Reviews

Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

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kiri_a's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The journey just seemed ok but I loved the ending as I did not see it coming and it was very fast paced and exciting. The epilogue seemed unnecessary though.

roro_roro's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

mattarkwright's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

aqsa_ayman's review against another edition

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2.0

I think if you summarise the plot, it's intriguing, and with the kind of twists you'd expect from a good mystery novel. The issue was that most of the book was spent dragging along until the final thrilling chapters, where everything comes together.

I was quite curious about reading a perspective on PTSD and war crimes from a female soldier, but Maya was too dull and stoic for me to feel engaged. Most of the build up of the novel is spent with her asking the same questions to herself over and over, considering and then refusing to share what she's learnt with her friends, and getting pissed off when they try to share their theories.

The end sorta kinda maybe made it worth it. It gave Maya some depth, a chance for the readers to think about her actions without being spoon fed her every thought. And it was a pretty unique story overall.

heather_renae's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jbrownleo's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First time reading a book by Coben and it won’t be the last. This story was great. Fast paced and twisty. I thought I had guessed the ending but I didn’t (although I guessed a small part). Every twist seemed to make sense and the ending was not what I hoped but what it needed to be. I really wished to have known more about the characters. I feel like Coben wrote just enough to get you invested but not enough to give a better understanding of what made them the way they were. Money was a primary motivator within the story and I just didn’t buy it for everyone. There were certain characters that made questionable choices and there wasn’t really an explanation other than money. But the overall book was fantastic and I recommend for mystery /thriller readers for sure.