Plus: An exclusive excerpt from The Boy From the Woods.
Harlan Coben is a busy guy.
He’s in the midst of a huge development deal withNetflix.
Credit: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
But the best-selling suspense author is still publishing books, too.
Thirty years later, he’s a lonely outcast.
Coben has over 70 million books in print worldwide and has amassed a loyal fanbase.
FSG
EW can unveil the cover as well as a first excerpt.
Read on below.The Boy From the Woodspublishes March 17 and isavailable for pre-order.
Even more bizarre, authorities have no idea who the boy is or how long he had been there.
“It’s like Mowgli in theJungle Bookmovie,” Westville Deputy Police Chief Oren Carmichael said.
“He doesn’t recall any parents or adult figures.
“It’s the strangest survival case any of us have ever seen,” Chief Aurigemma said.
“Someone out there has to know something,” Deputy Chief Carmichael said.
“The boy didn’t just appear in the forest by magic.”
CHAPTER ONE
Thirty-Four Years Later
How does she survive?
How does she manage to get through this torment every single day?
She sits in the school assembly hall, her eyes fixed, unseeing, unblinking.
Her face is stone, a mask.
She doesn’t look left or right.
She doesn’t move at all.
She just stares straight ahead.
She is surrounded by classmates, including Matthew, but she doesn’t look at any of them.
They throw things at her.
Flick snot from their noses.
When the paper sticks to her hair, they laugh some more.
The girlher name is Naomidoesn’t move.
She doesn’t venture to pull the wads of paper out of her hair.
She just stares straight ahead.
Her eyes are dry.
But now her eyes stay bone dry.
The teachers, used to this, barely notice.
Meanwhile Naomi just takes it.
Matthew should do something to stop the bullying.
But he doesn’t.
It did not end well.
Matthew tries to remember when it all started to go wrong for Naomi.
She had been a happy kid in elementary school.
Always smiling, that’s what he remembered.
Yeah, her clothes were hand-me-downs and she didn’t wash her hair enough.
Some of the girls made mild fun of her for that.
And after that, nothing had been the same for Naomi.
Matthew always wondered about that.
Had she not felt well that morning?
Did her fatherher mom was already out of the picture by thenmake her go to school?
If Naomi had just stayed home that day, would it all have gone differently for her?
Another spitball sticks in her hair.
Naomi sits there and waits for it to end.
End for now, at least.
She has to know that it won’t end for good.
The torment never stops for very long.
It is her constant companion.
Some days, like today, Matthew really pays attention and wants to do something.
Most days, he doesn’t.
Matthew had learned an awful truth: You grow immune to cruelty.
It becomes the norm.
Has Naomi just accepted it too?
Has she grown immune to it?
Matthew doesn’t know.
Until one daya week after this assemblyshe’s not there.
One day, Naomi is gone.
And Matthew needs to know why.
CHAPTER TWO
The hipster pundit said, “This guy should be in prison, no questions asked.”
It was hard to see through the studio lights, but it sure as hell looked like Matthew.
“Any response, Hester?”
Matthew’s appearanceit had to be himhad thrown her.
Not a good time to dwell when you’re on air, she reminded herself.Focus.
“You’re gross,” Hester said.
“You heard me.”
She aimed her notorious withering gaze at Hipster Pundit.
Why is Matthew here?
“Care to elaborate?”
“Sure,” Hester said.
The fiery glare stayed on Hipster Pundit.
“You hate America.”
We have public opinion, don’t we?
No trial, no jury, no judgelet the Twitter mob decide.”
Hipster Pundit sat up a little straighter.
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s exactly what you said.”
“There’s evidence, Hester.
A very clear video.”
“Ooo, a video.”
She wiggled her fingers as though she were talking about a ghost.
“So again: No need for a judge or jury.
Oh, I’m sorry, I forget your name.
I keep calling you Hipster Pundit in my head, so can I just call you Todd?”
He opened his mouth, but Hester pushed on.
