HomeGroupsTalkZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

The Woods (2007)

by Harlan Coben

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4,3311502,430 (3.77)96
Twenty years ago, four teenagers at summer camp walked into the woods at night. Two were found murdered, and the others were never seen again. Four families had their lives changed forever. Now, two decades later, they are about to change again. For Paul Copeland, the county prosecutor of Essex, New Jersey, mourning the loss of his sister has only recently begun to subside. Cope, as he is known, is now dealing with raising his six-year-old daughter as a single father after his wife has died of cancer. Balancing family life and a rapidly ascending career as a prosecutor distracts him from his past traumas, but only for so long. When a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried secrets of the prosecutor's family are threatened. Is this homicide victim one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? Could his sister be alive? Cope has to confront so much he left behind that summer twenty 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. Cope must decide what is better left hidden in the dark and what truths can be brought to the light.… (more)
  1. 10
    The Likeness by Tana French (profilerSR)
    profilerSR: Also contains a protagonist who survived a crime when young, and is now investigating another crime which may be connected.
  2. 00
    The Screaming Tree by Phil Lovesey (MikeBriggs)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 96 mentions

English (135)  Dutch (3)  French (3)  Spanish (3)  Swedish (2)  German (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (148)
Showing 1-5 of 135 (next | show all)
A fun read that I had a hard time putting down. ( )
  CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |
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. ( )
  MartyFried | Oct 9, 2022 |
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. ( )
  Ciraabi | Aug 13, 2022 |
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. ( )
  MichelleC71 | May 31, 2022 |
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. ( )
  pgchuis | Apr 19, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 135 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Harlan Cobenprimary authorall editionscalculated
Azimi, RoxaneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Busk, SisselTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Callegari, AlessandraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Chandler, DavidTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Illés, RóbertTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jansen in de Wal, MartinTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kwisinski, GunnarTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Monda, CarolReadersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roig, EstherTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Roos, GunillaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sørensen, Henrik EnemarkTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schroderus, ArtoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Staib, ChristofferTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
This one is for Alek Coben, Thomas Bradbeer, Annie van der Heide. The three joys I'm lucky enough to call my godchildren.
First words
I see my father with that shovel.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Twenty years ago, four teenagers at summer camp walked into the woods at night. Two were found murdered, and the others were never seen again. Four families had their lives changed forever. Now, two decades later, they are about to change again. For Paul Copeland, the county prosecutor of Essex, New Jersey, mourning the loss of his sister has only recently begun to subside. Cope, as he is known, is now dealing with raising his six-year-old daughter as a single father after his wife has died of cancer. Balancing family life and a rapidly ascending career as a prosecutor distracts him from his past traumas, but only for so long. When a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried secrets of the prosecutor's family are threatened. Is this homicide victim one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? Could his sister be alive? Cope has to confront so much he left behind that summer twenty 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. Cope must decide what is better left hidden in the dark and what truths can be brought to the light.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.77)
0.5 1
1 9
1.5 3
2 46
2.5 18
3 260
3.5 74
4 406
4.5 38
5 191

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 188,254,280 books! | Top bar: Always visible