Welcome to my review of The Match By Harlan Coben. As he is my favourite author I loved this book and would highly recommend it to everyone but especially those who love a great mystery or thriller. There is a brilliant plot, amazing characters and everything you could want for an escape to another world.
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 …
With over 70 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times author of thirty one novels including RUN AWAY, FOOL ME ONCE, TELL NO ONE, NO SECOND CHANCE and the renowned Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in 43 languages around the globe.
Harlan is the creator and executive producer for the Netflix television dramas SAFE starring Michael C. Hall, Audrey Fleurot and Amanda Abbington, and THE FIVE starring Tom Cullen and OT Fagbenle. He is currently filming THE STRANGER, based on his novel, for Netflix starring Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Rea. Harlan was also showrunner and executive producer for two French TV mini-series, UNE CHANCE DE TROP (NO SECOND CHANCE) with Alexandra Lamy and JUST UN REGARD (JUST ONE LOOK) with Virginie Ledoyen. KEINE ZWEIT CHANCE, also based on Harlan’s novel, aired in Germany on Sat1.
Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE (NE LE DIS A PERSONNE) was turned into the renowned French film, directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Francois Cluzet. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in USA, won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music. The movie with subtitles is now available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and DVD/Blu-Ray.
Winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – international bestselling author Harlan Coben’s critically-acclaimed novels have been called “ingenious” (New York Times), “poignant and insightful” (Los Angeles Times), “consistently entertaining” (Houston Chronicle), “superb” (Chicago Tribune) and “must reading” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly funny” (People). After seven books Coben wanted to try something different. “I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron,” says Coben. The result was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller TELL NO ONE, which became the most decorated thriller of the year. Two books later, Bookspan, recognizing Coben’s broad international appeal, named NO SECOND CHANCE its first ever International Book of the Month in 2003 – the Main Selection in 15 different countries.
Harlan was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications including the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.
Harlan has received an eclectic variety of honors from all over the world. In Paris, he was awarded the prestigious Vermeil Medal of Honor for contributions to culture and society by the Mayor of Paris. He was won the El Premio del Novela Negra RBA in Spain, the Grand Prix de Lectrices in France, and the CWA/ITV3 Bestseller Dagger for favorite crime novelist in England. On the other end of the spectrum, Little League Baseball inducted Harlan into their Hall of Excellence in 2013, and Harlan is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame from his playing days at Amherst College.
Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.
Harlan Coben is my favourite author; I have read everything he has written, and he is top of my list of authors I would love to meet. Unfortunately, every time he releases something new, I try but fail to obtain an ARC copy, so I resort to reading it as soon after release as possible. This is my first ARC, and despite thinking I would never get one, I was so excited when it arrived.
The Match is the second in ‘The Boy From the Woods’ series and follows Wilde’s story. This is another fast-paced, action-packed story that I have learned and loved from Harlan Coben. The Match on a DNA website leads to intrigue. It helps Wilde discover more about his birth family, whom he knows nothing of, having grown up in the woods and been abandoned. This leads to murder and mayhem and many twists and turns, slightly bizarrely even including a little reality TV.
The characters are brilliant. Again, we see the wonderful Hester Crimstein, who appears in many of Harlan Coben’s books and plays a relatively significant role in this. As usual, despite being part of a series, this book has been written brilliantly to be read as a stand-alone as well.
Due to the excellent characterisation, we come to find a more grown-up Wilde, now in his forties, he is well rounded for someone of his background. Still, the intrigue surrounding him has never entirely gone. There are some beautiful surprises inside and the usual great range of loveable, sketchy and more unknown characters. I love Wilde, Matthew and Laila; they make the perfect little family. While it’s obviously not the idea of the story, I can’t help but want them to get together properly and live happily ever after.
The Match gives you many things to ponder. Some despicable online trolling to thoughts surrounding reality TV to a look at the legal system. If the law can’t control something, should we take them into our own hands? The DNA angle keeps you intrigued about whether things are real and how they will all slot together. It also discusses the realities of those who have done an innocent DNA test to find out their parents are not who they thought they were.
The ending was fantastic, though, of course, leaving some questions which will no doubt be cleared up in the next book, of which there will, of course, be one at some point, although it hasn’t been announced yet.
As is usual, everything connects easily and makes wonderful sense through excellent writing. There is plenty of suspense and tension, alongside a fascinating final moral conundrum.
As with many of his other books, this and the modern-day Jungle Book story of The Boy From the Woods would make great series.
My reviews of Harlan Coben’s books are perhaps a little biased, but I often find it difficult to find fault with them. Brilliantly written, utterly absorbing plot and unforgettable characters made this an excellent read. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery or thriller or loves Harlan Coben. Still, of course, if you love him, you were going to read this anyway!
Thanks to NetGalley, the author or publisher for an advanced reader copy for review.
| Title | The Match |
| Author | Harlan Coben |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | eARC |
| Page Count | 343 Pages |
| Genre | Mystery & Thriller |
| Publisher | Penguin |
| Release Date | 17 March 2022 |
Click The Cover To Read Amazon’s Sample Today!