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67 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4 1/2 Stars...Soft-Hearted, Shallower, Suspenseful, June 3, 2007
With "The Woods," Coben proves again to be one of the most consistent thriller writers around. This is familiar territory, with familiar themes and characters (even a few carryovers from previous stories), and yet Coben manages to connect with us on emotional and intellectual levels.
Twenty years earlier, the Copeland family dealt with a horrific situation involving the woods surrounding a summer camp. Now, one of the original homicide victims has resurfaced--with a different name and hints that he survived. Paul Copeland finds himself dragged back into the anguish of that dreadful evening. Not only did he lose his sister, he lost real connection with his parents, due to their grief. As he explores the widening mysteries, he is faced to confront hard truths about each and every person he has loved.
As always, Coben mixes suspense, mystery, subplots, and twists, with themes of family and loyalty and loss. "The Woods" is a fast read. Although a bit shallower on some levels than "Gone for Good" or "Tell No One," this story still gives us more reason to care than many other thrillers out there. Coben's soft heart comes through once again--and for that, I'll keep coming back.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great writing, but some of the plot is "out there", January 26, 2008
Originality is always a prized quality in a novel, but sometimes you just need a predictable, unchallenging, fast-food sort of book for a hectic time. That's when I turn to the "thrillers" shelf and writers like Harlan Coben.
"The Woods" is the story of Essex County Prosecutor Paul Copeland and his twenty-year-old family tragedy. His sister, Camille, and three other campers went into the woods one summer night; two bodies were found, but not his sister's. The tragedy tore Paul's family apart, and he never came to terms with his role as the camp counselor who should have been keeping watch.
When the other missing camper turns up dead -- but recently so -- Paul's world spins out of control again. He's embroiled in the rape trial of two fraternity boys and their families will do anything to keep the boys out of prison. The threat to Paul's family and career is vicious -- unrealistically so, I thought, but maybe I'm naive in the wicked ways of the world.
Coben writes with a satisfying assurance and the characters are reasonably well-defined, though the women are strangely stereotyped and hard to know. Paul Copeland moves plausibly through the well-paced story. While I didn't care passionately about his outcome, I did wish him well -- assuming that everything would be happily resolved, as it usually is in this type of book. Coben surprised me with an ambiguous ending, which I considered to be a good thing.
The complicated plot is developed and wrapped up well, a real strength of this book, though there are some elements that fit poorly in the story. Specifically, I wish he had downplayed or eliminated the brutal tactics of the accused boys' families; the stunning private investigator posing as the dead man's girlfriend; the brain-fried ex-hippie; and especially the KGB retrospective. The KGB connection should not, in my opinion, have been written into the plot; it was the jarring element for me.
I also would have preferred more development of a story line with Paul's sister-in-law and her husband, accused of embezzling from a charity in the name of Paul's late wife. Paul seems to have given that situation less attention than expected.
In spite of the shortcomings of the plot, I did enjoy Coben's smooth, satisfying writing and the effective flow of the story -- and the way "The Woods" represents the genre. I knew Coben's work only by reputation, and I would read another for the pleasure of his writing style.
For those strong pluses, and considering this book against others of its type, I am going with four stars.
Linda Bulger, 2008
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39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A predictable thriller that is still a lot of fun to read., May 1, 2007
I'm a big fan of Harlan Coben. I've read five of his novels, including his newest, THE WOODS. Each novel is captivating and thrilling, full of twists and turns. In his latest, Paul Copeland is the Essex County, New Jersey prosecuter. He is knee deep in the middle of a rape case when he gets the call from some detectives in New York. It seems they believe Copeland can help them with the details of an unsolved murder, a murder that may relate to the brutal slaying of Copeland's sister 20 years ago.
Twenty years ago at an idealic summer camp, four teenagers were brutally murdered, including Copeland's sister Camille. The killer is behind bars, and Copeland is just now getting on with his life, learning to raise his six year old daughter alone after his wife's death from cancer. Lucy Gold, a professor at a nearby college and Copeland's ex-girlfriend, begins receiving a journal in a creative writing class from one of her students. Turns out that journal is recreating in vivid detail the night of those murders. Who could be writing the journal? How could they know about that night? Loren Muse, a holdover from a previous Coben novel, has a strong role as Copeland's chief investigator.
As is typical with 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 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.
If you haven' t read Coben yet, then I recommend him highly to you. Perhaps you could start with TELL NO ONE, or even go back to the beginning of his Myron Bolitar series (which I haven't read yet.) 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.
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