Hester Crimstein - the formidable criminal defense lawyer who easily bests police and prosecutors - is a secondary character in Harlan Coben's 'Myron Bolitar' series. In this book Hester gets a starring role when her grandson comes to her for help.
The novel is a standalone and appears to be the start of a new series.
*****
Sixteen-year-old Matthew Crimstein, who attends Westville High School in New Jersey, has a problem.
Matthew feels guilty for sitting by - day after day - while his classmate Naomi is tormented by a group of bullies. The yobbos, led by entitled Crash Maynard, jeer at Naomi; call her names; throw rubber bands and spitballs; whisper nasty things; and so on.
Then one day Naomi vanishes.
Matthew seeks out his grandmother, criminal defense attorney Hester Crimstein, while she's taping her television show 'Crimstein on Crime.' Matthew explains about Naomi, and says, "Nana, I want you to help."
Hester gets right on the job by enlisting the assistance of a man called Wilde, who has a VERY unusual history.
In 1986, when he was around 6 years old, Wilde was discovered living on his own in New Jersey's Ramapo State Forest, near the suburb of Westville. Wilde spoke and understood English, but had no idea who he was or how long he'd been living alone in the woods.
At that time Hester and her family lived in Westville, and Wilde became close friends with Hester's son David. When they grew up, Wilde became godfather to David's son Matthew; and when David died in a tragic accident, Wilde became a father figure to the boy.
Wilde is just the person to investigate Naomi's disappearance. He's a part-time private investigator; is adept at surveillance and tracking; can expertly navigate the woods; and is a former special forces soldier.
While Wilde is looking into Naomi's disappearance, he comes into contact with school bully Crash Maynard and Crash's wealthy parents, Dash and Delia Maynard (I love these names 😊).
As it happens, Dash is a reality show producer who's sponsoring the presidential campaign of former reality star Rusty Eggers - a HIGHLY controversial figure. Eggers is a vain narcissist and egotistical sociopath, and many people would do anything to take him down.
One anti-Eggers activist is attorney Saul Strauss, who's certain Dash Maynard has tapes that would destroy Eggers.....AND HE MEANS TO GET THEM. Thus, the Maynard family is guarded by security expert Gavin Chambers and his team of thugs.
As the story unfolds another high schooler vanishes and Dash Maynard is put under EXTREME pressure to hand over the 'incriminating tapes' about Rusty Eggers.
Since the pair of teen disappearances may be linked, Hester and Wilde take an interest in both cases, and Wilde makes it his mission to locate both kids.
While all this is going on, widowed Hester - who now lives in New York - becomes reacquainted with Westville police chief Oren Carmichael. Carmichael is nearly 70 years old, but "remained what he'd always been - a grade-A prime slice of top-shelf beefcake." So sparks fly there. 😍
And Matthew's widowed mother Laila, a beautiful black woman, also puts a toe in the dating world.
The romances add a flirty element to the story, but I simply can't believe that Hester - the toughest broad in New York - goes googly-eyed over a man. 😏
An underlying motif of the book involves Wilde's origins. Who were his parents and how did he come to grow up in the woods all by himself? Wilde takes initial steps to unravel this puzzle, and his childhood will probably be explored more in future books.
This is an engaging story that alludes to familiar American events, so it's kind of a twofer: a mystery and a mildly political novel. The book isn't Coben's best work (IMO), but I enjoyed it and look forward to further escapades involving Hester Crimstein and Wilde.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Harlan Coben), and the publisher (Grand Central Publishing) for a copy of the book.
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