The Woods

The Woods by Harlan Coben was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I could not put it down. Don’t let the 508 pages scare you; this was one of the fastest reads I have read. This is a story about a county prosecutor named Paul Copeland, or “Cope” as his friends call him, and his search for answers. Twenty years prior to the plot taking place, Cope was working as a counselor at summer camp when four campers disappeared after going into the woods one night. Four campers disappeared; two bodies were found dead, and the other two (one of which belonged to Paul’s younger sister Camille) were never found. While Cope is prosecuting a big rape case and is up for reelection, he is blackmailed by the defense client’s father who digs up a lot of his past. Paul is forced to face realities he had kept buried for twenty years. This plot was heavily layered and more and more was revealed as I kept reading.
The Woods is a suspenseful thriller full of plot twists that leave your jaw hanging open. Due to the suspicions cast on the main character, Cope, by authorities in relation to his sister’s disappearance, I found myself doubting his first person narrative. However, he proved to be a trustworthy narrator in the end when I learned that he never lied about anything. The characters were all likeable and realistic. Some of the descriptions were clichéd, especially coming out of the mouth of Cope, but he as a narrator would find ways to laugh at himself for corny descriptions. The characters were also very difficult to predict. Each one would do something to surprise the reader drastically. Nothing is what you would expect. If you thought you had the story figured out from the beginning, you could not be more wrong. The characters had to deal with loss, empty hope, addiction, blackmail, love, mental illness, violence, grief, and facing the skeletons in their pasts. The story hit on every emotion accurately, making this book a perfect read for all kinds of people.
By the end of the book, most of the mystery is solved. However, the readers are left with one giant question. There were plot twists up to the very last page and the reader is left wondering how the characters will react to the last piece of the puzzle falling into place. The most compelling part of this story was definitely the plot. After closing the book I sat there staring at the cover and tried to take it all in. I was left to think about how one person’s actions can affect such a large amount of people in so many different ways.
If a prospective writer could take a lesson from this author, it would be in plot layering. The author meticulously placed tiny hints throughout the story that all came together in the end to explain everything. The reader discovers the secrets of Cope’s life along with him. Although the main character was a thirty-eight year old widowed father, I found myself relating to him and feeling just how he felt. That is a tribute to the author and his character building techniques. If I could speak to the author after reading this story, I would have two questions. I would want to know what happened between Cope and Lucy after he discovered her secret. I would also want to know some hints about his skillful layering techniques. Watching this story unfold before my eyes was fascinating because it all worked so well. Every forgotten detail was explained. This novel satisfied my need for a good mystery and will stay in the back of my mind for a while.