Member Reviews

I’m fairly new to Harlan Coben, my family have been reading his books for years……….for the life of me I cannot think why it’s taken me this long to discover this AMAZING writer. This is probably only my fifth Harlan Coben book and it’s a great feeling knowing I have so many of his books still to read!
Kami Pierce is a married man with a wife and young child, recently ‘let go’ by the police force and now teaching criminology. He has a secret from his past that only his father knows about a girl that he had a relationship with in Fuengirola, Spain………………he woke up one morning with a bloody knife in his hand and her beside him dead. Then she walks into his criminology class and promptly runs out again. That’s one storyline!

The other storyline involves a criminal who is getting out of jail early because of Kami’s misdemeanour in the police force. He was in for murder…..the murder of Kami’s girlfriend.

I was hooked from the start, completely intrigued and simply couldn’t put this book down. I have found any excuse to ignore housework, forego TV, even read it during my daily exercise on the treadmill and stayed up way later than I should have!. Every time I thought I was working things out, the plot took another twist or turn and I had to think again. Did I work it out before the ending was revealed……..hell no, not either storyline!
Just fantastic story telling! If I could give more than five stars……..I would!

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This detective story is a thrilling ride from start to finish! The pace is relentless, and just when you think you’ve figured it all out, another twist leaves you reeling. At the heart of it all is a tense mystery—kidnapping, disappearances, and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones. The stakes are high, and the emotional depth is palpable.

The story plays with social and wealth divides in ways that make every character’s choice feel consequential. The dual timeline adds layers of suspense, gradually revealing clues that keep you guessing until the final page. It’s a fast-paced, unpredictable, and deeply engaging story that leaves you questioning how far you’d go to protect the ones you love. If you're into tightly woven plots with shocking twists, this one will have you hooked.

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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! Good book! This book had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, a good who done it and a few crazy twists and turns! The story was interesting, it wasn't one of my top favorite but still worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

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There are not enough stars to give this book. Five is inadequate. I really love the way Harlan Coben is writing these days - still a masterful and exquisite storyteller but incorporating little Easter eggs for devoted fans and injecting some of his wit into some characters. I have a strange, new appreciation for and perspective on one of my old children's books, thanks to listening to Harlan at his signings and reading a particular paragraph in this book.
Harlan Coben is my favourite living writer and has been for 25 years, and now my teenage daughter is as much of a fan as I am. He writes in such a way that he captures your attention, captivates your imagination and completely immerses you in his world. I always need recovery time after finishing his books because my emotions have been pulled through the wringer and I can't actually hug the characters in the books.
Nobody's Fool is everything. It's intense, suspenseful, poetic, gentle, heartfelt, devastating and shocking. The twists are sharp and sometimes painful, the way his plots and characters intertwine are wonderfully clever and the ending is so much more than words can do justice to. I held my breath, I think I forgot to breathe. Not good for an asthmatic. I was all by myself reading this and found myself holding my breath at times and, at one point, actually saying "nooooo" out loud, to myself, as though I could somehow change the course of these characters' lives.
Read it with a very large cup of tea and some chocolate. You'll need it.

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ANOTHER GEM BY HARLAN COBEN

Harlan Coben is one of my "Go to" authors. Having been gifted a book by the author many years ago which got me back into reading big time. I was delighted therefore to be given the opportunity to review this book pre- release. The follow up book to "Fool me once".

Ex disgraced NYPD detective SamI Pierce now a private detective investigating smaller crimes largely for a legal practice and also teaching criminal classes to a disparate group which adds to the story enormously. One day a woman that he recognises as "Anna", somebody he met 22 years ago in Spain and believed was murdered there enters the classroom briefly. She quickly leaves the class with him in hot pursuit. Sami uses the class to help him investigate this woman.

In addition, a man convicted of murdering his fiancé many years ago has been released and protests his innocence asking that the legal practice he is working for investigate the murder afresh. Although unconvinced, he reluctantly agrees and also uses the class to help with that investigation too.

This, as expected is an excellent book with lots of surprising but believable twists and turns that made it, as with his other books a real page turner and I read it very quickly.

Thanks to Randomhouse UK, Cornerstone for an arc copy of the book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

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Teenager Sami Kierce woke up in his girlfriend (Anna)’s bed, after a drink and drug binge, to discover her dead and a bloody knife in his hand! They are in Fuengirola, Spain, but he is a US citizen of Pakistani origin so, although he reports the death to La Policía, he, fearing he will be stitched up, flees home. In the intervening twenty-two years between then and now he became a decorated DS in the NYPD before losing his job for procedural infringements. Now, married with a one-year-old son he works as an investigator for a lawyer and runs an evening class in criminology. Then, during one of his classes, a woman appears who looks so like Anna that he calls out her name. She panics and flees, he follows because . . . well wouldn’t you?
This is a sequel to the 2016 book “Fool Me Once” which is set in New York, US. It is not a sequel to the Netflix series based on the book, but set in Manchester, UK. It works perfectly well as a standalone. It is told by Sami, in the first person, and a lot of the pleasure in reading it comes from the language which Sami uses in conversation and in his mind, which provides a depth of personality that enhances the characterisation. The construction of the plot is extremely convoluted, but the author never loses track of it, and the reader is always invested in following as it unrolls, revealing new perspectives on Sami’s life, and slowly clarifying where Anna comes from and who she is. That may sound like this is a slow burn, so let me clarify that it is a fast read, with an unrelenting pace driven by the need to know the answers to all the questions it throws up. Needless to say, the dénouement does not disappoint. This is an easy 5.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

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Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin for my copy of Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben.
This is the follow up to Fool Me Once, which I haven't read but it didn't matter, it works as a standalone.
Once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
Sami Kierce has been been forced out of the police after an incident were a young man died.
But now he's seen someone, he thinks? Is it her? could it be her? The mystery starts and Sami will find the answer.
A book I couldn't put down.
Loved it !!!!!!!

