This is the second book featuring Sami Kierce and is set a year after the events in Fool Me Once. Sami left the police force in disgrace and is now teaching Criminology night classes at a Community College. One night he is shocked to spot a familiar face at the back of the class, the woman then quickly disappears.. Sami is so shocked to see this woman because he last saw her 25 years ago in Spain when he woke up next to her to discover he was covered in blood and holding a knife and Anna was dead. Determined to find out the truth, Kierce discovers that Anna is in fact the daughter of a wealthy family and her name is Victoria Belmond not Anna. Victoria had vanished on New Year's Eve 1999 and was not heard of for 11 years before she was found. Kierce is tasked by the family with finding out what happened to her during those 11 years. This is a typical Harlan Coben book with plenty of twists and turns and it's impossible to guess what will happen next. A very enjoyable read though I found it a little slow at the start. Although it's the second book in the the series it works well as a standalone.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I have no idea how a writer can be so consistently awesome over so many novels and so many years but Harlan Coben never disappoints!
The emotional scarring Sami has suffered steps off the page and cleverly affects everything in his life.
Solving the mystery of what happened in Spain as a cold case with his criminology students is a masterstroke, introducing a real variety of supporting characters and twists whilst never straying from the trauma Sami has undergone.
Another 5* read!

This was a really great story that keeps you hooked in from start to finish as you progress through the story. There is so much going on, it is impossible to put down!

Another excellent book by Harlan Coben. This was an absolute keep me on the edge of my seat book all the way through to the last minute and way into the epilogue. The book starts with a bang in the flashback and then suddenly picks up decades later with the impact of the opening scene can clearly be felt in Kierce’s life. The characters are all fabulous with real depth and the trick is understanding who is real and who is not and what is a lie and what might have a grain of truth in it. The book doesn’t disappoint and keeps up the fast fast pace on every page. I read on way late into the night. Just try and understand how things all fitted together. Such a good read.

A fast paced twisty thriller with great characters that kept me involved in the storyline from the beginning until the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

Another great thriller from Harlan Coben. The second book in the Sami Kierce series.
Sami Kierce is now working as a private detective. He is investigating a case that leads him to an incident in his past from over twenty years ago.
I didn’t want to put this book down, it had me hooked from the first page.
Lots of twist and turns that kept me guessing and some unforgettable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for my e-copy in exchange for honest review.

Firstly, a big thank you to Penguin Random House UK for this ARC!

I never miss an opportunity to read a Harlan Coben novel. While I usually prefer his Myron Bolitar (and Win!) series, Sami Kierce proves to be just as compelling. In Nobody’s Fool, Coben masterfully intertwines the unresolved trauma of Sami's past with his present reality. Set one year after the events of [book:Fool Me Once|26109394], Sami has stepped away from the NYPD and now teaches criminology. But his seemingly quiet new life is shattered when someone from his past—someone he knows to be dead—walks into his classroom. Twenty-two years ago, Sami found Anna's body covered in blood in Spain, a moment that altered his life forever. Yet here she is, standing before him.

The way Coben integrates Sami’s criminology class, filled with a diverse and intriguing group of students, is nothing short of brilliant. As a criminology student myself, I found myself envious of the engaging and dynamic environment he creates in the story

One of the most remarkable things about Coben's storytelling is that nothing ever feels coincidental. Every twist and turn is meticulously crafted to keep you hooked, leaving you with questions—not due to loose ends, but by design. He masterfully keeps readers on their toes, creating a sense of anticipation that makes his novels impossible to put down. The ending will always make you go ‘Oh, duhh!’—yet somehow, I never manage to fully piece it together until it is revealed. I might catch glimpses, but never the full picture.

Finally, a special note on Coben’s writing style. His books are fast-paced, clever, and effortlessly engaging. While every word feels carefully chosen and deliberately placed, his book read with a natural flow, as if the thoughts were laid down exactly as they came to him. It’s a rare and beautiful skill that makes me love his books so much.

