The Match, Harlan Coben

~ Tandy

The Match opening line: At the age of somewhere between forty and forty-two – he didn’t know exactly how old he was – Wilde finally found his father.

The Match

My blurb:

No sooner than Wilde finds his father, he loses him again. With so many questions left unanswered he turns to the next DNA match. But this leaves Wilde with more questions than answers, and a new case to follow. His life is also put at risk when one person he has trusted his entire life gives away his identity. Now he is trying to find his past, as well as save his future.

The Match
As a young child, Wilde was found living a feral existence in the Ramapo mountains of New Jersey. He has grown up knowing nothing of his family, and even less about his own identity.
He is known simply as Wilde, the boy from the woods.
But when a match at an online ancestry database puts him on the trail of a close relative – the first family member he has ever known – he thinks he might be about to solve the mystery of who he really is. Only this relation disappears as quickly as he’s resurfaced, having experienced an epic fall from grace that can only be described as a waking nightmare.
Undaunted, Wilde continues his research on DNA websites where he becomes caught up in a community of doxxers, a secret group committed to exposing anonymous online trolls.
Then one by one these doxxers start to die, and it soon becomes clear that a serial killer is targeting this secret community – and that his next victim might be Wilde himself …
Read an extract of The Match here.
My verdict:

Finally Wilde knows where he came from, and how he ended up in the woods. But this left me feeling angry for him, and I am looking forward to how Harlan Coben deals with the next phase of his life. A great read from a fantastic author.

Publishing information:
ISBN 9781529135497
Format Trade Paperback
Published April 2022

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this novel to review.

Take a look at what was previously posted on Lavender and Lime on June 26:

 

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Published by Tandy

I am passionate about using regional, seasonable and sustainable produce when I cook. I live in Gordons Bay with my husband and dogs. We visit new places locally and overseas as often as we can to experience the food of the area. Follow along on our adventures!

6 thoughts on “The Match, Harlan Coben”

  1. Hi Tandy, Do hope all is well with you. I reached the ‘crone’ age of 90 (it’ s a lie…) last month so, what with the heat too, have slowed down a bit…fortunately not mentally, which is a blessing. I used to love to cook, but ‘im indoors now does the honour, and he, bless him, is nearly 94…(something in the water?!) The hardest part of old age is accepting lack of energy, while he is still amazing. I en joyed your review of The Match – it sounds riveting. Have just finished Bill Bryson’s travel book about the UK. If you like humour in the prose, he’s your man. If unfamiliar, he’s an American, having settled for the British eccentricities, coun tryside and history.* I’ve just finished my 10th book: The Dobrowski Portrait, set in Poland and the UK in and after World War 11 (am searching for a mainstream publisher…) * The book is called The Road to Little Dribbling. Take care and keep cooking those delicious dishes Best wishes. x.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for the lovely comment and how blessed you are to still be independent in your nineties. My MIL lived to 99 and 11 months plus a few days and her mind was intact until the day she died.

      Reply

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