Cover of The Woods
Title: The Woods
Author: Harlan Coben
Publication Information: Signet (April 1, 2008) , 528 pgs.
Genre: Fiction – Suspense/Thriller
First, let me say, I have not read Harlan Coben before. What can I say? I’ve been under a rock, I guess.
Secondly, last week, when a friend was perusing my stack of finished books, she asked me to grade each book. That way she would have a better idea of which ones she might like. I decided I like the idea, and I’m going to run with it, because, you know, it’s like, my blog. 
Grade: A
From the back cover:
County prosecutor Paul Copeland is still getting over the loss of his sister twenty years ago – the night she walked into the woods, never to be seen again. Now, as Cope struggles to raise his six-year-old daughter alone and try one of the biggest cases of his career, evidence links him to a man who has been viciously murdered. The victim could be the boy who disappeared along with Cope’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 he’s been trying to hold together…
Analysis and Evaluation:
Yes. I enjoyed “looking over the shoulder” of the narrator in this well written suspenseful tale. The author masterfully weaved the lives of several characters through several decades.
This is a well written story. I enjoyed that I could “hear” the various accents from different characters in the book. I appreciated the fast-paced story that kept my attention from beginning to end.
The strength is that it kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the plot twists, turns and surprises. Just when I though I had it figured out, I discovered I was wrong. And, I LOVE that!
The weakness – some of the plot lines were a bit far fetched, but then again, it’s fiction! So, I enjoyed the story and it didn’t matter much to me.
It has been a long time since I’ve read a fiction book that I really enjoyed. I am so glad my folks were not reading this when I visited, so I could borrow it.
Yes, if you like a legal-thriller type of book. If you’re looking for “sunshine and roses”, this ain’t your book.
However, I really enjoyed it. I could easily see this being made into a screenplay. I even have a few actors picked out to play certain parts. I am excited to find another author I enjoy ~ I’ll be looking for more Harlan Coben books as soon as I finish this Spring Reading Thing challenge. 
Thanks–gonna look for this one at the library!