May 04, 2008

                                 Reviewed by Mehreen F. Ali

FOR most lovers of good old-fashioned crime thrillers — apart from those penned out by masters like Agatha Christie, Earle Stanley Gardener, Ian Fleming, Alfred Hitchcock or of late, John Grisham — there has been a dearth of good writers in recent times. I mean really good writers, the type that churn out brow-dripping, nail-chewing, page-turning tours de force one after another. Lately however, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a stand-alone thriller, one that has been topping the charts of local book stores here in England for quite some time now. Written by the bestselling author Harlan Coben (of Tell No One fame, which, by the way, has also been turned into a film), The Woods demands to be picked up from store shelves, even in its modest paperback version.

For one thing, the publisher, Orion Fiction, has made good use of the cover illustration — an eerie, foggy, misty blue wood harbouring a lone, shadowy figure in its midst. For another, every fourth person walking by the aisle was adding the book to their shopping cart. How could I resist? And hallelujah! The contents are well worth the purchase price.

There are no airs or graces about Coben’s style. The Woods immediately spills forth a dramatic prologue — a young boy crouched within a dark wood watches his father digging the earth with furious determination. He is looking for something — or some one — under the ground. As his haunting sobs echo through the woods, the boy shrinks further within the shadows. His father must never know he was here.

Fast forward two decades, and on his death bead, the boy’s father expires with only one wish on his lips: ‘Paul, we still need to find her.’

Set in present day, Paul Copeland is a successful, top-of-his-game county prosecutor, a widowed father, and a man with a shadowy past — one that has remained conveniently buried for 20 years. Then out of the blue, the police arrive at his doorstep, asking him to identify an anonymous corpse. Who is this dead man? And how is Paul Copeland, one of the most respectable lawyers in the country, related to his murder?

The end to this thread lies buried 20 years before, when four teenagers mysteriously disappear at a summer camp in the woods. Some of the bodies were later found mutilated.

The end to this thread lies buried 20 years ago, when four teenagers mysteriously disappear at a summer camp in the woods. Some of their bodies were later found, lifeless and mutilated. Paul’s sister was believed to be one of them, something that later comes to be doubted.

Who killed those teenagers in the woods that night? Is Paul’s sister still alive? Were Paul and his girlfriend Lucy the only witnesses to those murders? And most significantly, is the person who was allegedly charged and put behind bars the real killer? Or is the murderer still running free?

In a straightforward, contemporary manner — flitting wittily between two different storytellers, Coben spins out an intricate web of interlinked stories, all moving steadily towards a dramatic climax of events. As he moves along, he gives weight to his lead character with a dexterity that easily matches that of Garderner, using a crisp court trial that Paul is prosecuting, and more.

With its unique style, intriguing storyline, sound characters and a mind-boggling conclusion, there is little room for any dull moments in The Woods. It is clear why Coben’s whodunit has been consistently topping readers’ selection lists of late. So if you have lost faith in the power of good crime writing, The Woods is highly recommended.

The Woods

By Harlan Coben

Orion. Available with

Liberty Books, Karachi

ISBN 0752881906

464pp. Rs425