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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Harlen Coben returns once again with a compelling story featuring Sami Kierce, a character we first met in the book and Netflix drama, Fool Me Once. Having left the NYPD, Sami now works as an investigator for a law firm while also teaching a criminology class at a prestigious academy adult night school.
Which is where everything shifts dramatically when a woman he recognizes as Anna walks into his classroom—someone he believed was dead for twenty-five years after their fateful encounter in Spain.
But the moment Anna locks eyes with Sami, she bolts, leaving him in a state of shock and confusion, especially since he has always believed himself to be her killer.
However, this revelation sends Sami on a relentless quest for answers. Especially as he's not one to back down when seeking the truth.
And with intertwining plotlines and expertly crafted suspense, Nobody's Fool will take you on a thrilling ride filled with twists, surprises, and edge-of-your-seat moments that only Harlen can deliver. But seriously prepare yourself for a gripping read that will keep you guessing until the very end!
My thanks to NetGalley for my copy of Nobody's Fool. All thoughts expressed are my own. ☺️
Which is where everything shifts dramatically when a woman he recognizes as Anna walks into his classroom—someone he believed was dead for twenty-five years after their fateful encounter in Spain.
But the moment Anna locks eyes with Sami, she bolts, leaving him in a state of shock and confusion, especially since he has always believed himself to be her killer.
However, this revelation sends Sami on a relentless quest for answers. Especially as he's not one to back down when seeking the truth.
And with intertwining plotlines and expertly crafted suspense, Nobody's Fool will take you on a thrilling ride filled with twists, surprises, and edge-of-your-seat moments that only Harlen can deliver. But seriously prepare yourself for a gripping read that will keep you guessing until the very end!
My thanks to NetGalley for my copy of Nobody's Fool. All thoughts expressed are my own. ☺️
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book starts off so chaotic. I do think that it all comes together nicely at the end with so interesting twists and turns. I don't love the main character Sami Kierce - I just thought he was unlikeable. I did enjoy the other supporting character - most specifically his "class" of "private investigators". They really brought levity and humor into the overarching story.
Based on this - I would reach for Harlan Coben again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Based on this - I would reach for Harlan Coben again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
just finished Nobody’s fool by @harlancoben another great one. So many twists and turns I could not guess what was going to happen next. I can’t wait for you all to read that one! I didn’t want to finish it but cannot wait until the next book!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my first Harlan Coben book, believe it or not. He's written so many books, and I read a lot of thrillers, so I don't know how I haven't read any of his before. It definitely won't be my last, though!
This detective, disgraced ex-cop Sami Kierce, is certainly an interesting character. He grapples with an unresolved past all while trying to muddle through a complicated present. His class of amateur sleuths gives me vibes of Only Murders in the Building. The pacing is on point, and the twists keep me guessing.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an complimentary Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Expected publication date is March 25, 2025.
This detective, disgraced ex-cop Sami Kierce, is certainly an interesting character. He grapples with an unresolved past all while trying to muddle through a complicated present. His class of amateur sleuths gives me vibes of Only Murders in the Building. The pacing is on point, and the twists keep me guessing.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an complimentary Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Expected publication date is March 25, 2025.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nobody’s Fool is sharp, fast, action packed and utterly gripping.
Sami Kierce thought he left his past behind—until a ghost from 22 years ago walks back into his life. What follows is a fast-paced, mind-bending mystery packed with secrets, suspense, and that signature Coben twist that left me SHOCKED. Every chapter had me saying “just one more” until it was wayyyy past my bedtime.
✨ If you love:
✔️ Jaw-dropping twists
✔️ Unsolved mysteries coming back to haunt
✔️Action-Packed
✔️ A thriller that keeps you guessing
Then you NEED this book on your TBR!
📚🔥
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am not sure why this book was made into a connected series. Is it to be able to use the same cast for another season? Fool Me Once introduced detective Roger Kierce as a side character. Nobody’s Fool has “the same” detective as the main character— only his name is Sami and he’s now a young Pakistani American former detective. I don’t get it. It didn’t work. And he was written with weird/cringe boomer male commentary as well. There’s really no comparison between the first and second book in this series.
