Harlan Coben Spring 2022

Book Review Time. This week I'm participating in ProWriting Aid's Crime Writer's virtual summit, so I'm in the mood to review a thriller. In The Match by Harlan Coben, the protagonist, Wilde, who was abandoned as a child to fend for himself in the Ramapo Mountains, stumbles upon a murderous plot when he receives a shocking genetic match.
First off, how have I never read a Harlan Coben before? This is the type of fast-paced, morally gray thriller I love. I must have been living under a rock because he's the creator of the #1 Netflix show Stay Close and the Match is endorsed by Lee Child, who is a genius.
I knew I was in for a great read by the first sentence. “At the age of somewhere between forty and forty-two—he didn't know exactly how old he was—Wilde finally found his father.” Whoa! A sentence that sucks you in and makes you ask questions!
The pacing of this book was in my opinion, perfect. I love when a book's pacing resembles a Fibonacci Spiral or a tornado. Circling slowly at the beginning and then next thing you know you're caught in its vortex.
This thriller had depth. Wilde is not just some macho action hero, he's layered and has a substantial emotional arc. Like I say, I love reading the morally gray, and Coben took us deep into the scary realistic world of social media, bots and the dark side of celebrity.
The Match was a deeply satisfying thriller that had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.