A review by jayneyh314
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Maya’s husband, Joe, was murdered right in front of her in Central Park but as she tries to adjust to life as a single Mother she sees him on her nanny cam. How can this be? Now, unable to even believe her own eyes, she starts to question everything and the more she digs the worse the situation becomes. 

This book was on my shelves, which means I must have read it at some point but I honestly don’t remember so after being approved for the sequel on NetGalley I decided to read this one again first. 

I really enjoy Coben’s work. You always know what you’re going to get, there will be crime, intrigue, and twists and turns galore. I always find them to be quite quick reads too so I have flown through this. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember it. His writing just has a really nice flow and I often find myself promising “just one more chapter”. 

I love Maya. She’s such a flawed character. She’s desperate to protect everyone around her, so much so that she pushes them away more often than not. 

There’s quite a lot going on in this one but all centred around this central issue of Joe’s murder with threads weaving their way out from there. 

Whist it’s not told in first person narrative the story is very much centred on Maya and her perspective so we do get a very one sided viewpoint and we learn things alongside Maya, which I enjoyed. 

I don’t want to give too much away but whilst I had put together some parts of the story there were still some surprises for me. 

I’m intrigued as to how this has been translated to the screen, particularly as Coben’s work tends to be moved to the U.K. for the adaptations and gun violence features fairly heavily in this one and ballistic evidence plays quite a pivotal role. I must get round to watching it at some point. 

Overall, it’s exactly as you’d expect from a Coben book.