Reviews

Book Review Time. This week I’m participating in ProWriting Aid’s Crime Writer’s virtual summit, so I’m in the mood to review a thriller. In The Match by Harlan Coben, the protagonist, Wilde, who was abandoned as a child to fend for himself in the Ramapo Mountains, stumbles upon a murderous plot when he receives a shocking genetic match.
First off, how have I never read a Harlan Coben before? This is the type of fast-paced, morally gray thriller I love. I must have been living under a rock because he’s the creator of the #1 Netflix show Stay Close and the Match is endorsed by Lee Child, who is a genius.
I knew I was in for a great read by the first sentence. “At the age of somewhere between forty and forty-two—he didn’t know exactly how old he was—Wilde finally found his father.” Whoa! A sentence that sucks you in and makes you ask questions!
The pacing of this book was in my opinion, perfect. I love when a book’s pacing resembles a Fibonacci Spiral or a tornado. Circling slowly at the beginning and then next thing you know you’re caught in its vortex.
This thriller had depth. Wilde is not just some macho action hero, he’s layered and has a substantial emotional arc. Like I say, I love reading the morally gray, and Coben took us deep into the scary realistic world of social media, bots and the dark side of celebrity.
The Match was a deeply satisfying thriller that had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.

mindyt's review against another edition

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4.0

Great fast paced mystery with elements of DNA matching. There are so many other issues that are intertwined with the mystery that I can’t list them here but it was good to hear more from Wilde, Hester, Liliah and Matthew.

rebelqueen's review against another edition

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4.0

I am all about the Wilde and Hester detective team. Wilde is such a great character. Stoic and calm and strong. I enjoy him. Hester is hilarious and I love her. Okay, Coben, I am ready for this to be a long series. Pretty please.

curtisb's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

siren_books's review against another edition

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5.0

Another single-sitting read, the master does it again! A fun, fast thriller I could not get enough of. All of the reasons I didn’t love the first in this series fell away with the rich details I was craving in The Boy From the Woods. So well done! Can definitely be read in the series or standalone. You don’t need the first one but it’s a nice connecter.

eric_de_haan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

elliebeadle's review against another edition

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4.0

I know I am bias as a devout member of the harlan coben fan club, but after a few good-but-not-amazing books from my man HC, this one was seeeriously good! All aspects of the plot were amazing. The way the 'current' plot weaved with the historical plot of Wilde's identity was v clever and the twists were (as per usual) twisty as heck. The Match really blew The Boy in the Woods out of the water. I really enjoyed Wilde's character development as well, he seemed more realistic this time (dumb name though still). Hester is also a top recurring character and I enjoyed the lil nod to Win!

Naturally I read this all in a day which makes for a great day but also an annoying long time waiting for Harlan's next book I am sad :( I miss the days when I had the entire HC back catalogue to get through.

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