What a fabulous addition to the 'Wilde' series.
The enigmatic Wilde is such an intriguingly complex character that I defy you to not either fall in love with him or want to smooth away all his vulnerabilities. With mega-huge abandonment issues, after being left to fend for himself in the woods as a five year old, With no genetic family and no knowedge of his life prior to being found, Wilde has developed his own coping strategies and enjoys living odd the grid for long periods of time.

Wilde is one of those characters that finds it hard to trust, which of course has the knock on effect of making it difficult for him to form relationships and to commit to them once formed. Once you have gained his trust though, he will do anything for you.
The Match starts off with Wilde scoping out his bilogical father after a DNA match was made on a gene site. The only thing is, his father has since deleted his account and it is only through Wilde's contacts that he is able to identify the man.
However, this wasn't the only person Wilde matched with on the gene website. He also matches with someone else...
What I loved most about The Match was that we see a development in Wilde as a character. Despite, his past and reluctance to commit we see him taking huge strides forward, which is a delight to read about. I love the recurring characters, like Hester Crimstein, whose acerbic wit and basic humanity make her one of Wildes greatest protectors and Laila his on again off again love interest.
The Match is fast paced with so many twists I was gob smacked most of the way through. Taking us inot the world of secret cyber communiites, reality TV and different government organisations, I can honestly say I was gripped from beginning to end.
This is one of those books that leaves you truly gagging for more and I hope Mr Coben is working on the next in the series, because the events in The match have set us up for intriguing developments as the series continues.

This is such a good book and scary at the same time. Scary in that this is so feasible that something like this could happen, that DNA is a great advancement when in the right hands. The internet is a great tool, if used properly but not for criminal purposes. So good in that it is a real page turner, fast paced and breath taking in its story telling. I really liked the main characters, and their back stories, especially Wilde. This is one of those books I wish I had read more slowly, to make it last longer, but that I needed to find out how it was all going to work out. Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have been reading Harlan Coben's books for over half my life, so I feel like I know them. I know his characters like they're old friends, I know his style of writing and actively look for the clues, anticipate the twists and immerse myself in his world. Yet, with all I think I know, I can still be surprised and taken on a ride with every new novel. This one surprised me because it's paced so differently - less full throttle, more like 'Proud Mary' by Tina Turner. Starts gently, introducing all the pieces, pulling us in without much noise and without us noticing the notes or the tempo changing, building us up and up.
As always, characterisation is flawless - every character is a fully fleshed out, as real as real can be kind of person who just happens to be caught in this whirlwind situation.
Wilde was introduced in 'The Boy from the Woods' but this expands further into his story, his history and the relationships in his life. It's impossible not to feel deep compassion for a character who has lived such an isolated life and is learning how to build a life to include the people who love him.
Around this central family drama is a murder mystery that left me guessing all the way to the end.
Any fans of Harlan Coben's books will know that his characters sometimes cameo in other novels - sometimes they even have a starring role. There's quite a treat in store this time!! Take a moment, squeal a little if you need to, then dive right in because this is great.
In my opinion, this is excellent in every way possible and, before getting excited over what might come next for these characters, I'd suggest sitting with them for a moment - the relationships between the characters, their development, the way the past and present have been so artfully intertwined ....I appreciate the exquisite storytelling and I hope everyone enjoys this as deeply as I have.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the mix of modern technology with strands of the story from more traditional themes.
I found that I engaged with the central character and really wanted him to be successful and happy. The relationships in the story felt real and seemed to share trust and good communication.
The story is based on an abandoned child and he in spite of the impact of his early life, has embraced the available options of the modern world.
Recommended

Wilde has no recollection of the time before he was found in the woods. He remembers surviving anyway he could but not how he ended up being the “modern-day Mowgli” the media referred to him as.

After his rescue, growing up in foster care he’d always wondered about his biological mother and father. How he’d ended up living in the woods. Now, as a forty something man he’d decided to join one of those DNA websites and had come up with a match, someone he believed to be his father. But that wasn’t all, there was another match a possible cousin too. But this cousin, after doing a bit of digging turned out to be missing. With a need to find out more about his family, he decided to look further into this cousins life. But would it lead him on a wild goose chase or would it lead him to finding out more about his family.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I loved it as much as the first. I was pulled into Wilde’s story from page one. This author writes books that have you hooked immediately and are full of twists and turns that ultimately lead to somewhere you never expected. As with the previous book I was totally mind blown by the whole book. The characters are all written so well, they’re either really likeable or you can’t quite work them out, and nobody is ever quite as they seem. Another great book that will definitely be vying for the number 1 spot in February for me.

