This is the first book I have read from this author, and it hasn’t disappointed. Apparently it is a sequel to The Boy from the Woods, ( I really must check throughly next time!) but it works as a stand alone novel.
I have enjoyed the Netflix series Stay Close and The Innocent, the stories were gripping , compelling and unguessable! My husband prides himself as being an expert on guessing the murderer, and both these films defeated him!! That was recommendation alone to request this ARC, and if it is made into a film, he won’t get this one right either!!
Not being used to the writing style of Harlan Coben, I found it to be very descriptive and suspenseful , quite wordy, and full of twists and turns, every time I thought I knew what was happening, the goal posts shifted! I certainly didn’t guess the conclusion, which makes it a success in my opinion.
It was intriguing and puzzling, full of likeable characters, and some tricky ethical questions were raised. The Police were very stereotypical of what we see on American films, there are always good and bad eggs in the basket, when you consider that you are representing the general public, it would be most unusual if they were perfect.
This novel has taken me nearly three weeks to read, but, I have so enjoyed this book, and it won’t be my last foray into the world of this author. It is a slick, highly accomplished piece of writing, it’s pacy and really challenging. I loved the idea of a society set up to challenge the wrong doers, but hubby tells me that vigilantes are frowned upon! The segment that deals with family dynamics and DNA sequencing did make me scratch my head, but you go with the flow, and it makes sense in the end.
I hope to read more books in this series, and I have rated it as a five star read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Random House UK, for my digital copy in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. I will leave a copy on Goodreads and Amazon.

Another solid read from Harlen Coben. Full of tension, a fast paced thriller. I really enjoyed it, loved the characters and the relationships they've formed

I have read many books from this author over the years and enjoyed them all but I found this one very hard to get into and keep involved in the story line, probably because I didn't realise it was a sequel which was purely my fault so I find it hard to say a lot about this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I’m always left blown away by a Harlen Coben tale and this was no different. This packs a punch for sure, full of action and tension and a dark twisty gnarly plot

Let me start by saying that I wasn't a big fan of The Boy from the Woods. It was the first book by HC that I was not mad about. Fortunately the Match is very good and it can be read as a standalone which I'd personally recommend.

Wilde, the 'tarzan child' who grew up in the woods on his own is now 40 years old and finally finds the courage to look for his biological parents. Wilde registers with a DNA site and boom, there's a couple of relatives there. He corresponds with his cousin who is reluctant to reveal his identity as he is well known. When the cousin sends a cryptic message and is not heard from for months, Wilde decides to track him down. What follows is a wild rollecoster ride!

I really enjoyed reading the Match and was going to give it 5 stars but... At the end of the book we learn how Wilde ended up living in the woods on his own and no parents claimed him when he was found. Unfortunately I found the explanation quite weak and unconvincing which was disappointing. Other than that, I had fun with this one!

Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very intricately plotted suspense thriller with a large cast of characters, some of whom have appeared in previous novels. The first few chapters were a little hard-going until I sorted out what was going on and brought the history of Wilde back into my mind. After that, I was very quickly drawn into the story and was completely engrossed in the many strands of the story. Coben is an excellent and very capable writer, one of my long time favourites, and I was pleased to see that he has (at least temporarily) left the irritating Win behind. At times, I found the ins-and-outs of the DNA plot hard to follow but, ultimately, one of the more enjoyable books I have read so far this year.
I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.opinions are my own.

An exciting twisty thriller that kept me intrigued from the start. I loved learning more about Wilde and seeing his relationships developing.

This is the sequel to The Boy From The Woods, from the ever reliable thriller writer, Harlan Coben, it features Wilde, who as a child made headlines as the abandoned feral boy discovered living in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey, where he now lives in a ecocapsule in the woods. Wilde returns from Costa Rica, and whilst he has never been curious about his background, he figures it will make no difference to him, he finally succumbs and submits his DNA to an ancestry website, an act that is to bring danger and unexpected surprises into his life. One is from PB, a cousin, reluctant to disclose his identity, a man who is facing a troubling set of circumstances and another that identifies his father as living in Henderson, Nevada, the owner of a construction business, who never knew of his existence, a product of a one night stand in Europe.