I might have even rated it 1 star because someone needs to give Vikas Adam the feedback that his female character voices are beyond offensive. Please tone it down.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance audiobook copy
I might have even rated it 1 star because someone needs to give Vikas Adam the feedback that his female character voices are beyond offensive. Please tone it down.
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance audiobook copy
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A year after the events of “Fool Me Once” and life looks a little different for former Detective Sami Kierce as events from his past come back to haunt him. During a break from college Sami and his friends went on a trip around Europe, until Sami met a girl, Anna, and decided to stay in Spain with her rather than continue on the trip. All is going well until he wakes up one morning next to her dead body, covered in bloody and holding a knife. He panics, and runs. In the present day he’s now an unlicensed private investigator who teaches a class on criminology and when Anna walks into and then straight back out of his classroom one day he chases after her and becomes embroiled in a decades long mystery with one of New York’s wealthy families.
“Nobody’s Fool” is due to be published on 27 March and I received an eArc via NetGalley and the publisher Random House UK, in exchange for this honest review.
Firstly, if, like me, you’ve come to this after reading the book of “Fool Me Once” and not having watched the Netflix show you may be a little confused. Sami Kierce was originally Roger Kierce in the book but Coben seems to have decided to switch up the character a little to match the Netflix version of him instead.
I really enjoyed this. Coben is on fine form. There are twists and turns galore, we get some great returning characters with the Burkett family from “Fool Me Once” making another appearance and a brief mention of Frank Ache who I’ve seen in some of the Myron Bolitar books.
There’s kind of two stories running on this one. There’s the mystery around Anna from Sami’s college days and also Tad Grayson, the man who murdered Sami’s fiancee has been released from prison on the basis of Sami’s misconduct whilst he was a Detective, in part due to the events of “Fool Me Once”, and Sami is keen to prove that he’s guilty and get him back in prison. My one complaint would be that there wasn’t enough time given to the Tad Grayson storyline. It’s not a particularly long book and I felt the end of that storyline in particular was a little rushed and would have benefitted from a few more pages being given to it.
I loved the students in Kierce’s class. They were such a little rag tag bunch and, again, a slightly higher page count would have allowed for more time to be given to developing them a little more.
If you’re a fan of Coben’s work this will definitely be for you, it’s fast paced and full of twists and turns to keep you gripped from beginning to end.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Former Detective Sami Kierce is now teaching night classes. It is there that his past from 25 years ago hits him right in the face. A woman he was afraid he killed just walked into his class. He met Anna while he was backpacking in Spain with friends in 2000. His friends moved on and he stayed with her until he woke up one morning with a knife in his hand, covered in blood, and Anna dead.
The woman runs from his classroom as soon as he sees her. That moment in Malaga is heavily etched in his memory. Could Anna truly be alive? Is he hallucinating? What really happened that night? He can’t let it go. He has to find her. But he may regret tracking her down. Should the past remain in the past? Could it be dangerous? Will someone else die? Could Sami be killed? Is he putting his wife and young son in jeopardy?
Fool Me Once was released on March 22, 2016. It quickly became a favorite Coben thriller. While I remembered much about the story, I was thrilled that Netflix adapted it and released it in an 8-episode limited series last year which I binge-watched a few weeks ago. This not only made the story fresh in my mind, but it also put faces on Sami and the characters who join Sami Kierce in Nobody’s Fool.
Sami went through a lot in Fool Me Once, he is no longer a detective but works as a private investigator and teaches a night class in criminology with some very interesting students. He is still in contact with his ex-partner Marty and is married to Molly with an infant son named Henry. Life wasn’t great but they were getting by when his past walks back in his life. Molly and Henry are good for Sami, they keep him grounded as chaos starts to surround him. Their love is palpable and Molly is a treasure. Sami is a smart man with a good heart and when he starts something he intends to finish it, no matter where the clues lead. All the characters in this story are complex and well-crafted. Their interactions feel true and I enjoy the humor and sarcasm I have come to expect in Mr. Coben’s stories.