Nobody’s Fool
Alternating between the past and the present Private investigator Sami Kierce’s past comes back to haunt him. 22 years previously whilst backpacking in Spain with friends he wakes up with a knife in his hand and his girlfriend Anna covered in blood and dead, he flees the scene.
Now in the present earning some cash by lecturing students he sees Anna at the back of his classroom but she runs as soon as he makes eye contact with her. He knows he must find her to put the demons to rest from his past which has haunted his life.
This is a brilliantly constructed thriller with a plot line that has many twists and turns and lots of jaw dropping surprises. As usual with this author he keeps you captivated throughout turning the pages as quickly as you can absorbing every detail.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Very good, as always. This is a twisty thriller, with an interesting back story and strong characters. I enjoyed it a lot.

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He begins to scream and then he runs.

Twenty two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. But as soon as he makes eye contact with her, she bolts.
For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.
His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past. Soon he discovers that some secrets should stay buried

The narrative alternates between two timelines: Sami Kierce's traumatic experience in Spain in 2000 and his present-day life as a disgraced detective teaching criminology classes in New York. When a woman he believed dead for over two decades suddenly appears in his classroom, Kierce is drawn into an investigation that forces him to confront both his past demons and present challenges.

What begins as a personal quest to understand a long-buried mystery evolves into a complex exploration of identity, family loyalty, and the devastating consequences of split-second decisions. The story's connection to the high-profile Victoria Belmond kidnapping case adds layers of intrigue and social commentary about wealth, privilege, and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones.

Overall, this is a fascinating thriller. While some parts are predictable, the final two twists hit hard enough to drop your jaw. My only criticism is the somewhat abrupt revelation of the perpetrator The revelation comes suddenly, followed by another shocking twist that leaves you asking, "What? Really?"

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for an advance copy in return for a fair and honest review

Omg! As ever Harlan Coben has a hit on his hands. This is a great story. I'm looking forward to seeing this one as an adaptation on screen as well.

Never having read any of these books before I was a bit apprehensive but all I can say is wow! A story filled with twists and turns and keeps you turning the pages and reading chapters when you only have time for 2 or 3! Think I’ve found a new author and character to binge read on! Thank you for my advanced copy to read, now I’m off to download all the others!

The second Sami Kierce novel and it’s another masterpiece of the genre. As a 21 year old holidaying in the Costa del Sol, Sami met the gorgeous Anna and life was so good until a few days later he wakes up to the worst nightmare of his life with Anna dead and a bloody knife in his hand. Horrified he flees home and tries, but never succeeds, to forget everything. Sami is a great character, honest, determined and dependable. Happy married to Molly, with a son Henry, life is good even though he struggles to make ends meet.

Briefly, 22 years later Sami has been kicked out of the police and is working as an unofficial private investigator and running a sort of criminology class for a group of people. In the middle of a class a woman appears who he is convinced is Anna. At the same time, thanks to his antics in the police, the convicted killer of his fiancé is released from prison. Convinced there is a connection between the events he starts to dig deeper using his unique group and discovers a chain of lies every which way he turns.

Such a great plot I see another Netflix series in waiting! With secrets slowly coming out and surprises galore this is Coben at his very best, from the start right to the very last sentence! Fast paced and full of action it kept me glued to my seat. A tense, exciting and entertaining thriller. Loved it.

Another brilliant read from Harlan Coben full of shocks and twists .This book brings back Sami Kierce one year after the event of Fool me Once ,now he is teaching how to be a detective at a college when a face from the past turns up in his class. From then on the roller coaster begins ,a fast paced beautifully written story with a brilliant ending that leaves a bit of a surprise and perhaps another book about Sami Pierce .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Sami Kierce is backpacking with college buddies following graduation. His future is bright, he's heading for medical school upon his return to the States then he meets Anna in a Fuengirola nightclub.

