The Woods: Suspense Thriller Novel for Mystery Lovers

So how cool is this? Dutton takes an older, classic Harlan Coben novel, reissues it as a trade paperback but prices it as if it were a mass market paperback. Triple win.And what is the story? A New Jersey county prosecutor named Paul Copeland was a camp counselor at a hippie-owned facility. One night (some twenty years in the past) something horrific occurred in the woods adjoining the camp. Two people were murdered and two were never found, one of whom was Paul’s sister, Camille. Now, suddenly, the boy who also disappeared when Camille disappeared turns up murdered. He had survived the attacks in the woods; perhaps Camille did as well?This is set against the prosecution of a rape case involving two rich frat boys and a black stripper. One of the accused boy’s father is pressuring Paul to settle the case so that his son can avoid jail time. If Paul refuses, the father promises to dig into Paul’s past and destroy his life. And if Paul doesn’t cave, and if the stripper can’t be bought off, perhaps the judge can be pressured to disqualify key evidence.And there is plenty in Paul’s past. When the event occurred in the woods Paul had left his post and was canoodling with his girlfriend in the woods, his girlfriend being the daughter of the hippie who owned the facility (who is now in an institution, wrestling with his own demons). Paul Copeland was actually Paul Copinsky and the Russian family has KGB connections. And Paul’s father was seen digging in the woods where the murders occurred. And the rapist’s father has sicced a no-holds-barred, no-costs-spared detective agency on Paul’s case. And Paul has since reunited with his old girlfriend, now a two-Ph.D. (Psych/English) New Jersey college professor, one of whose students appears to know about what happened back in the woods.It is all extremely complicated and HC uses the old novelistic trick of quick-cutting between the stories just when we’re hanging on the edge of the cliff and dying to know more. Ergo, what we have here is a classic psychological suspense thriller and HC plays fair with us—putting all of the facts out on the table and daring us to try to figure out what’s what and who did what to whom. And I forgot to mention the serial killer who appears to be responsible for what happened in the woods and is available for prison interviews (though he is a psychopathic and skilled, congenital liar). Yes, it’s all here and the final resolution is a complex but clear and satisfying one.Bottom line: the perfect companion for a transatlantic flight or a long winter’s night’s need to read. I loved every word.