The Boy from the Woods

Wilde, Book 1

By: Harlan Coben

Narrated by: Steven Weber

A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller from the number one New York Times best-selling author of Run Away.

Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn't know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father - with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde - with whom she shares a tragic connection - to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions...secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.

©2020 Harlan Coben (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"The Weber-Coben pairing makes for a super suspenseful listen.... [Steven] Weber is perfectly in step with the pace of the action, which is interspersed with touching relationship scenes and terrifying depictions of the vulnerability that arises from our reliance on social media for our facts." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Coben never, ever lets you down." (Lee Child)

"Intense from the first page, with dramatic plot twists.... Fans of complex heroes caught up in world-changing events will relish this latest from a master storyteller." (Library Journal, starred review)

Political overtone not needed

The political overtone of this book ruined what WAS a decent story with a very good performance. This is my third listen of Harlan Coben and will be my last.

Not sure about this one...

I did not dislike this book because of Hester...it was great to have some insight into her life from the Myron Bolitar books...I’ve needed a Myron fix for years! This story however felt incomplete...too many loose ends. I will get the next book but please do better Mr Coben, we know you can.
Lastly, STOP PLAYING AND BRING BACK MYRON BOLITAR!!!!!!

all over the place

i have read many of corbin's books but this one was the worse. too many plots not enough story. the title promised a mystery but there was no resolution. I read for escape and relaxation and as many readers have complained I don't care to have the political mess my country suffered under trump revisited in my fiction. one subplot would have been great but buried under the political angst.
then there was Hester Crenshaw. in an earlier book she boosted she didn't have family. she had devoted herself to her career. she condemned one of her associates for putting family above career. then we learn she not only has family but suffered a horrible loss. she would or should have been more sympathetic in Hold Tight.
this book was very disappointing not the level of excellence I have come to expect from Harlan Corbin.

Meh

It was really just OK. One of the characters is clearly based on Trump and I found a lot of the summations about that character true. The story itself was truly just OK. Once you realize the reason for certain events, you are truly left thinking... "THAT'S IT???"

GOOD PLOT….BUT….

I found this hard to rate….great plot but all the virtue signaling got really old. I don’t need it when reading for enjoyment- enough already! As much as he too obviously tried to be “balanced” his stereotypical wealthy characters were just yawning.
And by the end I could barely stand Weber’s accentt, especially his females. Hester’s was incredibly annoying and, by the end it was like fingernails on a blackboard…..bringing my overall rating to three stars. But, I really liked the plot and Harlan is a great wordsmith.