Something Scary in the Woods

Harlan Coben crafts another captivating mystery with The Boy from the Woods. His novels are enjoyed by our entire book club. And he’s a Jersey boy – always a plus.

The protagonist of Coben’s latest whodunit is Wilde who thirty years earlier was found in the woods of New Jersey. In a throwback to Tarzan, he had been living like a wild animal and had no memory of where he came from or what his name was.  The townspeople called him Wilde.

Fast forward to present and he is asked by Hester Crimstein, a criminal TV attorney, to probe into the disappearance of a teenage girl named Naomi Pine, a friend of her grandson. Wilde is a security expert with unique abilities to investigate and solve difficult cases. His is also a friend of Hester and her family. 

Nothing’s as it seems in the search for the missing teenager.  But what fun would it be if it were.

Coben’s books don’t usually lend themselves to intense discussion. However, we love to talk about the twists and turns and who saw what coming and so on.  Mysteries are so much fun.

We all agreed at book club that we wanted Wilde to search for his parents/relatives.  Who the hell left a young boy in the woods? That to us was the biggest secret of all.  Maybe there’s a second book being planned for Wilde and we’ll get our answer then.

Rating: 7.5

I came across this video of Harlan talking about the book and thought I’d share it – https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/harlan-coben/the-boy-from-the-woods/9781538748169/

Photo by Niilo Isotalo on Unsplash

A Mystery that Moves Backwards

Photo by Kieran White on Unsplash

With so many novels coming out with unreliable narrators, and other tricks and ploys to keep the savviest reader guessing, it was only a matter of time before someone thought to tell the story backwards. “All the Missing Girls,” by Megan Miranda was our pick for our January 2018 book club. The novel tells the last two weeks before the climax of the story in reverse.

I need to talk to you. That girl. I saw that girl was scribbled on a note sent to Nicolette from her father.  The note coupled with a call from her brother, Dan who informed her their dad wasn’t doing well, and the family home needed to be sold to keep up with his expenses, pushed Nicolette to grudgingly go back to Cooley Ridge.

She dreaded returning and had mostly stayed away since high school, making a life for herself in Philadelphia where she looked forward to her marriage. A sense of foreboding creeps into the story during her nine-hour drive home.

Upon her return, all sorts of subtle clues get woven into the scenes. Some, of course, are deceptive. As Nicolette and Dan clear out their childhood home, another girl goes missing. (more…)

A BYOB, a Mystery, and Friends – What could be better?

where they found herWe tried a BYOB in Randolph for a nice change for our monthly book club meeting.  It was a small group, but a lovely time. 

The book was “Where They Found Her,” by Kimberly McCreight.  A mystery touted in the “Gone Girl” vein. I found it to be subtler and less jarring than its predecessor. Everyone who read the book really liked it.  See my review on the right under Reviews.

A few of us from book club got interested in the author when we attended the Morristown Festival of Books last October.  She gave a talk and had a Q&A afterwards. She told the audience it took her 20 years and five books before she got published. It may have taken her a long time to get published, but she has certainly made up for it with two national bestsellers and a YA trilogy, “The Outliers,” with the first book coming out in May.  “Reconstructing Amelia,” her first novel was nominated for the Edgar Award.  All of her books have been optioned by Hollywood to be made into movies.

Her publication trials give me hope for my novel.  It should give everyone hope – Just keep writing!