Harlan Coben books are always a guilty pleasure for me and this one certainly didn't disappoint. The story is gripping and clever, and the main characters are, as usual, appealing (if somewhat improbable). A very enjoyable book which I couldn't put down, and I would thoroughly recommend it.

A novel full of suspense. Wilde was abandoned in the woods as a child, but he survived ro adulthood, and he searches for his parents and the reasons they abandoned him, on a DNA website, where he finds a match in Daniel Carter, who he thinks is his father. When he locates him, Sofia, the man's wife, does not react to him, but his father admits he had sexual encounters with different women, at a diner nearby, and so any one of those women could be Wilde's mother. However since the one woman who is probably American abandoned the child in America, he thinks it may well be her. Daniel did not know he had a son. I will not reveal the rest of the plot, because that way I will not be spoiling it for the reader, and the reader is certainly recommended to read it, if they enjoy a good thriller.

The Match is a thrilling entertaining read. Wilde has grown up not knowing who is family are or where he comes from. Found in the mountains of New Jersey when very young and living a feral existence.
A match on a DNA a database puts him in contact with a man matched as his father, Wilde is hoping to have many questions answered.
Not wanting to give any spoilers here we have an absolutely spellbinding, page turning story. With a cast of great supporting characters, people start dying, is a serial killer on the loose or is it more?
I have not read the previous book The Boy in the woods so came into this follow up blind, but I didn’t feel I was missing out, but now I just can’t wait to read Wilde’s story from his beginning.
What a read! A story masterfully written with a cracking plotline and that ending…..terrific
My thanks to netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Wow!!!!!! As usual Harlan Coben didn’t disappoint I devoured this book in one sitting. It was a real rollercoaster of a story.
Wilde the boy from the woods is back and this time he’s looking for answers, this revolves around Wilde looking for his family and he gets caught up in a real twister of a tale.
Hope Wilde returns in another book but we will just have to watch this space
Highly recommended read
A*

I’m always thrilled when there’s a new Harlan Coben book out and I was especially grateful to Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy and this is my honest review.

In this book we see Wilde again who was found in the woods as a child and had apparently been living there for some time. If you haven’t read the first one then this would probably work as a stand-alone but I recommend reading that one first. It was great to see more of Wildes background in this book, one of the things that I love about Harlan Cobens books is the strong characters that he writes and Wilde is no exception. It’s also great to see more Hester Crimstein and I really hope that this series continues. The mystery in the story was great, I didn’t see the end coming at all! All in all this book just hits everything right for me, great story and also great characters.

Slow start but a good read once it got going. The family relationships were a bit confusing.
I liked the ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wilde, who was abandoned in the woods as a young child, has submitted his DNA to a genealogy site to find his family, and he thinks he has found his father, and another more distant relative, but in his quest to meet these people, he finds himself embedded in a pretty big mess.

Harlan Coben has been my #1 author for probably the last 20 years, and I was starting to fear he was losing a step after not loving the first novel with Wilde or the last novel, featuring Win, who I Iove as a supporting character. So when I was so quickly drawn into this novel, I was relieved to know he is back in good form. This one held my attention from start to finish and I was never sure what was going on, or how all of the threads fit together. I really couldn't put this one down. I loved all of the characters and hope we will see more of them in a future novel.

3.5 stars


Typically,the previous book,The boy from the woods is probably the only Coben book I've yet to read.
I'll fix that soon.
This one definitely works well as a stand alone. Wilde is a very interesting character,with a "family" of friends that will hopefully show up again.

DNA is scary stuff, families are scary stuff, mix the two and you're in for an interesting ride.
As always Coben entertains from the first,to the last page.

I was looking forward to read this book since The boy in the woods was one of my favourite books by the author.

It was nice to go back and see how new characters make an interesting appearance and how Wilde has come to peace with all his “nightmares”

In true Harlan Coben style, this story is another one that deserves to be brought to life on screen so even more people can reach the creative way he gives us.

Full of intrigue and interesting characters, long-lost secrets and unexpected twists, The Match is another must-read book for anyone who wants to lose themselves in the best fictional world.

Absolutely brilliant. One of my best reads this year! From page one until the end there is no stopping. Prepare to sit down with this book and not be able to do anything else until you find out the soloution. One of his best ever books. Totally unputdownable!!!!