Tell me, Todd, what’s a fitting punishment for my client, do you think?
“My name"he pushed his hipster glasses up his nose"is Rick.
And we all saw the video.
Your client punched a man in the face.”
“Thanks for that analysis.
You know what would be helpful, Todd?”
“It’s Rick.”
“Rick, Todd, whatever.
Think of the time we’d save.
We just post a video on social media and declare guilt or innocent from the replies.
There’d be no need for witnesses or testimony or evidence.
Just Judge Rick Todd here.”
Hipster Pundit’s face was turning red.
“We all saw what your rich client did to that poor man.”
More important, Hester could use the few seconds with the camera off her to check on Matthew.
The viral videothree million views and countinghad been recorded on a tourist’s iPhone in Central Park.
Blood gushed from Corval’s nose.
The image was irresistibly DickensianMr.
Rich Privileged Guy, completely unprovoked, sucker punches Poor Street Urchin.
Matthew stood in the shadows.
Spittle flew out of his mouth and found a home in his beard.
“It’s clear as day.
Your rich client attacked a homeless man for no reason.”
“You don’t know what went on before that tape rolled.”
“It makes no difference.”
“Sure it does.
“Whoa, no one said anything about mob violence.”
“Sure you did.
You want my client, a father of three with no record, in prison right now.
No trial, nothing.
Come on, Rick Todd, let your inner fascist out.”
“Cut that out!”
“Lock him up!”
The chant was getting to him, his face turning scarlet.
“That’s not what I meant at all.
You’re intentionally exaggerating.”
No one is saying that.”
Hester had something of a gift for mimicry.
She often used it in the courtroom to subtly if not immaturely undermine a prosecutor.
Because you and DeplorableDentalHygienist and NailDaLadies on Twitter say so?
You don’t know the situation.
You don’t even know if the tape is real."
Prepster Host arched an eyebrow over that one.
“Are you saying the video is fake?”
“Could be, sure.
Look, I had another client.
Someone photoshopped her smiling face next to a dead giraffe and said she was the hunter who killed it.
An ex-husband did that for revenge.
Can you imagine the hate and bullying she received?”
The story wasn’t trueHester had made it upbut itcouldbe true, and sometimes that was enough.
“Where is your client Simon Greene right now?”
Hipster Rick Todd asked.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“He’s home, right?
Out on bail?”
“Now you want to get rid of our bail system?”
“A richwhiteman.”
“Wow, deflecting using ‘both sides.’
"
“No, sonny, that’s not both sides, so listen up.
What you don’t see is, you and those you hate?
You are quickly becoming one and the same.”
“Reverse this around,” Rick Todd said.
Don’t make this about race.”
“It’s always about race, but fine.
He’d be in jail right now.”
Hmm, Hester thought.
She had to admit Rick Todd had a pretty good point there.
Prepster Host said, “Hester?”
“And that’s all the time we have for now.
Coming up next, the latest controversy surrounding upstart presidential candidate Rusty Eggers.
Is Rusty pragmatic or cruel?
Stay with us.”
Hester pulled out the earpiece and unclipped the microphone.
They were already headed to commercial break when she rose and crossed the room toward Matthew.
He was so tall now, again like his father, and another pang struck hard.
Hester said, “Your mother .
“She’s fine,” Matthew said.
“Everyone is okay.”
Hester couldn’t help it.
More and more she saw the echoes of the father in the son.
It shouldn’t, of course.
So she held her grandson and squeezed her eyes shut.
The teen patted her back, almost as though he were humoring her.
That was what he called her.
“You’re really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Matthew’s skin was browner than his father’s.
“Where’s your mother?”
“At work, I guess.”
“What’s the matter?”
“There’s this girl in school,” Matthew said.
“What about her?”
“She’s missing, Nana.
I want you to help.”
Excerpt from THE BOY FROM THE WOODS by Harlan Coben.
Copyright 2020 by Harlan Coben.
Used by permission of Grand Central Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
