The Woods: From the Number One bestselling creator of the hit Netflix series Missing You

My first experience of this author and it was a very good one. Great characters, a fast moving plot, lots of twists and turns. I’m unsure if this is great writing or just clever that knows what buttons to press in a reader. Whatever… the result is a book you keep coming back to and can’t put down for the last hundred pages or so. Which makes it, for me, an excellent read.

I read this book a long time ago when I was in school and it was actually one of the first books I thoroughly enjoyed and got me into reading, and especially got me hooked on crime thrillers. I decided to re-read it as this year I have set a challenge to read some books that stuck with me from long ago and this one still remains one of those books that I enjoyed and remembered. I found 'The Woods' instantly gripping and Harlan Coben has a good way of presenting the story that keeps you wanting to turn the pages. Whilst reading, Coben has my full attention and I hoped for no forms of distraction. Throughout, the suspense is constant as the lives of the characters are revealed, the mystery is uncovered and the story nears its conclusion. The premise of 'The Woods' drew me instantly and it got me so excited to know what had happened. However, although I thoroughly enjoyed the read, I did find some of the political references harder to follow and felt that Paul Copeland was a conflicted character with a slight identity crisis. I struggled to connect with him and found him a little stiff. However, on the whole this is a thoroughly absorbing read that had me gripped all the way to the end.

I really enjoyed this book 📚 full of intriguing twists and turns it kept me guessing untill the last pags Brilliant ✒️

One of his best. Twists right up until the last page too. Probably my favourite modern author. Coben never resorts to voyeurism, nor the generally ubiquitous 'f' word either. His tales are so good that he doesn't need to.

I don't read much American detective fiction for some reason, but I know Harlan Coben is a popular and prolific thriller writer and I downloaded The Woods as an audiobook for a discounted price. A lot of Coben's novels are part of a series but this is a standalone novel. The Woods by [Coben, Harlan] The main character is Paul 'Cope' Copeland, a county prosecutor in New Jersey whose sister Camille disappeared from summer camp many years ago along - apparently murdered by a fellow camper who is later convicted of killing a number of other teenagers (although not, in fact, of Camille's murder, as her body has never been found). Also never found was the body of her friend Gil Perez. At the start of the book, Paul is called upon in the course of his job as a prosecutor to view the body of Manolo Santiago, who has been found murdered. Except Manolo, Paul immediately realises, is actually Gil. So where has been Gil been all these years that he was assumed dead? Why do the Perez family refuse to accept that Manolo and Gil are one and the same? And does this mean that the mystery of Camille's disappearance might be solved too? Meanwhile, Lucy Gold, the daughter of the owner of the summer camp who was sued for negligence after the murders all those years ago and a teenage sweetheart of Paul's, is now a college lecturer - and she's horrified to realise that an anonymous creative writing journal submitted by a student is quite clearly an account of what happened between her and Paul on the night Camille and the others disappeared. Who knows their secret, and what do they want from her? If this all sounds a bit unlikely, then yes, it is: while moderately gritty in parts, this is one of those thrillers in which reality is slightly heightened and most of the characters, from Paul's sinister Russian 'uncle' Sasha to his investigator Loren Muse and Lucy's elderly stoner father Ira, are somewhat larger than life. Paul himself is a relatively likeable protagonist although there does come a point where you start to wonder how much more tragedy one man can take - his sister was murdered, his mother abandoned him, his father has just died a broken man and he is bringing up his little girl alone after his wife's death from cancer. He's also embroiled in prosecuting a rape case in which the accused are spoilt rich white frat boys and the victim is an African American teenage stripper, despite threats from the boys' powerful parents, which is admirably worthy stuff. It would have been easy for Paul to seem a little too saintly to be interesting, but fortunately Coben does give him something of an edge as the story progresses. There really isn't a great deal more I can say about this book. It's an enjoyable mystery with various twists and it was certainly interesting enough to keep me engaged until the end, although it doesn't feel especially plausible. I particularly liked what we discovered about Paul's Russian parents and their departure from the Soviet Union, which was an interesting sub-plot to the primary mystery. The writing is fairly pacey although there were times when it felt that Paul's digressions into his family life and views on various topics were rather unnecessary and more about padding the word count than building his character and moving the plot along. All in all, it's rather like watching an extended episode of a well-made American crime series - it's entertaining, but you probably won't remember much about it a week later. I wouldn't necessarily rush to read another Harlan Coben novel, but equally I'd happily read one if there happened to be one lying around, if you see what I mean.

I’m going to be honest and say that I have been meaning to pick up a book by the author for a very long time. For reasons I’m not quite sure of, I always seem to go for something else. However, I finally managed to get my hands on one to read – even if it was only due to this book being a free Kindle read. I’ll start by saying it was a great story, a highly addictive read. You’re always questioning what really happened, even if it is not quite in the way that you expected. By that, I mean it was fairly obvious who was involved from the start yet the specific whys related to some people weren’t clear until the end. Due to that I was disheartened somewhat (with the large fandom of the author I was expecting something more, something less strikingly obvious from so very early on), despite that I was interested in knowing the actual specifics which kept me interested until the end. That being said, I was rather let down by the writing style. The writing seemed almost child-like at times – not in the way of errors, but in the way of having no real distinguishing style like some authors – something that I was only able to overlook due to the fact that I was gripped by all the different stories taking place, wanting to get to the bottom of what was going on. With that in mind, I’m not quite sure how I feel about the ending. Did I expect more? Was I unhappy with the way it ended? I’m not quite sure what, exactly, I was disappointed with yet I wasn’t one hundred percent content about the way it ended. Perhaps the predictability of the ending ruined it for me, but whatever the case it did not end as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read it as I did enjoyed it to a larger degree than I found flaws with it. As to whether I read more books by the author I cannot say – as it stand I am not sure at the moment.

Really enjoyed the book

Another stunning work by this author .... wow, can this guy write a book or what ? I’ve never missed one of his books, and I’ve never been disappointed in any of them. And this one was no different. I really think Mr. Coben has the most brilliant mind, he takes a simple plot, writes it exceptionally well....then he interweaves several other plots into it to totally captivate the reader. No wonder I get excited when I see he’s released a new book ! I know I’m in for a damn good read .... his are the kind of books that you can’t put down, that you read in blocks of hours at a time and then hate to get to the end ...thoroughly enjoyed this book from my favourite author.

Harlan Coben fidèle à lui même. Intrigue bien ficelée, cela rend mon apprentissage de l’anglais très ludique et agréable. Merci Harraps pour cette collection qui répond enfin aux attentes des apprentis linguistiques.

Harlan Cobe nunca desaponta. Livro prende do início ao fim, reviravoltas interessantes e bons personagens. Já vou comprar o próximo.

It has everything you'd expect from Harlan Coben. The author doesn't leave any loose ends behind. Even the backstories and side tracks converge in a cohesive manner. A must read and definitely a lot better that it's Netflix adaptation.