The Boy from the Woods (Wilde, #1)
Harlan Coben
Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn't know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing. No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi. Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.
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DNF at 55%
I tried, because this was a book club book, but it was NOT for me.
a) it's not about a BOY from the woods?? basically: 35 years ago a ~7 year old boy was found surviving alone in the woods, but you're not going to learn almost anything else about that time of his life, because now we're just following 40 year old Wilde who is a paranoid weirdo ex military dude randomly trying to solve this non-mystery...
b) was not suspenseful or thrilling-- there was no pull forward, I had no desire to keep turning pages
c) Something about the writing style was annoying: some turns of phrase/word choices (70 year old spunky grandma calling the old sheriff 'Giant Yum' mentally...?? same granny picturing herself from an out-of-body experience and judging herself as she googles the sheriff's ex...?)
d) it became way too military special ops gun brandishing
e) teenage boy says to ex 'it's classified' military dude: "one of my classmates is missing, I'm sorta worried about her?" and this causes the 40 y.o. military dude to scale the side of missing teenage girl's house, break into her bedroom, investigate her computer, then sneak down to the basement while hiding from the girl's father...??
f) did not care at all about the politician guy or the rich kid's parents??? according to the one person in book club who finished the book, there was a bunch of stuff that happened in the back half about crimes and tapes and assault and kidnapping... nothing interesting had happened or was causing tension in the first half, so... I'm out.
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