Let me start by saying that I wasn't a big fan of The Boy from the Woods. It was the first book by HC that I was not mad about. Fortunately the Match is very good and it can be read as a standalone which I'd personally recommend.

Wilde, the 'tarzan child' who grew up in the woods on his own is now 40 years old and finally finds the courage to look for his biological parents. Wilde registers with a DNA site and boom, there's a couple of relatives there. He corresponds with his cousin who is reluctant to reveal his identity as he is well known. When the cousin sends a cryptic message and is not heard from for months, Wilde decides to track him down. What follows is a wild rollecoster ride!

I really enjoyed reading the Match and was going to give it 5 stars but... At the end of the book we learn how Wilde ended up living in the woods on his own and no parents claimed him when he was found. Unfortunately I found the explanation quite weak and unconvincing which was disappointing. Other than that, I had fun with this one!

Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very intricately plotted suspense thriller with a large cast of characters, some of whom have appeared in previous novels. The first few chapters were a little hard-going until I sorted out what was going on and brought the history of Wilde back into my mind. After that, I was very quickly drawn into the story and was completely engrossed in the many strands of the story. Coben is an excellent and very capable writer, one of my long time favourites, and I was pleased to see that he has (at least temporarily) left the irritating Win behind. At times, I found the ins-and-outs of the DNA plot hard to follow but, ultimately, one of the more enjoyable books I have read so far this year.
I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.opinions are my own.

An exciting twisty thriller that kept me intrigued from the start. I loved learning more about Wilde and seeing his relationships developing.

This is the sequel to The Boy From The Woods, from the ever reliable thriller writer, Harlan Coben, it features Wilde, who as a child made headlines as the abandoned feral boy discovered living in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey, where he now lives in a ecocapsule in the woods. Wilde returns from Costa Rica, and whilst he has never been curious about his background, he figures it will make no difference to him, he finally succumbs and submits his DNA to an ancestry website, an act that is to bring danger and unexpected surprises into his life. One is from PB, a cousin, reluctant to disclose his identity, a man who is facing a troubling set of circumstances and another that identifies his father as living in Henderson, Nevada, the owner of a construction business, who never knew of his existence, a product of a one night stand in Europe.

In a fast paced, action packed story with short chapters, there are a number of threads, and the return of an excellent supporting cast of characters, such as famous NYC attorney, Hester Grimstein with her cable news show, Grimstein on Crime. There is Laila, the widow of her dead son David, who had been Wilde's best friend, and her 18 year old grandson, Matthew, Wilde's grandson. There is a highly secret vigilante group, Boomerang, dedicated to delivering carefully orchestrated justice to the worst of online trolls, only to find themselves having to confront murders and a serial killer. Wilde finds himself drawn into a twisted quagmire of an investigation into who he is, delving into who his family is, which includes looking into the amoral but lucrative world of ratings driven reality television, helped by his foster sister, private investigator, Rola, and Grimstein.

The experienced Coben delivers a riveting thriller that is hard to put down, packed with suspense and tension, and with plenty of twists. We see the development of Wilde as a character, seemingly trapped into a lifetime of being alone, with an inability to invest emotionally in others on an everyday basis, but cracks begin to appear, he loves Matthew and his relationship with Laila begins to shift into more solid territory, and perhaps even one with long term prospects? This is a entertaining, exciting and engaging read, where Wilde, and we as readers, finally learn the truth of his background and his family. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of The Match, the second novel to feature Wilde, a New Jersey man with an unusual history.

Wilde was found living as a feral child in the Ramapo mountains. Recently he has thought about finding his parents and submitted his DNA to a search site. He gets a match to a relative, PB, who promptly disappears. In. His search for PB he gets caught up in a series of murders.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Match, which takes the story of Wilde further and, at the same time, offers an exciting adventure. I should probably point out that the story is highly improbable and bears little resemblance to reality, but so what when it’s very readable, held my attention from start to finish and I read it in one sitting?

Once Wilde identifies PB, the second cousin or some other remote relation, and realises he’s missing it’s game on. In his rather quixotic quest he uncovers hidden truths, puts his life in danger and associates with some rather questionable characters. It’s exciting and moreish. The solution when it comes made me laugh in its outlandishness and yet it fits in with Wilde and his backstory, entertaining and not to be taken seriously.

I’ll come clean and admit that I found the percentages of relationship offered by the genealogy companies baffling with uncles, half siblings and all sorts of others thrown in as possible relations, depending on the percentage of shared genes. I took the gist which is important and ignored the numbers.

The novel also involves the world of influencers and reality television. This is another closed book to me so while I would like to think that the author is exaggerating for extra impact maybe he isn’t. Whatever, it’s an ugly environment.

