In The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben, Wilde, a man with no memory of his childhood or how he ended up living in the forest, is asked to find Naomi Pine, a bullied teenager who has gone missing. His longtime friend, Hester Crimstein, a famous lawyer and TV personality, becomes involved when her grandson Matthew tells her about Naomi. Wilde uses his military background and connections to assist in the search.

Although Wilde finds Naomi, she disappears again, and another child from a prominent family is kidnapped, raising the stakes. With ominous threats looming, Wilde and his team race against time to rescue the children before it's too late.

This first book in the Wilde series introduces an intriguing and resourceful character. Wilde’s unique methods and connections make for an engaging read. I’m eager to dive into the sequel. Definitely recommended for suspense lovers!

Beautiful storyline

Wilde was found at the age of six. He'd survived in the woods for years on his own. Stealing food, Breaking into homes to watch TV. Taught himself how to read.

Luckily for Wilde he is fostered by a loving family. After school he joined a secretive team in the army.

Hester Crimstein calls Wilde when a friend of Matthew's (her grandson) goes missing. Naomi had been bullied at school. Matthew feels partly to blame.

Harlan Coben never disappoints. This is another excellent fast-paced novel full of twists and turns and the ending is magical.

Rony
Elite Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I am a huge fan of the author and will devour any new release but this one was a struggle for me and I didn't feel anywhere near as gripped as I normally am with the books.

My first Coben novel, but it certainly won't be my last.

When Naomi - a quiet but often ridiculed and bullied girl - doesn't turn up to school for a week, nobody is concerned. Not the teachers, not her father, not the police.

So when Matthew, a fellow student seeks help from his grandmother to find her - he cannot begin to imagine what will be uncovered.

This book has it all - politics, fame, high school bullying - but somehow Coben makes all of these layers seamlessly weave together to make one amazing read.

5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed the character of Wilde in this story, finding out his back story, while reading of his trying to solve the mystery of where missing teen Naomi is. The story intertwines his 'family' with his investigation.

Fabulous plot which I could not put down. Brilliant characters, and twists and turns. Highly recommend to other fans of this genre!! Everything Harlan Coben touches turns to gold and this is no exception!!

Naomi Pine is being bullied, continously, cruelly and it’s so blatant that even the teachers accept it. Then Naomi disappears and one of her classmates suddenly realises that she’s not appeared in school and his overwhelming guilt takes him to NYC to visit his grandmother , Hester Crimstein, lawyer and investigative television presenter. Hester listens to Matthew’s pleas of help and immediately takes on the cause. She calls on the dashing Police Chief and her late son’s best friend Wilde. 30 years ago Wilde was discovered alone in the woods having survived on his wits for sometime, no one is missing him, no parents are found and Wilde is put in foster care. Wilde’s closest friend was David who had kept their friendship a secret whilst Wilde was living in the woods. Now Wilde has returned to living in the woods but has remained close to Hester and her family. He is Matthew’s God Father and has looked out for him and his mother, after David was killed in a car accident. With Wilde’s help they find Naomi, only this sets of another chain of events that no one expected. Suddenly there are two students missing the most popular boy Cash and the most hated girl, Naomi who once again has disappeared, only this time no one is looking for her and Matthew has to share all he knows even if the truth will show how awfully he’d behaved. Are Cash and Naomi together? Will Wilde be able to find them?
This is yet another amazing read from Harlem Coben. The story unfolds piece by piece as expected, but with this writer you are never sure what the outcome will be. There is nothing predicatable in this novel and I can’t wait to read more novels with Wilde.

I’ve read some of Harlan Coben’s books before and they’re usually a safe bet for an enjoyable thriller.

Naomi and Matthew go to school together, Naomi goes missing and Matthew asks his grandmother, a lawyer with a TV show, to help find her. Also enlisted into the search is Wilde, a mysterious man who was found wandering the woods as a boy.
Not long after, another classmate goes missing, and a body part of his is found in the woods. Are the two incidents connected?

I really struggled to get into this book and didn’t connect with the characters or the plot at all.

It seemed a bit unrealistic and flat and somehow disjointed. I wasn’t interested in what happened and was so glad to finish it.

I think this is the first book in a series but I don’t think I’ll read any others.

It didn’t seem up to Harlan Coben’s usual standards at all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a copy to review.

I’ve read a few Harlan Coben books and have mostly enjoyed there. There have been a couple I did not enjoy quite as much, but mostly they’ve gripped me. The Boy from the Woods was certainly a gripping read, but it wasn’t quite everything I had expected.