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Well I was caught hook, line and sinker! Throughly enjoyed this book! I was captivated. The master has done it again!!!! Read it, you must!!!!!!

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Like many people, I have read several of Harlan Coben’s books and I find that they either work perfectly or fall well short of the mark when it comes to believable implausibility. Nobody’s Fool falls on the right side of believability with its tale of Sammy Kierce, a private detective who encounters a ghost from his past. I did not immediately link the book with Fool me Once, which also features Sammy Kierce, as the novel is set in the US and the Netflix series is set in the UK but I found the character of Sammy to be believable and engaging. A good, twisty psychological mystery which is well executed.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

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Fun and twisty. There is nothing more engrossing than a good psychological thriller. The characters of Sami and his wife Molly are very nicely developed and I pretty much inhaled this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

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Nobody's Fool is a great read, with a complex and twisting plot that never quite settles until the very end. Sami Kierce is no a former detective, running a night school class for a group of strange characters. A man walks into his class on night and he recognises her. But she died twenty plus years before.

Sami is convinced it is the same woman, so seeks the help of his students to find the truth. At the same time the man convicted of killing his fiancée is released. And his new family is being stalked.

A complicated take ensues with so many plot lines tangled around Sami. Can he and his crew of students work it all out? Nobody's Fool is engaging and the actions comes thick and fast. It's a compelling read.

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From the moment I watched Fool Me Once and read the book I knew I had to read the second book in this series. Sami story is just as gripping and keeps you hooked right to the very last page.

I can't wait to read more from Harlan.

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25 years ago, on holiday in Spain Detective Sami Kierce. meets Anna, one morning, he wakes up with a knife in his hand and Anna dead in the bed next to him.

25 Years later and Sami is at the height of his career but this event comes back to haunt him.

I loved this read. As usual with this autjor you get a drama packed read with more than a few twists and a couple of shocks.

Can't wait to see the TV series, which I am sure will happen soon..

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I enjoyed this overall. I liked Sami and his dry narrative. The pacing was good, every time it started to 'falter' something else kicked it all back off. The dual plot of Nicole and Victoria kept it interesting although the Nicole storyline didn't feel as developed and the resolution a little rushed.

There was something that I didn't understand in the wrap up of the Victoria case. Without spoilering in the review, it felt like one explanation invalidated another.

But overall I enjoyed the read.

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This is my first book by Harlan Coben and I really enjoyed. It really drew me in and I couldn’t put it down.
Twenty years ago Sami Keller was backpacking around Europe where he met Anna. They spent a few days together partying until he wakes up with a knife in his hand and no memory. Now he sees Anna all these years later, and the mystery begins..,
Thanks to NetGalley, Harlan Coben and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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Harlan Coben’s latest thriller picks up a year on from the events of Fool Me Once - a book which I haven’t read, but I’ve seen the Netflix series and it’s a very separate story so I didn’t feel like I was on the back foot.

This story centres on Detective Sami Kierce. 25 years ago, on holiday in Spain after graduation, Sami meets Anna and they have a whirlwind romance until, one morning, he wakes up with a knife in his hand and Anna dead in the bed next to him. A familiar start for anyone who remembers The Night Of…. especially as Sami was about to start a career in medicine.. but then things take a completely different turn compared to that completely traumatising tv series (although excellent if you’ve not seen it!)

25 years later, Sami has had a long career in the police force but has been sacked and is now a private detective/criminology night class teacher. Two things happen at once - the killer of his former fiancée is released from prison, and Anna turns up at one of his classes before running away!

Now Sami finds himself embroiled in finding out what really happened in Spain - alongside another thrilling mystery about a girl who disappeared at around the same time, and trying to prove that his fiancée’s killer really did kill her.

As always with Harlan, this was a fast-paced exciting thriller with lots of unexpected twists. It was hugely enjoyable - Sami is a great character, very witty as Harlan’s main characters often are; and the students in his class who help him out were good fun too! I couldn’t guess how it would all come together. Another great read!

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Absolutely amazing! If you're familiar either the author then you know to expect amazing writing, complex plots, twists and turns and to be completely transported into a world where you don't even know which way is up by the end. And that's exactly what you get. There is a lot going on, it's jot a light easy read you can skim whilst you're watching TV or you will completely get lost but its an amazing book to get lost in

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This book got me hooked completely from the beginning to the end, it was a real page turner and I expected no less from this author. Highly recommended and thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the novel.

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In the this, the follow up to Fool Me Once, we find Sami Kierce chasing a ghost from his past, trying to find the truth about what really happened when he was back packing in Spain 22 years ago.

A strong story with some very unexpected turns and a really interesting set of characters. Samis’ night school class are a lovely mix of everyday people, with their own quirks and background stories. I love Raymond, someone who most people would just ignore as they passed him in his spot on the streets; Arthur, the young lawyer in Samis’ corner, and Molly, the love of his life.

This book kept me reading through the night, as I just needed to know how it would all work out. I loved the final twist, along with the rest of this fast paced, intricate and satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I loved this twisty, turny thriller. It keeps you guessing, then guessing some more and even when you think you've got it, there's still one final twist. A Coben masterpiece in storytelling. The links to the previous Kierce book are brilliant. A book I couldn't put down.

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