Characters are a little one-dimensional, but the story is good and the formula keeps you turning the pages.
After bingeing Harlan Coben’s Netflix series, I was very excited to read one of his novels. It was enticing, but not nearly as thrilling and gripping as I had hoped. I enjoyed the characters and the way the plot carried through with small hints and then big twists. I wasn’t fully satisfied with the ending, and had higher hopes for Coben.
Wow...
I tore through this book, just like every other Harlan Coben book. The political parallels, while obvious, were relevant and the rollercoaster storyline made for an interesting read. Coben is clearly a master of the mystery/thriller genre and I will continue to read on!
I tore through this book, just like every other Harlan Coben book. The political parallels, while obvious, were relevant and the rollercoaster storyline made for an interesting read. Coben is clearly a master of the mystery/thriller genre and I will continue to read on!
When I closed this book upon finishing it, the first word out of my mouth was 'wowzers'. Boy from the Woods is my first Harlan Coben novel and I am kicking myself for not having read anything of his sooner, because this was a wild(e) ride (pun obviously intended).
The two main characters, Wilde and Hester Crimstein, are what made the book for me. Their snappy repartee was a huge highlight of this novel and speak to Coben's strength in writing dialogue that is not only clever, but also downright fun.
I can always gauge my enjoyment of a novel by how cognizant I am of what page I'm on. With Boy from the Woods, I blinked and inhaled 30 pages - the pages just turned themselves. As far as the actual mystery goes, I thought the plot was going to be fairly straight-forward - teenager goes missing - but it turned out to be WAY more complicated that that (possibly a bit convoluted?). It's not necessarily hard to follow, but I personally have trouble when there are multiple subplots a large cast of characters to keep track of. Being fairly new to the mystery/thriller genre, I'm still finding my footing with the memory exercise that these types of plots require.
Having grown up in north Jersey, it was one of my first experiences with actually knowing some of the places mentioned in the book, which made the reading experience a bit surreal in a very cool way. I've already ordered the first of Coben's novels, Deal Breaker, and am excited to read more of him in the future. 4.5 stars.
The two main characters, Wilde and Hester Crimstein, are what made the book for me. Their snappy repartee was a huge highlight of this novel and speak to Coben's strength in writing dialogue that is not only clever, but also downright fun.
I can always gauge my enjoyment of a novel by how cognizant I am of what page I'm on. With Boy from the Woods, I blinked and inhaled 30 pages - the pages just turned themselves. As far as the actual mystery goes, I thought the plot was going to be fairly straight-forward - teenager goes missing - but it turned out to be WAY more complicated that that (possibly a bit convoluted?). It's not necessarily hard to follow, but I personally have trouble when there are multiple subplots a large cast of characters to keep track of. Being fairly new to the mystery/thriller genre, I'm still finding my footing with the memory exercise that these types of plots require.
Having grown up in north Jersey, it was one of my first experiences with actually knowing some of the places mentioned in the book, which made the reading experience a bit surreal in a very cool way. I've already ordered the first of Coben's novels, Deal Breaker, and am excited to read more of him in the future. 4.5 stars.
I just finished The Boy From the Woods. This is my first book of Harlan Corbin. I ended up rating it three stars as I did enjoy the action and pacing of the book, but the characters I felt lacked a bit, which kept it from being a gripping book for me.
Although this is my first book of Harlan, I have seen one or two of the screen adaptations that are out there and enjoyed them. This would be a book I would look forward to watching as a limited series.
I would certainly recommend this to someone looking for a fast paced action packed thriller. I will be looking to read another of his books after this.
Although this is my first book of Harlan, I have seen one or two of the screen adaptations that are out there and enjoyed them. This would be a book I would look forward to watching as a limited series.
I would certainly recommend this to someone looking for a fast paced action packed thriller. I will be looking to read another of his books after this.
This is the first Harlan Coben book I've read but after watching a number of his books that had been adapted onto TV series for Netflix thought I'd give him a read.
The Boy From The Woods is a full of twists and turns as would be expected. The title is slightly misleading as the titular Boy From The Woods isn't the main thrust of the story after finding this mystery boy the story fast forwards 30 years to when he's a man.
