A review by arianatee
The Woods by Harlan Coben

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I had the worst case of deja vu with this book and I do believe at some point I'd started reading the book at some point, never got very far in, and stopped. I also knew that I'd seen the show based on the novel a few years ago and loved it. I really have enjoyed the Harlan Coben formula in the past--a clue from a past crime comes to light and brings together people in the present. It been a while since reading one of his books and I wanted an easy-to-get-through murder mystery for the summer. Surely enough, that's what I got. I remembered bits and pieces and more or less found the characters likable. I'm not sure why, but the dialogue felt a bit stilted and I wasn't a big fan of the writing in general. I knew his books were not going to be five stars for me but it feels more like the poolside or airport kind of book (and I did indeed read 100 pages by a pool). There was nothing particularly annoying about any of the characters, but I just didn't love them. The plot, however, was so good and is always what ties together the Harlan Coben books. Really it's closer to a 3.5 for me since I really wanted the writing to be a bit better and I wasn't totally surprised by the plot (also likely my fault for having seen the show even if it was years ago).