So, Harlan Coben is basically my go-to for long car rides with my wife. He isn't the best writer in a technical or linguistic sense, but his stories always have a decent mystery and are fun to listen to. In the realm of pulp fiction, I can safely say this is a good book. He gets a bit too deep into his webs of mystery and it can be kind of annoying at times, but it all becomes clear by the end. Anyway, it was a fun read. ( )

This is one of those times I'm glad LT has half stars. I generally like Harlan Coben (his new one is a corker) but this one is pretty bland. Too convoluted and too unlikely. It's fine if you don't have something else or if you plan to leave it at the AirBNB when you leave. I wouldn't go out of my way to find it otherwise. ( )

Great read. Keeps you insterested from first to last page. What happened in the woods by a summer camp 20 yrs ago?

I actually read this back in 2012----so much for my memory....it seemed completely new and....I liked it a lot!! In addition, now I have read a huge number of Coben's books and thoroughly enjoy all of them....he is an amazing writer. I will hate to ever catch up with his creative writing!! ( )

Everything but the kitchen sink in this one....serial killer at summer camp who is still available for prison visits, KGB uncle who is still connected, abandoned by missing mother, murdered sister, frat guys on trial for raping a stripper, first love reappears after 20 years, and 1000 other subplots such as could be running for congress next term, frat guy dad dropping money all over to get judge to cave and dredge up other nastiness, brother-in-law embezzles $100,000 from foundation set-up in main character's dead wife's name to pay for a swimming pool, single father-daughter relationship, university faculty high-jinks, crazy hippy father of first love going limited My Lai, dazzling beautiful women at every turn, a governor buddy with charismatic pull that could rival an ocean tide, a dapper, gay defense attorney named Flair, a very supportive investigator named Muse, etc. ( )

Another engaging story from a favorite author. I'm looking forward to the movie! ( )

A fun read that I had a hard time putting down. ( )

I thought this was a pretty dark mystery, where nothing seems to be certain. People died, ... or did they? There are bad guys, ... but are they really? And are the good guys really good? What's more important, family or justice? All are good questions, but the answers are not always so good, or even so certain. Most of them get answered in the end, but some are left as an exercise for the reader.

The story starts out with a prosecutor trying a case involving a poor black teenaged prostitute/stripper who has accused a couple of rich white college boys of rape. The prosecutor is certain of his responsibility, which is justice for the girl. But the father of one of the boys is willing to go to great lengths to keep his son out of jail, and has the resources to do this.

However, it seems that in his quest for fighting back, he opens a can of worms that can never be closed, and that is the rest of the story.

My first book by this author, but I'm sure I'll read more. There was a bit of humor that kept it from getting too depressing, and some social concepts worth thinking about. The ending was a little unsatisfying in some ways, which is to say that I don't thing everyone lived happily ever after, but if you want, you can imagine that they did since he doesn't really say exactly what happens to everyone. ( )

This is my first book by Coben, and gosh where do I start?

I have had a thriller/mystery itch the past month or so, and this book really hit the spot in that regard. I started this book on a whim, and it certainly hit the spot! This book sunk its hooks into me after chapter 1, and did not let go until the end. I liked Coben's writing style and the pacing. The side plots did not feel like they pulled away from the main plot or like filler. They actually helped buffer the pacing for the main plot quite nicely. I could not just casually read this book, and found it was a nice page turner!

At some points I did find the main character a little annoying, but not every protagonist isn't meant to be loveable (though it is a little heavy handed with the "oh woe is me!" theatrics sometimes). Probably the main reason for this book getting four stars instead of five is that the ending twisted around a little too much for me. At first a twist would seem interesting, but then the resolution seemed just a bit over the top and outlandish. Without spoiling anything, there are some parts I would have been fine not happening and still have reached the main conclusion of the story and felt just as content.

Despite this, I still found this to be a fun read. If you're looking for something fun and fast paced, then this book might be for you. ( )

This was a good easy read. I was a little worried in the beginning that the murderer was obvious but there were enough twists to keep me entertained. ( )

There were a lot of different strands to this novel, and I got a bit lost in the KGB ones. Things came together in rather a rush at the end. I thought the final twist was excellent, although the last paragraph was corny. ( )

A very good book, which basically keeps you guessing until the very end. Characters are well-established, plot line is plausible and well established. I was "somewhat" disappointed in the ending, but can accept it. You'll have to read it to understand that. I do recommend it.

