The Woods

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About The Woods

Product Description #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben takes readers into the heart of family loyalty in this twisty page-turner that proves that the darkest secrets are often closest to home.Paul Copeland, a New Jersey county prosecutor, is still grieving the loss of his sister twenty years ago—the night she walked into the woods, never to be seen again. But now, a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to the disappearance. The victim could be the boy who vanished along with Paul's sister. And, as hope rises that his sister could still be alive, dangerous secrets from his family's past threaten to tear apart everything Paul has been trying to hold together... From Publishers Weekly At the start of this disappointing stand-alone from bestseller Coben (Promise Me), Paul "Cope" Copeland, acting county prosecutor for Essex County, N.J., and Lucy Gold, his long-lost summer camp love, are still haunted by a fateful night, decades earlier, when their nighttime tryst allowed some younger campers, including Cope's sister, to venture into the nearby forest, where they apparently fell victim to the Summer Slasher, a serial killer. Cope's intense focus on a high-profile rape prosecution of some wealthy college students shifts after one of the Slasher's victims, whose body was never found, turns up as a recent corpse in Manhattan, casting doubt on the official theory of the old case. Cope's own actions on that night again come under scrutiny, even as the highly placed fathers of the men he's prosecuting work to unearth as many skeletons as possible to pressure him into dropping the rape case. Less than compelling characters fail to compensate for a host of implausibilities. Hopefully, Coben will return to form with his next book. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine In this stand-alone legal thriller, Harlan Coben presents a riveting courtroom drama, creates riveting players, and delves into family secrets, love, loss, mistakes, and betrayal. A few critics noted that while The Woods falls into Coben's typical formula—a past crime affects innocent people in the present—it still comes off as fresh. The trial scenes, Cope's ruminations on what really happened that night, and the back-and-forth narration are particularly well done. Only the Washington Post faulted the novel's cheap thrills, improbable revelations, and awkward conclusion. Nevertheless, few readers will remain unaffected by its emotional heft.Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. About the Author With more than seventy million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirty novels, including the Myron Bolitar series and a series aimed at young adults featuring Myron's newphew, Mickey Bolitar. His books are published in forty-three languages around the globe and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries. The winner of the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, he lives in New Jersey. Review Praise for The Woods“[The Woods] might just be the best thing Coben has written...A gripping story, filled with fine characters and dark secrets.”—Chicago Sun Times“A lively, fast-moving entertainment, jam packed with the bizarre plot twists that are his stock in trade.”—The Washington Post   “A fast-paced, complex plot...Coben’s talent for creating involving and compelling stories shines.”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel   “Dark and deep.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“Coben turns the idyll of summer camp into a nightmare...Enter, you who dare.”—The Columbus Dispatch“Another surprising and emotional story that will remain with the reader long after the last page is finished. One of Coben’s best.”—Library Journal From AudioFile I suppose there could be a better reader of this tense, complex, thoroughly entertaining novel than Scott Brick, but it's hard to see how. L