The Boy from the Woods easily pulled me in, leaving me curious about how the pieces would come together. The story did not play out in the way I had anticipated, there were elements introduced that were not what I’d expected from the story, but everything kept me hooked. I was eager to see how all the pieces would come together, desperate to see how everything would play out, and such feelings ensured I devoured this one in no time. Although addictive, there were some elements with this one that I wasn’t quite happy with. Things felt a bit easy, not quite as intense as they could have been, and it left me feeling not quite as satisfied as expected.

Although not my favourite read from the author, this was an addictive read.

As usual another fantastic book by Harlan Coban, I loved it. Always a strong story with a great plot and wonderful characters. Loved the character of Wilde, the boy who was famous for being found living in the woods as a child and who has now grown up into a man. The story focuses on two missing teenagers but there are other threads throughout the book as in all of Cobans work. Politicians desperate for fame, bodyguards and the wealthy are all part of this story. Hester is back and plays a large role in the story, I loved her relationship with Wilde, they have more in common than they thought and this bond between them is very strong. I read this yesterday afternoon and could not put it down, highly recommended, you will not be disappointed. Thanks to Netgalley , the author and publisher for allowing me to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

Im so glad I ignored all the negative reviews as this is a GREAT read!

Teens go missing and it is up to Wilde, the boy from the woods, and Hester Crimstein, Tv lawyer, to find out why.

The story is really fast paced and I finished in one sitting!
However the thing that made the book so great were the characters, Wilde is a fascinating character with a complex background. Wilde is paired with Hester.... its such a nice change to have an older, powerful leading lady.... instead of the tired old cliche of sexy young women who inevitably would have faced a book long 'will they, wont they'.

I hope this is the first in a series!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review :-)

One of the best Coben novels in the past few years, this does what all the greatest thrillers do - balance an intriguing plot with deep characters. A memorable thriller and an even more memorable main character, along with a few links to others of Coben's novels. Great stuff!

I really enjoyed this book. I got really invested in the characters and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I highly recommend this book.

Another brilliant novel from this consistently intriguing author
With a great plot and main character, this book with keep you page turning on until the end.

Another great thriller from Harlan Coben.
We again meet Hester the lawyer who was involved in a previous novel and is now staring in this one. We meet Matthew her nephew who asks for a favour in helping find a classmate Naomi who hasn’t shown up in school after being bullied for a long time.
Hester enlists the help of Wilde, the boy from the woods who is now grown up. Throughout the novel we learn about Hesters family and Wilde who uses his skills to help Hester find Naomi. There are many twists and turns to keep you reading and I was kept guessing up until the ending.
I’m very much looking forward to the sequel of this book to learn more about Wilde who will hopefully get to learn more about his own background and why he was in the woods for so long by himself.

The concept of this book was great. I loved the premise and the mystery behind Wolf's mysterious childhood and how his early years spent surviving in the forest shaped him into the man he becomes. What I didn't particularly like was how there was little closure for Wolf. Yes, he goes of to South America in the end but, it seemed out of character for him to all of a sudden feel comfortable enough to just settle down with a woman he had only known for a total of three days.

What's more is that there is no expansion on his genealogy. Just because there are no known names for his parents, there was still the distant cousin who might have actually been able to give Wolf further information on who he might be related to.

I think this book could do with expanding to help answer a large amount of unanswered questions.

Overall, an enjoyable read with a fascinating collection of characters and personalities.

Yes, I too am one of those people who would have loved to know more about Wilde's origins. That being said, I really enjoyed this book. Being my first Harlan Coben book, this one didn't disappoint. I loved the power-packed character of Hester Crimstein.
The setting was perfect and the execution was methodical. I am definitely going to read other titles by Harlan Coben.

Netgalley is a great way to read an author's books I haven't previously tried. The problem then becomes I add so many books to your to-be-read pile! I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller and while it was slow in parts, overall it kept me interested right to the end. Like other reviewers here, I was expecting to find out more about the actual 'boy from the woods' from the blurb and title, but it seems this may become a series and if so it would be good to have more of the back story of Wilde himself.

They found a boy in the woods. Alone, without a past. They called him Wilde. And now he is a special investigator. Young Naomi vanishes and then also young boy from wealthy familiy with political connections. Are these cases connected?

Great thriller as always. Characters are interesting, story flows, highly recommended!

Even though I did buy a physical copy of this book, I would still like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book.

Not a bad book overall, but honestly not my favourite Harlan Coben novel.
I found certain elements of the story intriguing but in other parts, the plot dragged more then it should of done. The parts that I enjoyed were gripping, fast-paced and certainly kept me guessing.
Hester Crimstein has been in the background of other books, but I definitely prefer her front and center. She is a stong woman not to be messed with, and her use of the word 'articulate' make me smile.
Wilde was also a character that I definitely rooted for!
And with a rather satisfying ending, this one is certainly worth a read.