A warning: DO NOT view any Netflix movies made based on Coben books without reading the books first!!! I have seen two so far and they are so poorly done as to almost be unwatchable from the beginning. Yes, the loose-end snippets of plot lines do eventually get tied up at the end, but enduring the early episodes is absolutely painful, sometimes seeming completely unconnected, and I suspect many viewers stop watching due to each series being so hard to watch. Now that I've read this book, I plan to watch the Netflix version so I understand what is going on...but I expect to be disappointed - most likely because Coben's plot-revelation style in his books is very, very difficult to translate to the screen, even over 8 episodes. ( )

Finally a thriller that I liked! Now I know why they describe Coben's books as pageturners. The only thing is that there is a lot of dialogue, so much that sometimes is like reading a script. This is the second Coben's book that I read and I noticed that it's part of the writer's style. The plot was really great, though. And the end wasn't a letdown, like it often is in thrillers. ( )

I'm not big on typing out long reviews. If you enjoy Harlan Coben, then more than likely you'll enjoy this one. This is one of his more popular books, so i'm sure you'll like it. I did. It pretty much sucked me in and spit me out. 4 out of 5 ( )

This is the second book that I’ve read by Harlan Coben, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed. Coben’s writing is sharp witted, fast paced, and easy to read. His characters are interesting, well developed, and likable. And so far, his plots have been nice and twisty.

One of the things that sticks out the most to me about Coben’s writing is the use of first person from a male character. Maybe it’s just the books I’ve been reading lately, but the trend seems to be to use a female character’s point of view when writing in the first person – even for male authors. I found being inside the male mind of Coben’s character a refreshing change.

(Not that reading two books by the guy makes me an expert), but family strife seems to be a common underlying theme in his books, which works to make his stories and characters more relate-able. I look forward to reading more by this author. 5 stars. ( )

Paul Copeland is looking for his sister Camille 20 years after she went missing from camp 4 teenagers went into the woods 2 bodies found Camille and Gil Perez bodies are missing. Gil Perez body turns up recently murdered in New York.
Paul who is a County prosecuter enables the help of his top Detective Muse to do their own digging.
Paul also teams back up with his old Camp girlfriend Lucy whose Dad Ira ran the camp he now has dementia.

It turns out Ira killed Gil Perez he tries to kill Paul. A body is discovered in the woods this isn't Camille it is in fact Paul's Mother His father had her murdered to stop her leaving with his money Camille reappears and gets to know Paul again.

Ok typical Coben book. . ( )

Gripping! My first ever Harlan Coben read. Couldn't get through the day without finishing the novel. The way he writes his novels just makes you want to keep turning the pages. Such a twist to his tale! ( )

Plot wise... this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Lots of lovely twists and turns and surprises. Writing wise... it was not wonderful but certainly good enough to sustain the excellent plot. It feels like sometimes Coben wants to be writing a romance novel. But, I'm a plot girl so 5 stars this gets :). ( )

This was another great tale by the master. In this nightmare, four young people go into the woods at night and allegedly, none return. What happened that night haunts Paul Copeland to this day as one of those who was murdered that night was his sister. However, he finds himself drawn back to the past when one of the four ends up dead - 20 years later! Filled with interesting twists, this tale keeps you guessing until the end. It was a great weekend read. ( )

I enjoyed this mystery which was basically about missing teenagers. Not having read any others by Corben I had expected more. It seemed over the top and contrived. I really had trouble believing the convoluted storyline. While not my favorite mystery, I didn’t expect the ending of the book and I wonder how things worked out for everyone. ( )

Fast paced suspenseful great murder mystery! ( )

Another good Harlan Coben ( )

Author lost me: takes a long time to get anywhere and has an enormous array of characters. I'm not feeling this one. The Woods should be a gripping story but I just can't care for any of the characters or the story. ( )

Paul Copeland is a single father raising a young daughter, and also the county prosecutor of Essex, New Jersey.

He is in the middle of a rape case when the father of one of the rapists decides to do whatever he can to keep his son out of jail. He gives a sleazy investigative firm carte blanche to do whatever they can to investigate Copeland and to deflect him from the prosecution.

They focus on the disappearance of Copeland's sister twenty years earlier and soon the ghosts begin to rise. A homicide victim turns out to be a man who died twenty years before and Copeland is left wondering if his sister is also still alive. If she is, who knew about it?

Although this is a mesmerising tale, it takes a long time to get anywhere and like most Coben novels that I have read it spans a huge amount of time and enormous array of characters. ( )

Predictable but good road trip audiobook ( )