In a fast paced, action packed story with short chapters, there are a number of threads, and the return of an excellent supporting cast of characters, such as famous NYC attorney, Hester Grimstein with her cable news show, Grimstein on Crime. There is Laila, the widow of her dead son David, who had been Wilde's best friend, and her 18 year old grandson, Matthew, Wilde's grandson. There is a highly secret vigilante group, Boomerang, dedicated to delivering carefully orchestrated justice to the worst of online trolls, only to find themselves having to confront murders and a serial killer. Wilde finds himself drawn into a twisted quagmire of an investigation into who he is, delving into who his family is, which includes looking into the amoral but lucrative world of ratings driven reality television, helped by his foster sister, private investigator, Rola, and Grimstein.

The experienced Coben delivers a riveting thriller that is hard to put down, packed with suspense and tension, and with plenty of twists. We see the development of Wilde as a character, seemingly trapped into a lifetime of being alone, with an inability to invest emotionally in others on an everyday basis, but cracks begin to appear, he loves Matthew and his relationship with Laila begins to shift into more solid territory, and perhaps even one with long term prospects? This is a entertaining, exciting and engaging read, where Wilde, and we as readers, finally learn the truth of his background and his family. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of The Match, the second novel to feature Wilde, a New Jersey man with an unusual history.

Wilde was found living as a feral child in the Ramapo mountains. Recently he has thought about finding his parents and submitted his DNA to a search site. He gets a match to a relative, PB, who promptly disappears. In. His search for PB he gets caught up in a series of murders.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Match, which takes the story of Wilde further and, at the same time, offers an exciting adventure. I should probably point out that the story is highly improbable and bears little resemblance to reality, but so what when it’s very readable, held my attention from start to finish and I read it in one sitting?

Once Wilde identifies PB, the second cousin or some other remote relation, and realises he’s missing it’s game on. In his rather quixotic quest he uncovers hidden truths, puts his life in danger and associates with some rather questionable characters. It’s exciting and moreish. The solution when it comes made me laugh in its outlandishness and yet it fits in with Wilde and his backstory, entertaining and not to be taken seriously.

I’ll come clean and admit that I found the percentages of relationship offered by the genealogy companies baffling with uncles, half siblings and all sorts of others thrown in as possible relations, depending on the percentage of shared genes. I took the gist which is important and ignored the numbers.

The novel also involves the world of influencers and reality television. This is another closed book to me so while I would like to think that the author is exaggerating for extra impact maybe he isn’t. Whatever, it’s an ugly environment.

The real star of the novel is the wonderful defence attorney Hester Crimstein. She gets all the best lines and is a very sassy septuagenarian. I want to be her when I grow up. Wilde, on the other hand, is a loner with little to say for himself and who marches to the beat of his own drum. He learns a lot about himself in this novel and change is a coming. Due to this I wonder if we will see him again. I would like to think so as I love this series.

The Match is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow-what can I say Harlan Coben never disappoints. What a fantastic author with such a fabulous imagination. One of the world's most prolific writers and a recommended read.

Harlan Coben is my favourite author; I have read everything he has written, and he is top of my list of authors I would love to meet. Unfortunately, every time he releases something new, I try but fail to obtain an ARC copy, so I resort to reading it as soon after release as possible. This is my first ARC, and despite thinking I would never get one, I was so excited when it arrived.

The Match is the second in 'The Boy From the Woods' series and follows Wilde's story. This is another fast-paced, action-packed story that I have learned and loved from Harlan Coben. The Match on a DNA website leads to intrigue. It helps Wilde discover more about his birth family, whom he knows nothing of, having grown up in the woods and been abandoned. This leads to murder and mayhem and many twists and turns, slightly bizarrely even including a little reality TV.

The characters are brilliant. Again, we see the wonderful Hester Crimstein, who appears in many of Harlan Coben's books and plays a relatively significant role in this. As usual, despite being part of a series, this book has been written brilliantly to be read as a stand-alone as well.

Due to the excellent characterisation, we come to find a more grown-up Wilde, now in his forties, he is well rounded for someone of his background. Still, the intrigue surrounding him has never entirely gone. There are some beautiful surprises inside and the usual great range of loveable, sketchy and more unknown characters. I love Wilde, Matthew and Laila; they make the perfect little family. While it's obviously not the idea of the story, I can't help but want them to get together properly and live happily ever after.

The Match gives you many things to ponder. Some despicable online trolling to thoughts surrounding reality TV to a look at the legal system. If the law can't control something, should we take them into our own hands? The DNA angle keeps you intrigued about whether things are real and how they will all slot together. It also discusses the realities of those who have done an innocent DNA test to find out their parents are not who they thought they were.

