The Match

by Harlan Coben

Overview

A shocking genetic match exposes a family's darkest secret in this gripping thriller from the creator of the #1 hit Netflix series Stay Close.

After months away, Wilde has returned to the Ramapo Mountains in the wake of a failed bid at domesticity that confirms what he's known all along: He belongs on his own, free from the comforts and constraints of modern life.

Suddenly, a DNA match on an online ancestry database brings Wilde closer to his past than he's ever dreamed, and finally gives Wilde the opening he needs to track down his father. But meeting the man brings up more questions than answers. So Wilde reaches out to his last, most desperate lead, a second cousin who disappears as quickly as he resurfaces, having experienced an epic fall from grace that can only be described as a waking nightmare.

Was his cousin's downfall a long time coming? Or was he the victim of a conspiracy as cunning as it is complex? And how does it all connect to the man once known as The Stranger, a treacherous fugitive with a growing following whose mission and methods have only turned more dangerous with time?

Named a Best Book by USA Today• Wall Street Journal• Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538748282
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	60,050
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-six languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries, with eighty million books in print worldwide. His Myron Bolitar series has earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and several of his books have been developed into Netflix original series, including The Stranger, The Innocent, Gone for Good, The Woods, Stay Close, and Hold Tight, as well as the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series adaptation of Shelter. He lives in New Jersey.

Hometown:

Ridgewood, New Jersey

Date of Birth:

January 4, 1962

Place of Birth:

Newark, New Jersey

Education:

B.A. in political science, Amherst College, 1984

Website:

http://www.harlancoben.com

Editorial Reviews

01/31/2022

Could Wilde, a 40-something man who was discovered living on his own three decades earlier in the New Jersey woods, finally learn how he came to grow up feral? Bestseller Coben provides some answers in this uneven sequel to 2020’s The Boy from the Woods. After years of uncertainty, Wilde submits a DNA sample to a genealogy website, but after he receives a message about a possible second cousin, identified only as PB, Wilde gets distracted and never responds to PB’s message. Sometime later, just as Wilde is preparing to return to the U.S. from Costa Rica, a new alert identifies his biological father as Nevada’s Daniel Carter. But when Wilde tracks him down, Carter’s unsure about more than a one-time meeting. Wilde reaches out to PB hoping to learn more, only to find this potential second blood relative unreachable. His search for PB enmeshes him in the messy world of internet trolls, vigilantes, and reality TV, and lands him as the prime suspect in a murder. Plenty of exciting action makes up only in part for a lack of character depth. Coben has done better. Agent: Lisa Vance, Aaron M. Priest Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Coben’s trademarks of brisk plotting, solid action and compelling characters are well matched in The Match.”—South Florida Sun Sentinel

“The topical follow-up to Coben’s best-selling The Boy from the Woods addresses reality shows, DNA searches, cyberbullying, and social media influencers in a suspenseful novel guaranteed to be a hit.”—Library Journal (Starred Review)

“The brilliance of The Match lies in Coben’s capacity to weave staples of the horror genre into a pure, high octane thriller full of twists and turns that is not to be missed.”—Providence Journal

"[THE MATCH] shows off [Coben's] expert plotting and storytelling, which is fully on display here and makes for one heck of a good read."—Bookreporter

“If you like the Netflix series Stay Close, created by the author, this is a good one to add to your reading list.”—CNN

“So relevant…I only had this for a weekend, and it was done…. I only got two hours of sleep because of [Coben]!”—Rachael Ray

“Harlan Coben's puzzle-box mysteries have inspired numerous Netflix series, and his latest book, The Match, seems poised to follow suit.”—Popsugar

“2022 is the year of Harlan Coben's adrenaline-pumping thrillers.”—BuzzFeed

“It’s a classic Coben-style (twisty) story, quite probably already on its way to become a TV series.”—AARP

Praise for Harlan Coben

"The Boy from the Woods is as much an action as a psychological thriller, as much a riveting read as a superb character study in which Coben challenges himself by taking his story outside his suburban comfort zone. A must-read for any mystery or thriller fan."—Providence Journal

"The crafty Coben knows how to weave a compelling story with intriguing characters, and Wilde is one of his best."—Associated Press

"Coben never, ever lets you down."—Lee Child

"Every time you think Harlan Coben couldn't get any better at uncoiling a whip snake of a page-turner, he comes along with a new novel that somehow surpasses its predecessor."—San Francisco Chronicle

"[Harlan Coben is] the modern master of the hook and twist."—Dan Brown

"Coben is simply one of the all-time greats."—Gillian Flynn

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2022

Wilde, who never knew why he was found living in the woods 30 years earlier, submits his DNA profile to several websites, seeking family connections. He meets with a man identified by one site as his father, but his answers aren't satisfying. He tries again, hoping to uncover a link to his mother. Instead, he connects with a relative whose information then disappears from the site. Wilde's resources include a foster sister who owns a security company; together, their search leads to a reality star shamed on social media who has since disappeared. Now Wilde is determined to learn why the reality star is connected with him, and whether online comments destroyed a life. The reality star is also being sought by one rogue member of a vigilante group called Boomerang that finds and punishes cyberbullies. When Wilde's search leads him to a murder victim who was targeted by Boomerang, Wilde himself becomes a suspect. VERDICT The topical follow-up to Coben's best-selling The Boy from the Woods addresses reality shows, DNA searches, cyberbullying, and social media influencers in a suspenseful novel guaranteed to be a hit.—Lesa Holstine

Library Journal

This audiobook is an edge-of-your-seat gripper. It’s the second in a series about Wilde, a loner hero who as a small boy survived living alone in the woods, nobody knew how, or for how long. Decades later he still doesn’t know who he is or why he was abandoned. It makes zero difference if you haven’t already met Wilde or the marvelous attorney Hester Crimstein, or the rest of the team—narrator Steven Weber is a wizard at making them vivid to you with regional accents, attitude, and verve. The story takes off like a rocket when an ancestry website identifies a match to Wilde’s father, who promptly vanishes. Then a cousin; same story. Then the bodies start piling up. It’s very skillful, very high-octane fun. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2022 - AudioFile