The Boy from the Woods

A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away.

Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn't know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father--with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school.

Hester asks Wilde--with whom she shares a tragic connection--to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.Wilde can't ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions ... secrets that Wilde must uncover before it's too late.

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Published Oct 20, 2020

384 pages

Average rating: 7.37

105 RATINGS

Community Reviews

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Chriss.Mo

Mar 14, 2026

8/10 stars

If we could do partial ratings, I'd give this a 3.7 so I rounded up. It's definitely not my favorite Harlan Coben story but I did like the characters and banter-like dialogue. This feels like one the BBC or Netflix will convert to a mini-series in the near future. I hope they can manage to make the "ah-ha, I've found you out, now hear my 10 page monologue about every detail of how I did it" a little less cheesy.

Ann Bredemeier

Oct 18, 2025

8/10 stars

really twisted story...so many plots intertwined...great characters...

Juliaj

Apr 23, 2025

7/10 stars

I liked this book. It’s slow in the beginning and picks up about halfway through.

Philly3974

Oct 07, 2024

8/10 stars

This is my first Harlan Coben book, and while I enjoyed it, I expected more about “the boy in the woods.” The story starts out with a little preface about finding a boy in the woods, no parents, no idea how he got there, or how long he survived in the woods. Fast forward 30yrs and the boy, Wilde is hired by Hester, the mother of David, Wildes best friend growing up, to find Naomi, a missing girl, after Hester’s grandson, Mathew is concerned for her. Naomi is found but then she goes missing again and Wilde is brought in again, but now another kid goes missing and it turns into a complex political scheme kidnapping..

The turns and twists in the plot were there to sidetrack you and keep you guessing, but if you paid attention to the details, you could pretty easily guess who was behind the kidnapping and what happened to the missing girl Naomi. I was disappointed that the book really didn’t get into Wildes past or how he was abandoned in the woods or where he came from.

YvetteF

Jun 12, 2024

8/10 stars

I cannot believe that this is my first-time read by this extremely popular author. I enjoyed this one very much. I will definitely explore Mr. Cobens backlist. If his other books are this good, I will need to check them out.