The real star of the novel is the wonderful defence attorney Hester Crimstein. She gets all the best lines and is a very sassy septuagenarian. I want to be her when I grow up. Wilde, on the other hand, is a loner with little to say for himself and who marches to the beat of his own drum. He learns a lot about himself in this novel and change is a coming. Due to this I wonder if we will see him again. I would like to think so as I love this series.

The Match is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow-what can I say Harlan Coben never disappoints. What a fantastic author with such a fabulous imagination. One of the world's most prolific writers and a recommended read.

Harlan Coben is my favourite author; I have read everything he has written, and he is top of my list of authors I would love to meet. Unfortunately, every time he releases something new, I try but fail to obtain an ARC copy, so I resort to reading it as soon after release as possible. This is my first ARC, and despite thinking I would never get one, I was so excited when it arrived.

The Match is the second in 'The Boy From the Woods' series and follows Wilde's story. This is another fast-paced, action-packed story that I have learned and loved from Harlan Coben. The Match on a DNA website leads to intrigue. It helps Wilde discover more about his birth family, whom he knows nothing of, having grown up in the woods and been abandoned. This leads to murder and mayhem and many twists and turns, slightly bizarrely even including a little reality TV.

The characters are brilliant. Again, we see the wonderful Hester Crimstein, who appears in many of Harlan Coben's books and plays a relatively significant role in this. As usual, despite being part of a series, this book has been written brilliantly to be read as a stand-alone as well.

Due to the excellent characterisation, we come to find a more grown-up Wilde, now in his forties, he is well rounded for someone of his background. Still, the intrigue surrounding him has never entirely gone. There are some beautiful surprises inside and the usual great range of loveable, sketchy and more unknown characters. I love Wilde, Matthew and Laila; they make the perfect little family. While it's obviously not the idea of the story, I can't help but want them to get together properly and live happily ever after.

The Match gives you many things to ponder. Some despicable online trolling to thoughts surrounding reality TV to a look at the legal system. If the law can't control something, should we take them into our own hands? The DNA angle keeps you intrigued about whether things are real and how they will all slot together. It also discusses the realities of those who have done an innocent DNA test to find out their parents are not who they thought they were.

The ending was fantastic, though, of course, leaving some questions which will no doubt be cleared up in the next book, of which there will, of course, be one at some point, although it hasn't been announced yet.
As is usual, everything connects easily and makes wonderful sense through excellent writing. There is plenty of suspense and tension, alongside a fascinating final moral conundrum.

As with many of his other books, this and the modern-day Jungle Book story of The Boy From the Woods would make great series.

My reviews of Harlan Coben's books are perhaps a little biased, but I often find it difficult to find fault with them. Brilliantly written, utterly absorbing plot and unforgettable characters made this an excellent read. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery or thriller or loves Harlan Coben. Still, of course, if you love him, you were going to read this anyway!

This is an intriguing and cleverly devised story. A small boy with the appropriate name Wilde, is found in New Jersey woods looking after himself. No one knows who he is or how he got there. He is adopted and that works well for him giving him childhood friends and a normal life- except that he doesn’t know who he is. He tries DNA websites and that involves him in a web of deceit and surprises. One of the leads involves a start from a celebrity television program who is betrayed by his wife, also a start in the program. The story is complex but it all works out in an end that is well worth waiting for. The characters are well devised and Wilde falling in love suggests he might get a life after playing all. I recommend this book.

The continuing story of Wilde and Hester Grimstein and their search for the identity of Wildes parents. Into the plot is thrown a serial killer and a dating show. This implausible thriller somehow seems to work. Recommended.

Summary: Wilde was abandoned and found in the woods as a young boy and since then he’s managed to create a life. Now 35 years on he joins a DNA matching site and finds his biological father who knows nothing of his existence. Wilde is also matched with a mysterious character “PB” who appears to be his second cousin but as Wilde starts to dig deeper “PB” seems to have vanished into thin air. Wilde needs to find out what’s happened to his cousin and this takes him through the world of reality TV celebrity, deceit, lies and murder…

Thoughts: It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book but was I was in I couldn’t put it down. I love Harlan Coben’s writing style and the twists and turns means that the reader is constantly guessing, and being proved wrong throughout the story. One of the things that was particularly good were how there were so many characters in the story that were relatable and I cared about even though the story was focused on Wilde. It’s important to know that I haven’t read The Boy in the Woods and I didn’t feel as though I needed to, so don’t worry.

Recommend: If you like clever, fast-paced thrillers with twists turns and clever writing (who doesn’t?!), then this one is for you!

Absolutely outstanding as always. I live Harlan Coben and every single one of his characters, and there are some great recurring ones in this one. Another exciting mystery narrated by the clever and smart characters xx

Nicely constructed thriller for the twenty first century.

