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The Match by Harlan Coben

Published by Penguin Random House, Century

Publication Date: 17th March 2022

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Book Description:

He is known as Wilde, the boy from the woods.

Discovered living a feral existence in the Ramapo mountains of New Jersey, he has grown up knowing nothing of his parents, and even less about his own identity.

Until now.

When a match on a DNA database puts him on the trail of a close relative - the only family member he has ever known - Wilde thinks he might be about to solve the mystery of who he really is.

Only this relation disappears as quickly as he's resurfaced. Undaunted, Wilde continues his research, becoming caught up in a secret community committed to exposing anonymous online trolls.

Then one by one, people start to die, and it soon becomes clear that a serial killer is targeting this secret community.

And that the next victim could be Wilde himself ...

My Thoughts:

My initial feeling as I started this book was that I may have made a huge error by not having read the first book to feature Wilde, The Boy From the Woods. My reservations soon passed though as there is sufficient background drip fed into the story for the reader to get the general gist. 

Basically, Wilde was discovered abandoned in the woods living feral and supporting himself by any means possible. Nobody ever came forward to claim him so he has no idea who he is or where he came from. After many years and much deliberation, he decides to put his DNA sample into a database in an attempt to track down his parents and any siblings he may have.  

His journey takes him via reality TV "stars", FBI agents and some very unsavoury characters. There are, in true Coben style, plenty of, twists, turns and red herrings thrown into the mix.  As you can imagine with someone with Wilde's background, he's not your traditional family guy. He's someone who struggles with trust issues and being able to settle in one place for long. periods of time. Maybe those ingrained survival instincts and gut feelings would be vital in keeping him safe as he sought to solve the mystery of his genetics? 

I would recommend reading the Boy From The Woods prior to this book to get the most out of it, particularly in understanding the relationships he has with the people closest to him as he began integrating back into society. The book is pretty fast-paced and will have you on the edge of your seat as you read - I doubt very much you will guess where it ends! 

A great book to lose yourself in, snuggled on the sofa on a rainy afternoon.

About the Author:

With more than seventy million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the worldwide number 1 bestselling author of numerous thrillers, including Don't Let Go, Home, and Fool Me Once, as well as the multi-award-winning Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in forty-three languages around the globe and are bestsellers in more than a dozen countries. Coben is also the creator and executive producer of many television shows, including the Netflix Original dramas Stay Close and Harlan Coben's The Stranger starring Richard Armitage, Stephen Rea and Jennifer Saunders and the critically acclaimed Netflix Original drama Harlan Coben's Safe starring Michael C. Hall. Coben is currently developing 14 projects, including Run Away, with Netflix in the US and internationally. He lives in New Jersey.