The Boy from the Woods
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.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about The Boy from the Woods
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A man known only as Wilde was found feral in the New Jersey woods as a small boy, with no memory of how he got there. As an adult he lives off-grid in the same forest until a missing high school girl pulls him out.
The Boy from the Woods was written by Harlan Coben and published in 2020. It introduces a new protagonist, Wilde, who has continued in The Match (2022).
Harlan Coben has written two main Wilde novels so far: The Boy from the Woods and The Match. The series continues alongside Coben's other thrillers.
The Boy from the Woods is 408 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Boy from the Woods takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
The Boy from the Woods is a standalone novel by an unknown author, not part of a series.
The Boy from the Woods is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.