I think of all the writers of, what I call, American modern pulp fiction, Harlan Coben is probably my favourite. I have now read several of his novels and have thoroughly enjoyed most of them. This one deals with Wilde, a foundling, trying to trace his family, victims of reality television, several murders with a romantic secondary plot line. The characters are interesting and well developed and the story moves along at a good pace, sucking the reader in. The author doesn’t get bogged down in unnecessary descriptions and that works for me. Certainly recommended to lovers of well-told mysteries. I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review

I haven’t actually read the other book in the series but I wouldn’t have known either way. This is standalone. I really did enjoy the pace of this story. It was out of the ordinary but realistic at the same time, i was motivated for Wilde to get the truth and the whole premise of the story was genius. Plot points within plot points, what an excellent read.

This is the second book by Coben to feature lead character Wilde this works as a stand alone for readers who haven't read the first. Although I enjoyed this book I found it slow in parts and this was mostly down to the detailed explanations regarding DNA matches. I’m sure fans of Coben will love this book though with its twists and turns.

This was quite a. unusual story, which had me intrigued from page 1. It tells the story of a 'boy abandoned in the woods as a small child, who manages to bring himself up for several years before being fostered. He seeks to find blood relatives via a geneaology site, and there us an intriguing sub plot going on, which all comes together at the end. As always with Harlan Coben books, there are plenty of twists along the way, and it kept me intrigued to the end.

Wow. A really great fast paced thriller. I was gripped from page 1 to the very end. I think I have read nearly every, if not all, of Harlan Coben’s books and many like this one are gripping. So many twists and turns it leaves you breathless and although some of the plot and solutions are a little far fetched it still makes for a terrific read. Would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to read an early copy of this book.

This is a good book which I enjoyed. It is the first book of Harlan Cobens that I have read. I understand it is a follow on from a previous book the boy in the wood but this did not hamper me reading it as a stand alone. I will be seeking out the other book soon.
Full of intrigue and mystery with good characters and ongoing plot, twist and turns, it keeps you invested until the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Wow what a roller coaster. Although I’ve seen some of Harlan Coben’s TV adaptations I’ve not read any of his books. I think that’s about to change.

This book had so much going on and was so exciting to read I couldn’t put it down. I also didn’t see the ending coming and what an ending. I’d definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review

I was captivated from the beginning. From the first couple of pages I could tell I really enjoy Cobens way of writing (or at least the way he wrote this book). The story is told from around three different perspectives and if you have read any of my previous reviews you will know I love multiple narratives. It manages to give a deeper insight into the story and makes you believe you are getting to know each character separately. It also allows the story to develop in stages as each perspective reveals new layers and little twists for the others.

Another reason why I loved the writing style of The Match is that it was so easy to read, it’s really that simple. I was never left second guessing anything, or wondering what happened earlier, or who that person was again. There wasn’t too much things happening or too many people involved, which I fear some crime/thriller books are guilty off, and therefore it felt so seamless and effortless to read.

The Match also raises a very interesting element regarding the influencer world. It highlights the very real extremes people go to get “famous” and makes you question whether or not what you’re seeing is real or fake.

The only non-positive comment (I don’t want to use the word negative as this just paints the wrong image) is that I don’t fully understand the point in Hester’s law case, Richard Levine. I just can’t fathom why it was needed in the book as I feel it didn’t add to the overall story. I may have just missed something, but personally I wouldn’t have missed this detail if it wasn’t excluded.

Now the fun part, the endings. Omg!! I was completely blindsided by it all, I couldn’t figure it out at all whilst ready the book (and trust me I tried). I also got very weirdly emotional by the ending, it just felt so honest and heart-warming.

The Match was the most perfect introduction to Harlan Coben, and I will for sure be picking up his many other novels.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House UK Cornerstone Century, and Harlan Coben for the loan of this book

This is only the 3rd book of Harlan's I have read and suffice to say it did not disappoint. I have watched the many series based on his books, and as books are always better I knew i'd enjoy this book, but was surprised to discover quite how much.
I loved getting to know the character of Wilde and found him fascinating. I was rooting for him to locate the family he did not know existed until he decided to send his DNA to a company, specialising in locating family members. The book kicks off when he is nervously waiting outside his fathers home, deciding whether to knock on his door or drive away. he decided to knock but does not find the open armed welcome he was perhaps hoping for.
When he receives a message later from another relative listed on the DNA company, he sets out trying to locate him, but discovers he is missing and the people connected to him are being murdered one after the other.. Can win locate the murderer and find his missing relatives? And will he find the family he hopes will make him feel like he belongs? I urge you to read this book to find out.
I loved this book and couldn't read it fast enough. I was reading another book along side this one and finished this much faster that the other, I just couldn't put it down. It does help if you read The Boy in the Woods, but the book does stand alone as a great read. I am fast becoming a huge fan of Mr Coben and cannot wait for the next instalment of "Wilde". 5 stars