The ending was fantastic, though, of course, leaving some questions which will no doubt be cleared up in the next book, of which there will, of course, be one at some point, although it hasn't been announced yet.
As is usual, everything connects easily and makes wonderful sense through excellent writing. There is plenty of suspense and tension, alongside a fascinating final moral conundrum.

As with many of his other books, this and the modern-day Jungle Book story of The Boy From the Woods would make great series.

My reviews of Harlan Coben's books are perhaps a little biased, but I often find it difficult to find fault with them. Brilliantly written, utterly absorbing plot and unforgettable characters made this an excellent read. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery or thriller or loves Harlan Coben. Still, of course, if you love him, you were going to read this anyway!

This is an intriguing and cleverly devised story. A small boy with the appropriate name Wilde, is found in New Jersey woods looking after himself. No one knows who he is or how he got there. He is adopted and that works well for him giving him childhood friends and a normal life- except that he doesn’t know who he is. He tries DNA websites and that involves him in a web of deceit and surprises. One of the leads involves a start from a celebrity television program who is betrayed by his wife, also a start in the program. The story is complex but it all works out in an end that is well worth waiting for. The characters are well devised and Wilde falling in love suggests he might get a life after playing all. I recommend this book.

The continuing story of Wilde and Hester Grimstein and their search for the identity of Wildes parents. Into the plot is thrown a serial killer and a dating show. This implausible thriller somehow seems to work. Recommended.

Summary: Wilde was abandoned and found in the woods as a young boy and since then he’s managed to create a life. Now 35 years on he joins a DNA matching site and finds his biological father who knows nothing of his existence. Wilde is also matched with a mysterious character “PB” who appears to be his second cousin but as Wilde starts to dig deeper “PB” seems to have vanished into thin air. Wilde needs to find out what’s happened to his cousin and this takes him through the world of reality TV celebrity, deceit, lies and murder…

Thoughts: It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book but was I was in I couldn’t put it down. I love Harlan Coben’s writing style and the twists and turns means that the reader is constantly guessing, and being proved wrong throughout the story. One of the things that was particularly good were how there were so many characters in the story that were relatable and I cared about even though the story was focused on Wilde. It’s important to know that I haven’t read The Boy in the Woods and I didn’t feel as though I needed to, so don’t worry.

Recommend: If you like clever, fast-paced thrillers with twists turns and clever writing (who doesn’t?!), then this one is for you!

Absolutely outstanding as always. I live Harlan Coben and every single one of his characters, and there are some great recurring ones in this one. Another exciting mystery narrated by the clever and smart characters xx

Nicely constructed thriller for the twenty first century.

I think of all the writers of, what I call, American modern pulp fiction, Harlan Coben is probably my favourite. I have now read several of his novels and have thoroughly enjoyed most of them. This one deals with Wilde, a foundling, trying to trace his family, victims of reality television, several murders with a romantic secondary plot line. The characters are interesting and well developed and the story moves along at a good pace, sucking the reader in. The author doesn’t get bogged down in unnecessary descriptions and that works for me. Certainly recommended to lovers of well-told mysteries. I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review

I haven’t actually read the other book in the series but I wouldn’t have known either way. This is standalone. I really did enjoy the pace of this story. It was out of the ordinary but realistic at the same time, i was motivated for Wilde to get the truth and the whole premise of the story was genius. Plot points within plot points, what an excellent read.

This is the second book by Coben to feature lead character Wilde this works as a stand alone for readers who haven't read the first. Although I enjoyed this book I found it slow in parts and this was mostly down to the detailed explanations regarding DNA matches. I’m sure fans of Coben will love this book though with its twists and turns.

This was quite a. unusual story, which had me intrigued from page 1. It tells the story of a 'boy abandoned in the woods as a small child, who manages to bring himself up for several years before being fostered. He seeks to find blood relatives via a geneaology site, and there us an intriguing sub plot going on, which all comes together at the end. As always with Harlan Coben books, there are plenty of twists along the way, and it kept me intrigued to the end.

Wow. A really great fast paced thriller. I was gripped from page 1 to the very end. I think I have read nearly every, if not all, of Harlan Coben’s books and many like this one are gripping. So many twists and turns it leaves you breathless and although some of the plot and solutions are a little far fetched it still makes for a terrific read. Would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to read an early copy of this book.