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Image from Pixabay, adapted via Canva by Lou16 |
Family loyalty and dark secrets are the theme of this twisty page-turner novel by Harlan Coben.
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The Woods |
Today, Paul (called by his nickname Cope) is now a prosecutor in Essex County, New Jersey. His mourning of the loss of his sister has only just begun to subside. He keeps busy with his job and raising his six-year-old daughter as a single father after his wife died of cancer. His busy life distracts him from his past traumas.
But when a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried family secrets are threatened.
Is it possible that the homicide victim is one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? If so, where has he been all these years? And is it possible that his sister could be alive?
Cope left so much behind that summer 20 years ago ~ his first love, Lucy, his mother who abandoned the family, and the secrets that his Russian parents might have been hiding even from their own children.
Which is better – secrets that are best left in the dark or truths that should be brought to light? A dilemma the reader will find themselves in as they near the end of the story.
The Woods is a suspenseful and compelling story with bizarre plot twists by best-selling author, Harlan Coben. It is definitely a page-turner.
More Harlan Coben Book Reviews found on ReviewThisBooks
*The Woods – a book review written by Wednesday Elf
Mickey Bolitar is the teenage nephew of Myron Bolitar, first introduced in Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series. This series of three books (to date) are in the Young Adult genre, and all of the main characters are teenagers. Thus it is written to appeal to teen readers.
Recently I have been reading (and in some cases re-reading) all of the Myron Bolitar series ~ in order. I reached #10 (Live Wire) and immediately went on to the latest book in the series #11 of 11 (Home). I spotted what I thought was a discrepancy between books #10 and #11 and felt that I must have missed one of the books, which would have explained the discrepancy. After double-checking dates published, I realized that Harlan Coben had paused the Myron Bolitar series after writing Live Wire and written the three Mickey Bolitar YA books before continuing on with the Myron series. Thus I had a pretty strong feeling that what was missing was explained and solved in the Mickey Bolitar series. I was right – and now I understand.
I am also delighted that I decided to read the Mickey Bolitar series, even though I don't normally read the Young Adult genre, because it turned out to be a wonderful written series and filled in a lot of blanks in the background of Myron Bolitar. Settling once and for all (in my mind) that if you like and enjoy an author, it doesn't matter what genre he/she decides to write in, you will enjoy it just as much.
Shelter (Book 1 of 3)
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Shelter by Harlan Coben |
Forced to switch high schools, Mickey is a lonely and unhappy 15-year-old. Slowly he begins to make new friends (plus a few enemies of the group who always seems to make life miserable for the 'new kid' at school). He even acquires a new girlfriend, Ashley, and thinks perhaps his train-wreck of a life is beginning to improve. Then ~ Ashley disappears!
Mickey is unwilling to let yet another person walk out of his life, so he follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals this sweet, shy girl is not who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Eventually Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem ordinary. What he finds out leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.
Seconds Away (Book 2 of 3)
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Seconds Away by Harlan Coben |
After the shooting of their friend Rachel. Mickey now not only has to continue his quest to uncover the truth about the Abeona Shelter, the Butcher of Lodz, and the mysterious death of his father, but he needs to figure out who shot Rachel.
Mickey has always been ready to help his friends, but how can he protect them from a danger he doesn't understand when he's not even sure who – or what-- he's protecting them from?
Found (Book 3 of 3)
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Found by Harlan Coben |
With the help of his Uncle Myron, along with his loyal friends Spoon and Ema, Mickey begins to unravel the mysteries of the Abeona Shelter and the elusive “Butcher of Lodz”. At the same time Mickey tries to navigate the ins and outs of everyday life in high school and his dream of making the basketball team.
Mickey Bolitar is as quick-witted and clever as his uncle Myron, and eager to go to any length to save the people he cares about. Follow Mickey Bolitar on his action-packed adventures in Shelter, Seconds Away and Found.
With this Young Adult series, Harlan Coben introduces a whole new audience to his superb writing.
More Book Reviews of Harlan Coben Books
*The Mickey Bolitar YA Series review written by
~Wednesday Elf
A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller by Harlan Coben
A high school girl who was relentlessly bullied, disappears. No one seems to take it seriously, but a classmate is worried. When Matthew asks his grandmother (the well-known television criminal attorney, Hester Crimstein) for help in finding her, Hester asks Wilde to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.
Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past, not even that of his name. But his unique tracking abilities and knowledge of the woods give him an advantage in looking for Naomi.
To do this, Wilde must also go back into the community where he has never fit in and confront the powerful whose wealth and fame protect them even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions. Wilde must uncover these secrets before it is too late.
"The Boy from the Woods is as much an action as a psychological thriller, as much a riveting read as a superb character study in which Coben challenges himself by taking his story outside his suburban comfort zone. A must-read for any mystery or thriller fan."―Providence Journal
"The crafty Coben knows how to weave a compelling story with intriguing characters, and Wilde is one of his best . . . The narrative veers into such unexpected directions that even a true thriller aficionado will not see the multiple surprises the ending delivers." ―Associated Press
"There may be no other thriller writer alive today who has mastered that fundamental trick of the genre. When you start a new Coben novel, or just pick one up and read the jacket copy, you know that nothing will unfold as it seems. You can be assured that surprises will keep appearing until the final page."―BookTrib
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Available on Amazon |
More Book Reviews by Harlan Coben:
*Book Review of The Boy From the Woods written by
Wednesday Elf
For the first time, we get the true inside story of Win. Myron Bolitar is not featured in this book, except for a few references about the two of them together. Instead, for the first time, this book gives us the background on the Win we have known and loved throughout the Bolitar series.
Windsor Horne Lockwood III (Win) is an extremely wealthy man with impeccable taste and a personal approach to justice that too often lands him on the wrong side of the law.
When the FBI takes Win to a murder scene in the upper West Side apartment of a recluse, Win doesn't know why. Then he sees two objects there, a stolen Vermeer painting and a suitcase bearing the initials WHL3 - his initials.
Win is baffled how his family heirlooms came to be in a dead man's apartment. All he knows is that they were stolen from Lockwood Manor over twenty years ago when his Uncle was murdered and his cousin Patricia was kidnapped. Even though Patricia escaped her captors, they were never apprehended, the murder of her father was never solved, and the stolen items were never recovered.
Now the FBI reveals that the murder victim in the apartment was also the mastermind behind a notorious act of domestic terrorism. Win must figure out the connection between the two cases.
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WIN by Harlan Coben |
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