When it comes to timely reading of pre-publication books I get by way of NetGalley, I try to play it straight - really, I do - by reading them in order of next to be released. But sometimes I get one I'm so excited about that it jumps to the head of the line. This is one of those times. And to the half-dozen books that got pushed aside, I promise to get to them soon, but love means never having to say you're sorry. This one was way too good for apologies.
It's most notable to me for the interesting characters, starting with Wilde, a now-grown man who, as a young boy, was found living in a state forest. He had no memory of a family, or how he got there, curiously attributing his language ability to sneaking into people's homes when they were gone to watch TV shows like Sesame Street and videos (how he learned to turn them on remains a mystery to me, but hey). Also important to this story is attorney Hester Crimstein, a somewhat quirky but very likable character who has appeared in previous books.
At this stage of his life, Wilde has become quite accomplished, having graduated from West Point and served in the military, but he remains somewhat reclusive and continues to live in the forest in an eco-friendly but technologically advanced pod-like structure that can be moved around at will. He has no real emotional attachment to anyone and prefers living alone - how he survived communal living at West Point and the military is beyond me, but I'm guessing it wasn't the most fun he ever had in his life. But back in the woods, he manages to collect a menagerie of former and current ladies. More to the point here, he was good friends with Hester's late son, David (and, of course, with Hester).
A young girl named Naomi Pines, a victim of bullying at school, goes missing, and her off-and-on classmate, Matthew (Hester's grandson) is so worried that he begs her to look into her disappearance. When Hester asks viewers of her popular TV show to be on the lookout for Naomi, all heck seems to break loose. Much of that emanates from the wealthy and powerful parents of one of the boys who bullied Naomi unmercifully (exactly why school teachers and officials always looked the other way when that happened isn't clear, but I suppose it has something to do with not wanting to get on the wrong side of those snooty parents).
Of course, there's a subplot that involves goings-on and the potential for blackmail among the aforementioned filthy rich parents and their friends, one of whom is making a run for a major political office. And that leads to some political commentary which, I presume, reflects the author's opinions (and certainly mine), to-wit: "The middle class has become complacent. They are smart, but they are lazy. They see the grays, they get the other side. Extremists, on the other hand, see only black and white. They are not only certain that their vision is absolutely correct, but they are incapable of even understanding the other side. Those who don't believe as they do are lesser in every way...They don't see right or wrong - they see us and them."
Aided by some old friends, Wilde ratchets up his investigative skills to find Naomi; and when another youth goes missing and the plot thickens, they tackle that as well - sometimes at their own peril. All in all, it's a sometimes harrowing experience for the characters and a whirlwind for readers - at least for me. Loved it - many thanks for the opportunity to read and review it.
The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben (Grand Central Publishing, March 2020); 385 pp.
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