Month: September 2020

Recent Reads: The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben is now a man called Wilde.  He doesn’t remember anything before being in the woods, and his memories tell him he way there for years.

Wilde’s now grown, joined the army, served, and now is living back near where he was found.  He’s asked to help with finding a teenager that his godson knows.  Hester, his godson’s grandmother, and mother of Wilde’s late best friend, is a lawyer who also joins in to help.

It’s a fast paced thriller, with story lines about politics, family, and bullying.   There’s romance for an older couple, which is unusual to see, and so good it’s being normalised.

I found the book enjoyable, but it felt like there was previous story I was missing, or that it was the start of a series.  Having a read around, it sounds like at least one of the characters (Hester) have been in other Harlan Coben books, which might explain that feeling.

The Boy from the Woods was published on 3rd September 2020, and you can order it from Amazon, Waterstones, or your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Harlan Coben on his website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Random House Cornerstone.

Recent Reads: The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley

Posted on by Pam

My review:?????

The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley is a series of interconnecting short stories that are set in Tokyo in 2020, when the city is getting ready for the Olympics. 

Yes, sadly the Olympics have been moved to 2021 due to the pandemic, and I’m sure this isn’t going to be the first book that was set in 2020 before Coronavirus happened!

Anyway, these interconnected short stories have the same characters woven through them, along with a calico cat.  There are stories of a young woman who wants a map of Tokyo tattooed on her back, and the traditional Japanese tattooist who does it.  The story of a taxi driver.  The story of a young boy who is being bullied at school and a man who can’t leave his apartment.

I think the best description would be fiction with light fantastical elements in places.  The stories end before you fully know the consequences or outcome, but then you might catch glimpses in later stories. 

The stories were well thought out, and so is the interweaving of characters, and further hints about their lives.  There were some words that I needed to look up, things like Tokyo on Google Maps that I looked at, but all in all, you won’t find yourself too lost, except in enjoyment!

This book reminded me of Before The Coffee Gets Cold, which I also really liked!

The Cat and the City is out now, and you can order it from Amazon, Waterstones, or your local independent bookshop.

You can follow Nick Bradley on his website, on Twitter or on Instagram. 

I was given this book in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Atlantic Books.