Harlan Coben brings back some of my favorite characters from The Boy from the Woods, Wilde, attorney Hester Crimstein, and Hester’s grandson, Matthew, in The Match, a disturbing novel that takes on social media. Wilde, found in the woods thirty years earlier, is still looking for answers as to his identity and past.

He starts with a DNA test, and identifies a man who appears to be his father. He meets with him, but the answers aren’t satisfying. They raise more questions. His attempt to reach a second person with DNA connections ends oddly when the person deletes their account. Although Wilde hasn’t shown a great deal of curiosity in the past, now he can’t let it rest. With help from Hester and Wilde’s foster sister who owns a security firm, he tracks down the person who disappeared, only to discover they’ve disappeared in the real world as well. Now, he really won’t let go.

Wilde’s search crosses paths, in just a minor way, with an online group known as Boomerang. The members have one purpose, to punish those who are using social media and the Internet improperly. The secret members identify people behind bots that threaten or bully other users so much that reputations and lives are ruined. Boomerang has various levels of punishment for those bullies. Then, one of the members of Boomerang goes rogue.

Without spoiling the book, I can say that Coben addresses reality shows, cyberbullying, online DNA testing, and influencers. It’s a fascinating, but disturbing book because it exposes so many Internet traps. Those elements are intriguing. But, if you’re a reader who reads for character, as I do, it’s a treat to catch up with Wilde and Hester. I have to admit I never would have expected Wilde to submit his DNA. And, that leads to all kinds of trouble in this fast-paced, enjoyable suspense novel.

Harlan Coben’s website is https://www.harlancoben.com/

The Match by Harlan Coben. Grand Central Publishing, 2022. ISBN 9781538748282 (hardcover), 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley to review for a journal.