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.

Another great read by Harlan Coben. This time we follow Sami Kierce (met before in Fool Me Once but can absolutely be read as a standalone) investing a mystery from his past. The plot is quite complex with a few side characters thrown in but isn’t too difficult to get to grips with. I didn’t guess the twist and was keen to read on to find out what happened.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot, or the publisher's blurb - instead I highly recommend that you read this for yourself!

This novel is a follow-on from "Fool Me Once", and once again features Sami Kierce. However - this can be read as a standalone even if you haven't read "Fool Me Once" - as there is plenty of background detail and description.

I love Harlan Coben's novels and was gripped from the start! There were so many twists and turns, red herrings, and not one but two main investigative strands to keep up with! I thought had inklings of what had actually happened in the Victoria Belmond case (I was not quite correct!) but didn't guess the final twist in the other case. The book also ended on something of a cliffhanger - which makes me hope that there will be another Sami Kierce novel!

Can't wait for more by Harlan Coben! The recent TV adaptations of some of his novels have been really enjoyable too - and I think this book would be a perfect addition.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Another great Harlen Coben thriller. Fast paced and hard to put down.
The only reason I couldn't rate this higher is because the story is so complex with lots of characters that at times I started to loose interest. There are so many parts to it that I got confused several times over who was tied up in which part of the story

Another absolute brilliant and engrossing read from Harlan!

Continuing from shortly afterwards the ending of the brilliant Fool Me once, Sami is now out of the force (as a direct result of what happened in the previous book) and is settled in NYC with his wife and new son. He has a few work jobs on, including teaching an adult learning class one evening a week. The class is advertised with his name, which one night attracts a person from Sami’s past to the door. A ghost from his past. A woman from decades ago, who should be long dead. And Sami knows this because he thinks he’s the one who killed her….

A tale that travels to Europe and back again, as Sami chases the ghosts from his past. Harlan doesn’t miss a twist and this book will keep you wanting more and completely involved in Sami’s continued story.

Another Netflix dramatisation awaits - just read the books as well please!

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review.

In this latest book by Harlan Coben, we catch up with Sami Kierce, who we first met in Fool Me Once through a sequel, this can easily be read as a standalone.
It took a while to warm up for me, but once it did, I was fully invested,Sami's "amateur sleuths" added body to the story, and the Sherlock Holmes quotes were an added bonus.
Throughout, we are made to wonder just what our minds really remember and can memories be trusted to reveal the truth or over time do past actions become distorted.
Having read all the authors books to date, I found this one to be a good read, but not one of his best. There was just a little something lacking,it wasn't the storyline or the delivery. I would just have liked a little bit more action along the way, but the unexpected ending made up for all that.
It is always a pleasure to read the new novel from one of the most exciting authors around.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK,Cornerstone for the ARC.

After the events of Fool Me Once, Former Detective Sami Kierce is disgraced - teaching Criminology at night school to make ends meet. But when a familiar face from his past walks through the door, it gives Sami the opportunity to get answers that he has been waiting decades for - answers which someone may have already killed for.

This is another fantastic Harlan Coben book - whilst it is a follow-up to Fool Me Once, it's very much a standalone book for most of the time covering Sami's past that led him to being a detective. An easy 5*.

An extremely enjoyable book about the loveable, but tenacious Sami Kierce.
No longer a detective, Sami is employed as a private investigator, however, he never expected to be investigating something that happened 25 years ago in his own past.
Fast paced, but not easy to guess the ending.

Another excellent read from this author. Gripping and hard to put down. Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Will look forward to reading more of his books

Sami Kierce is an ex cop who is hired to find out what happened to a girl who was presumed kidnapped years ago but had since reappeared. Lots of twists and turns in this excellent book. True Harlan Corben at his best