The story is a bit convoluted but I guess you have to suspend belief to some extent it involves a missing teenager Naomi, who is found, goes missing again and then another teenager goes missing. Are their disappearances connected? We go back and forth, thinking maybe they aren't, maybe they are. There are a number of sub plots some more satisfying than others.
Wilde who is the boy from the woods goes from being an interesting to a somewhat irritating character at various points in the book. Hester Crimstein is a criminal attorney who also gets involved with the investigation, she's a strong character and well written and believable.
The ending probably has one twist too many, it's like the author is trying to squeeze as many twists as he can from the story and it perhaps doesn't need the final twist.
There is the occasional cringe worthy dialogue and It perhaps wasn't as edgy as I was expecting from the TV adaptations I've seen of his work, but as I've not read any of his other books I'm not sure of that's the way the other books have been adapted or whether it's something with this book in particular.
Having said all that it wasn't a terrible story and for it's faults it was still a page turner, I really wanted to get to the end to see who was behind it all. I will go back and read more of Harlan Coben's work I'm sure. Entertaining if slightly flawed read.
The Boy From The Woods is a full of twists and turns as would be expected. The title is slightly misleading as the titular Boy From The Woods isn't the main thrust of the story after finding this mystery boy the story fast forwards 30 years to when he's a man.
The story is a bit convoluted but I guess you have to suspend belief to some extent it involves a missing teenager Naomi, who is found, goes missing again and then another teenager goes missing. Are their disappearances connected? We go back and forth, thinking maybe they aren't, maybe they are. There are a number of sub plots some more satisfying than others.
Wilde who is the boy from the woods goes from being an interesting to a somewhat irritating character at various points in the book. Hester Crimstein is a criminal attorney who also gets involved with the investigation, she's a strong character and well written and believable.
The ending probably has one twist too many, it's like the author is trying to squeeze as many twists as he can from the story and it perhaps doesn't need the final twist.
There is the occasional cringe worthy dialogue and It perhaps wasn't as edgy as I was expecting from the TV adaptations I've seen of his work, but as I've not read any of his other books I'm not sure of that's the way the other books have been adapted or whether it's something with this book in particular.
Having said all that it wasn't a terrible story and for it's faults it was still a page turner, I really wanted to get to the end to see who was behind it all. I will go back and read more of Harlan Coben's work I'm sure. Entertaining if slightly flawed read.
J'ai adoré ce thriller dont je n'ai absolument pas vu venir la fin !
Pas assez mémorable cependant pour que je m'en souvienne vraiment dans quelques temps mais un super moment de lecture.
Pas assez mémorable cependant pour que je m'en souvienne vraiment dans quelques temps mais un super moment de lecture.
I went into this book hoping for an interesting storyline about a missing girl in the present timeline, and a past timeline talking about a boy who was raised in the woods by himself, as per the blurb. But this ended up being something else completely and the focus on politics really threw me off. It was super fast-paced and twisty and definitely kept me intrigued, so in the end, I did like the book. I was just sort of disappointed that the story I wanted wasn't actually there.
It was good but not what I thought it was going to be about. There is a lot going on. Like, give me the story about the boy found in the woods and the man he has become. But no, that’s just minor background info basically and you get thrown pieces here and there. Because instead we’re going to focus on missing teens we don’t care about. And then there’s also going to be a controversial presidential candidate thrown in there because I think every book needs that now to be modern and shit. And also ‘part three’ (of three) is going to be 12 pages long. Huh? I mean, you don’t have to literally divide a book into thirds but I feel like that’s a good indication of how it was just, ok let’s wrap it up done now bye.
Yeah, I was much more interested in Woods Kid and his relationship with the family of the guy he befriended as a boy while living in the woods. And also the old lady attorney trying to get some off the old man cop. Give me those stories instead.
Yeah, I was much more interested in Woods Kid and his relationship with the family of the guy he befriended as a boy while living in the woods. And also the old lady attorney trying to get some off the old man cop. Give me those stories instead.