Mr. Coben never disappoints. Nobody’s Fool is full of plotlines twisted together with tons of action and suspense. Kierce has his class working a cold case after the guilty party was released from prison on a technicality. They have also convinced him to let them help with the Anna matter. As much as you try to figure out where the author is taking his characters and us readers, my advice is to just hold on and enjoy the ride because there are twists upon twists, turns upon turns, surprises, and edge-of-your-seat moments that only Harlan Coben can provide. I have to say the unexpected ending threw me for a loop. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Wow! Just WOW! Then stay tuned for the cliffhanger.
Nobody’s Fool is a fast-paced suspense thriller that blew me away. Another extraordinary story from Mr. Harlan Coben. I hope NetFlix picks this one up too. I already felt like I was watching all the drama, tension, and suspense unfold before my eyes so I would love to see what they would do with it. I also hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years for another Detective Sami Kierce book because I am very intrigued to see where life takes him next.
Look for Nobody’s Fool on my Best Reads of 2025. I encourage you to preorder your copy today!
Former Detective Sami Kierce is now teaching night classes. It is there that his past from 25 years ago hits him right in the face. A woman he was afraid he killed just walked into his class. He met Anna while he was backpacking in Spain with friends in 2000. His friends moved on and he stayed with her until he woke up one morning with a knife in his hand, covered in blood, and Anna dead.
The woman runs from his classroom as soon as he sees her. That moment in Malaga is heavily etched in his memory. Could Anna truly be alive? Is he hallucinating? What really happened that night? He can’t let it go. He has to find her. But he may regret tracking her down. Should the past remain in the past? Could it be dangerous? Will someone else die? Could Sami be killed? Is he putting his wife and young son in jeopardy?
Fool Me Once was released on March 22, 2016. It quickly became a favorite Coben thriller. While I remembered much about the story, I was thrilled that Netflix adapted it and released it in an 8-episode limited series last year which I binge-watched a few weeks ago. This not only made the story fresh in my mind, but it also put faces on Sami and the characters who join Sami Kierce in Nobody’s Fool.
Sami went through a lot in Fool Me Once, he is no longer a detective but works as a private investigator and teaches a night class in criminology with some very interesting students. He is still in contact with his ex-partner Marty and is married to Molly with an infant son named Henry. Life wasn’t great but they were getting by when his past walks back in his life. Molly and Henry are good for Sami, they keep him grounded as chaos starts to surround him. Their love is palpable and Molly is a treasure. Sami is a smart man with a good heart and when he starts something he intends to finish it, no matter where the clues lead. All the characters in this story are complex and well-crafted. Their interactions feel true and I enjoy the humor and sarcasm I have come to expect in Mr. Coben’s stories.
Mr. Coben never disappoints. Nobody’s Fool is full of plotlines twisted together with tons of action and suspense. Kierce has his class working a cold case after the guilty party was released from prison on a technicality. They have also convinced him to let them help with the Anna matter. As much as you try to figure out where the author is taking his characters and us readers, my advice is to just hold on and enjoy the ride because there are twists upon twists, turns upon turns, surprises, and edge-of-your-seat moments that only Harlan Coben can provide. I have to say the unexpected ending threw me for a loop. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Wow! Just WOW! Then stay tuned for the cliffhanger.
Nobody’s Fool is a fast-paced suspense thriller that blew me away. Another extraordinary story from Mr. Harlan Coben. I hope NetFlix picks this one up too. I already felt like I was watching all the drama, tension, and suspense unfold before my eyes so I would love to see what they would do with it. I also hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years for another Detective Sami Kierce book because I am very intrigued to see where life takes him next.
Look for Nobody’s Fool on my Best Reads of 2025. I encourage you to preorder your copy today!