After a brief,drug fuelled, affair,he wakes up next to her body holding a bloodstained knife. He contacts the polizia but his father insists he flies home as he is a brownskinned US college kid in a foreign land.

Twenty two years later,he is a highly decorated ex cop teaching a criminology class when Anna walks into his class then runs away.

What follows is a story which uses his former investigative skills to unravel why Anna isn't dead and where she's been.

A good story from Coben yet again

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House Publishing for the chance to read and review this book

Few authors manage the elevator pitch as well as Harlan Coben – this one: a young college grad backpacking in Spain wakes up one morning covered in blood, a knife in his hand and his girlfriend dead next to him. Twenty years later, now a PI he’s teaching a class when the dead woman shows up in his class…
What follows is classic Coben his fans will recognise: a New York set story with a missing/ returning figure and a ‘normal person’ trying to figure out what it means to everything they believe to be true – with all the twists and turns they’ve come to love in his books along with certain staple elements like very light fourth wall breaking to bring the reader onto the protagonist’s side and ever rising stakes.
I’ve read all of Coben’s books – both series and stand alones. (I tried to watch a couple of the adaptations, but none work as well as the books – whether it’s because of the geographic relocating or the ‘something’ that is missing from his written words, I’m not sure).
Like the author’s other works this was a two/ three session read. He undoubtedly creates breakneck plots that keep you reading on, even as coincidences and sharp right turns that might make you pause for thought on screen are explained via protagonist’s commentary along the lines of ‘yeah, I know – impossible to believe, right? But it happened…’
While I personally am a bigger fan of the series books, I’m sure fans of Coben will lap up this new stand-alone (well, a sequel in the very slightest sense) novel

Took a while to get in to this story but it gradually evolved into yet another intriguing and involving story.

I had to wake up early to read it! And just ordered the first book!

Kierce - my new favourite detective

Happy to get to read this, at the beginning I wasn’t sure as read as a tv series but then after the first two chapters I couldn’t put it down!

The story is read to continue and I cannot wait to learn more about Kierce and his past

Another book from Harlan Coben that I couldn’t put down. 25 years ago Sami was on a gap year travelling with acquaintances from school. They went to a nightclub in Feuengirola where he met an American girl, Anna. He decided to stay with Anna and moved into her apartment while his friends went on to Seville. They had an intense few days taking drugs, drinking, partying. One morning Sami wakes up and finds a horrid scene in the bedroom. So bad his dad tells him to get on a plane as soon as possible and get out of Spain. Sami is of Pakistani heritage and his dad is worried that the Police will automatically find him guilty of what has happened because of the colour of his skin.

Sami was going to go to medical school, after travelling, but he’s so distraught at what he thought happened that he goes down a completely different route and becomes a detective. Unfortunately that doesn’t go well and he’s eventually dismissed. He’s now married to a wonderful woman, has a beautiful son and trying to make ends meet by being a private detective and teaching a criminology class. One night a new lady comes to his class, he’s sure he recognises her but before he can speak to her she dashes off. He must find her as he’s convinced it was Anna.

He also finds out the killer of his partner from his days as a detective is being released from prison as the conviction is now deemed unsafe. The 2 stories intertwine and reach a dramatic conclusion. Great book.

Yet again another 5* read from Harlan Coben, a best selling author consistently at the top of his game. Imperative no spoilers, clues or indicators are leaked to spoil the trajectory of this convoluted thriller. The chief protagonist is now an ex detective (ex is explained in time) with a predictable career path in medicine destroyed before it could start. A tragic situation occurs which had shaped his youth and subsequent life. Now happily married with a career in criminology he recognises a face giving him a blast from the past that must be followed up. A mixture of memories, ex colleagues and current students from his criminology classes all assist in a slow, often torturous in depth investigation into two decades of secrets, lies and deceit that could result in several families lives including his own put in mortal danger. The pace never gives up as the relentless quest for answers reaches a worthy and realistic conclusion with yet another final sting in the tail. A class read on every level and cannot thank enough the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC.