The Woods

Typical of a stand-alone Coben, this novel grabs you right away and sucks you in, making you want to skip work to finish it. Hints about long-past secrets and crimes tantalize and the momentum doesn’t let up. The plot, too, is juicy and intricate, if a touch hackneyed. He does a good job of keeping the reader feeling a bit smarter than the average. At least that’s how I felt when I figured out a piece of the puzzle, or knew when some event would take place. Not that I figured out all of it. Coben didn’t want me to and I didn’t.

Plot aside, I have to talk about Paul. As a character he didn't work for me. No one that nicey-nice would ever make it as a prosecutor. He's too bland. He's too namby-pamby. I didn't buy it or him. Lucy show more was preferable. She seemed much closer to reality than he did with his perfectly aggrieved facade and blithely unconnected love for his kid. And what is with that inner monologue? NO ONE talks like that or thinks like that. Yuck.

The hackneyed part is more of a horror movie cliché than a novel formula. Horny teenagers get killed while at summer camp. Two survive, but are semi-witness to the crimes. Two are missing presumed dead, and two are surely dead, the bodies found mutilated in the woods. The two who survive part ways and have adult ‘what if’ fantasies about each other for the rest of their lives. One has never married, and Paul Copeland is a widower. Not much doubt that they will reconnect after all is said and done.

Actually, that is one part that I got wrong. I knew that Lucy must have had something to do with the killer. Exactly why was she so insistent that Paul join her in the woods on that particular night? She had to have a purpose, but how sinister was a mystery. In the end, Paul puzzles it out and confronts her with it in, of all places, the original woods. He leaves her there and heads for the car to wait for her to come out. If she will. That’s where it ends. Ambiguous endings are nice.

What led up to it was not ambiguous much at all. There was some cover-up and lying when Paul first suspected that the fresh corpse that turned up was really the supposed victim of the attacks in the woods. His parents denied it, but he pushed. The cops pushed back. Eventually, it was proved that the 30-something dead guy was one of the presumed dead kids. Did that mean that Paul’s sister was alive, too?

Nothing stellar, prose-wise, but plot-wise there was a lot and it all fit together quite nicely. Convolutions abound with tales of KGB-sanctioned spying done by his Russian émigré parents. Cover-ups and lies by “Uncle Sosh”, Russian Mafia big-wig about Paul’s run-away mother. A Duke lacrosse style rape case for Paul to prosecute in the face of really pissed off and powerful dads. Unexpected ‘diary’ submitted to Lucy as a student’s work which tells the tale of the night the kids were killed within earshot of Paul and Lucy’s tryst. Lucy’s superannuated hippy father, living in a fugue state, still convinced it’s the 60s. Well done and a lot of fun. show less

Plot wise... this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Lots of lovely twists and turns and surprises. Writing wise... it was not wonderful but certainly good enough to sustain the excellent plot. It feels like sometimes Coben wants to be writing a romance novel. But, I'm a plot girl so 5 stars this gets :).

What if the past didn't happen the way you thought it did? What if you could dig up the truth? Would you want to? Should you? What might you learn if you did? Such is the premise of Harlan Coben's seventeenth crime novel, 'The Woods'.

What's it about?

Twenty years ago four teenagers enjoying summer camp were brutally murdered by a serial killer. Or were they? When a surprising corpse is found, County prosecutor Paul Copeland realises that the truth about that long-ago night may finally be coming to the surface. As Cope investigates what really happened that night, he is forced to confront his own guilt and the abrupt ending of his teenage romance; he was meant to be on watch duty when the campers, including his own sister, Camille, show more disappeared.

As past crimes clamour to divert his attention, Cope's also trying a rape case in court and the defendants' fathers are viciously determined to use his history against him in any way they can. Oh, and his own father, who had his own secrets, has recently died. Can Cope uncover the truth? And if he can, what might it cost him?

Opening sentence:

'I was sitting in an elementary school gymnasium, watching my six-year-old daughter, Cara, nervously navigate across a balance beam that hovered maybe four inches off the floor, but in less than an hour, I would be looking at the face of a man who'd been viciously murdered.'

What's it like?

This standalone novel is well constructed, full of twists and turns. Most of the twists are predictable but that doesn't affect the drama, which remains high throughout. All the details eventually tie neatly together and fit the overarching theme of parents protecting their children. If you're looking for a thriller to relax with - nothing too demanding - this should fit the bill.

I found some elements a tad implausible. The lengths the boys' fathers are willing to go to in order to persuade Cope to drop the case are extreme, but I suppose having your child face a life-changing conviction and prison sentence in their teens is a strong motivator. Similarly, the relationship that swiftly develops between Cope and ex-love Lucy seemed rather sudden, but the intense pressure of their situation (and the plot of just about every action novel / film ever) makes it less surprising, if not more convincing. And... Oh, just be prepared to suspend your belief. A lot. Constantly, in fact. I only found this a problem when the KGB angle developed; I'm not interested in this kind of spy stuff, and it seemed designed to create an easy explanation for some otherwise difficult-to-explain events.

The drama's further heightened by Cope's involvement in, well, everything. His search for answers is also, clearly, a search for absolution, but the ending is a complex one, with guilt shared in multiple directions and ambiguity about the future.

Final thoughts

If you like your crime fiction served with a large helping of detective angst and personal trauma then this should suit you. Cope has also lost his wife to cancer, seemingly just to darken his life further, and though he's a successful single parent, his daughter's well-being is threatened by his devotion to his case, allowing Coben to introduce a bit of philosophising. He's an admirable protagonist who learns that in a world of black and white right and wrongs, he might need to start perceiving greys.

Expect multiple revelations, musing on family and loss, and a world in which eventually all will be revealed, if not resolved. show less

Holy crap! Three books in a row written within the last 20 years. How'd that happen?

Anyway, I picked this book up because one of my alleged "friends" on GR—someone I don't know at all, so how'd we connect?—said it was so compelling that she found herself volunteering to drive young people all over the place just so she could continue listening to the audio-book version of this book. I haven't figured out audio books yet, and don't drive much (especially since my mother died in April), so I had to contend myself with a library copy, albeit in Kindle format.

After having finished Wicked Autumn, I was a bit worried that I'd find this book similarly poorly written, or alternatively, that it might be overly Steven Kingish and creepy. show more Fortunately, it was neither. It is actually a very good and well-written story.

So, we have Paul Copeland, a county prosecutor in New Jersey. Some twenty years before, he was at a summer camp, out in the woods making time with his sweetie of the moment. Two other couples were out in the woods at the same time, but they didn't come back. One couple was found with their throats slit. The other couple, one of whom was Paul's sister, disappeared. Paul was separated from the girl he was with and never saw her again.

Now, twenty years later, he is dragged off by the police to view a murdered body. The police are sure he has something to do with the murder because the dead man had been carrying clippings from the 20-year old mystery. Copeland first denies knowing the man, then realizes he is one of the two people who had disappeared twenty years previously. Could that mean his sister was still alive as well?

So, anyway, we keep getting more clues and more tie ins with the 20-year old tragedy. The old girlfriend shows up again. She's been pining for Paul for the past twenty years. She's a college professor and has taken to sitting in the dark, drinking vodka straight from the bottle, and listening to cheesy romantic songs. Eventually, there is a resolution of some kind, although far be it from me to tell y'all about it. Along the way, we learn the extent to which fathers will go to protect their children. Quite an impelling story, actually. My GR friend was correct. show less

From Amazon:

Twenty years ago at summer camp, Paul Copeland's sister died in the woods, the alleged victim of a serial killer. Her body was never found. Now, Paul is the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey, immersed in one of the biggest cases of his career-a case that will change everything he believes about the past...and the truth.

My Thoughts:

As is typical with Harlan Coben novels, he throws a lot at you, and most of it sticks. There are twists right down to the last page, and all of the plot loose ends are resolved. This is the first novel where Coben's novel seems formulaic and not unique. He seems to enjoy the theme of people once thought dead possibly being alive. Copeland's daughter and deceased wife really play no role in show more the story. The Russian, KGB angle also seemed contrived and unnecessary. Still, Coben has the knack for making the implausible plausible, and having fun with even the most far-fetched scenario. Once you start reading his books, you'll keep coming back. Despite some of the unrealistic plots, you'll be able to sense the enthusiasm and fun in Coben's writing and want to come back for more. show less

Twenty years ago eighteen-year-old Paul Copeland was working as a counselor at a summer camp in which four teenagers walked into the woods one night... two were murdered, and two went missing, never to be seen again (they were thought to be dead, their bodies were never found, some of their clothing had blood on it). One of the missing was Paul's sister, Camille. Twenty years later Paul (now a County Prosecutor) is being asked questions by detectives about a man who was recently murdered who had Paul's address on him and clippings about the camp murders. When Paul goes to the morgue and sees a tattoo on the dead man's arm that he recognizes, Paul is convinced the murdered man is the other man who went missing (like his sister). But if show more this man (who was just murdered) was alive for the past twenty years, maybe his sister could still be alive too.

Eventually Paul gets together with his ex-girlfriend (Lucy) from the camp (whom he hasn't seen in twenty years) after she contacts him because strange things are occurring in her life that have to do with that long-ago camp incident in which she was also involved.

I don't want to give any more of the plot away since it's more fun to read the book to find out what happens. I found the characters very interesting. I liked Paul, who was raising a young daughter (Paul's wife died of cancer). I also liked Lucy, who never really seemed to get over that long ago camp incident. (Her father ran the camp and he is now in a home.) The secondary characters were a lively group. I especially got a kick out of attorney Flair Hickory, the well-dressed/flamboyant attorney.

I really liked this fast-paced suspense story. There were moments of humor in the book that I find enjoyable from this author. And some surprises. This was a captivating and entertaining read. show less

On his deathbed, Paul Copeland's father grabs his hand and urgently whispers one final directive to his son: "Paul, we still need to find her." Two decades before, four teenage campers had wandered into the woods one sultry summer night. Some time later, two of the missing campers were found murdered, but the other two teens were never seen again. The lives of four families were changed forever. Now, twenty years later, they are all about to change again.

Paul 'Cope' Copeland's life was turned upside down twenty years ago with the loss of his younger sister, Camille. Even now, he still feels the muted pain of that loss, although life has inevitably moved on for him. He is now the county prosecutor for Essex, New Jersey - a widower who show more recently lost his wife to cancer; learning to parent his six-year-old daughter as a single father. Balancing family life and a rapidly ascending career as a prosecutor distracts Cope from all his past traumas, but only for so long.

When a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the long-buried secrets of the prosecutor's family are threatened. Might this homicide victim actually be one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? Could Camille still be alive? Cope can't be entirely sure, but he knows that he needs to find out.

Yet, investigating this case will ultimately force Cope to face so many things from his past; people and emotions he believed he'd effectively left behind during that summer of twenty years ago. There will be Lucy, Cope's first love; his estranged mother, who abandoned her family; and the secrets held by his Russian parents, secrets which they 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 set free into the light.

This is the first book by Harlan Coben that I've ever read, although I do have a least two others hidden somewhere on my bookshelf. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; I found it to be very well-written and the story itself completely held my attention. I also really felt connected to the characters, and was quickly engrossed in the plot. I give this book an A! and this will most definitely not be the last book by Harlan Coben that I read. show less