There's a reason Harlan Coben is best-selling author and "Nobody's Fool" is the perfect example to showcase his masterful abilities.

"Nobody's Fool" creates a world that is both shocking and thrilling making for an absolute page turner. While this book is book 2 in the Detective Sami Kierce series, it feels that it would be possible to enjoy as a stand-alone.

From disgraced detective to night school teacher, Sami Kierce has had plenty of chaos in his life. When a mysterious woman walks into his classroom and then abruptly rushes back out, Kierce is forced to confront his past while solving a mystery in the present.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing for selecting me for this ARC. I enjoyed it.

A compelling thriller with true emotional resonance. Nobody’s Fool cements Sami Kierce as a memorable addition to Coben’s gallery of troubled yet heroic protagonists—nicely paced and satisfying, even as it nudges toward sequel setup.

If you've been craving a thriller that bites—and then lingers—grab this one.

I read this not knowing there was a Sami Kierce #1, but even still I enjoyed the characters and the story. What you think you know and what is real, becomes a big part of this book. I will watch for Sami Kierce #3.

Harlan Coben's Nobody's Fool delivers a quintessential Coben experience, packed with the signature plot twists that fans have come to expect and love. The story is undeniably intriguing, pulling you into a web of secrets and unexpected turns that keep you guessing.

While the narrative occasionally felt like it meandered, taking a few detours from the main path, these moments didn't detract significantly from the overall enjoyment. In fact, they often added layers of complexity that ultimately contributed to the surprising reveals. This is a genuinely fun and fast-paced read, perfect for those looking for a thrilling escape that will keep them on the edge of their seat until the very last page.

I have to admit this was my first Harlan Coben thriller read, not watched and I was thoroughly impressed. This book was indeed thrilling and a complete page turner. Special thanks to Harlan Coben's team, Random House UK, and Netgalley for allowing me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Following Sami Kierce's mission to the truth is so attention-gripping and astonishingly frustrating as he discovers the truth of a former lover's murder.... or disappearance? Is it also involving his former fiance's murder? And why are they now stalking his now wife?

Sami's determination, sarcasm, and wit in addition to his class full of misfit armchair sleuths make this book an incredibly funny, down to earth, and addictive read that is hard to put down.

You can always count on Harlan Coben to serve up a good mystery, and Nobody's Fool is no exception. If you've been craving a twisty story with a flawed lead, this one's worth your time.

Coben puts the reader back in the chaotic world of Sami Kierce, a private investigator juggling fatherhood, financial messes, and night school crime junkies. But don't let the domestic front fool you - Sami's still haunted by the morning that derailed his life in Spain two decades ago. One second, he was a carefree college backpacker; the next, he was covered in blood with a dead girlfriend, Anna, at his side. And a knife in his hand.

But it's the present-day hook that really hooked me in - Sami thinks he's finally out from under the weight of that trauma, and Anna walks into his classroom. Alive.

Coben does what he does best: slow-burn suspense mixed with short chapters that make it hard to put the book down. He drops just enough breadcrumbs to keep you guessing, and by the time you reach the end, everything clicks together in a way that's both satisfying and smart.

Nobody's Fool is a solid entry in the Kierce series. If you're looking for a reliable, well-crafted mystery with a compelling premise, this one's for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In Nobody’s Fool, Harlan Coben returns with a taut, emotionally charged thriller that doubles as a meditation on guilt, identity, and the corrosive power of buried secrets. The novel follows disgraced former detective Sami Kierce, now a private investigator and night school instructor, whose past resurfaces in the most jarring way: a woman he believed dead—Anna—appears in his classroom. Twenty-two years earlier, Kierce awoke in Spain beside her lifeless body, blood on his hands and no memory of what happened. Her reappearance triggers a desperate quest for truth that threatens to unravel everything he’s built since.

Coben’s thrillers are often praised for their breakneck pacing and twisty plots, but Nobody’s Fool distinguishes itself by leaning into psychological complexity and moral ambiguity. This isn’t just a whodunit—it’s a “who-am-I-if-I-did-it?” The dual timelines (Spain in 2000 and present-day New York) are masterfully interwoven, each revelation in the past casting new shadows on the present.

🌟 Strengths
Sami Kierce as Protagonist: Kierce is one of Coben’s most layered characters to date. He’s not a slick hero but a man haunted by trauma, trying to be a good husband, father, and teacher while grappling with the possibility that he may have once been a killer. His vulnerability is palpable, and his moral compass is constantly tested.

The dual timelines are not just a gimmick—they serve as a mirror, reflecting how trauma distorts memory and how the past refuses to stay buried.

From Kierce’s loyal wife Molly to his ragtag group of criminology students (nicknamed the “Pink Panthers”), the ensemble adds texture and warmth to the otherwise grim narrative.

The novel explores the cost of redemption, the slipperiness of truth, and the way privilege can warp justice—especially through the subplot involving the wealthy Belmond family and their missing daughter, Victoria.

⚖️ Minor Quibbles

- Coincidence Overload: Some plot turns rely heavily on serendipity, which may test the suspension of disbelief for more grounded readers.

- Pacing Dips: The middle third slows down as it delves into character backstory, but the final act more than compensates with a series of gut-punch revelations.

Nobody’s Fool is a standout in Coben’s oeuvre—less about the thrill of the twist and more about the ache of unresolved guilt. It’s a story that asks: what if the worst thing you ever did wasn’t what you remember, but what you chose to forget?

★★★★½☆
Recommended for: Fans of The Silent Patient, Gone for Good, and anyone who enjoys thrillers with emotional depth and ethical gray zones.

I love the character Sami Keirce! Keirce, disgraced cop turned PI was a wise guy with true cop skills. He gets entangled in an investigation that is more than personal. Good mystery with ample action and intrigue.

In a follow up to Nobody’s Fool, Coben continues the mystery world of the richest families in which the law, logic, and reality in general do not follow the same rules the rest of us live by daily. Kierce is not that likeable nor relatable. He uses crowdsourcing to info dump while quoting Sherlock. I don’t plan on hanging around for a book 3. I was joy a fan of the pace, but made it through because I wanted to see the twist at the end.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

We all remember our youthful indiscretions but sometimes those memories aren't accurate. This mystery hinges on a post-college European vacation, when a romantic tryst goes bad and ends in the death of a young woman. The principle character at this novel's core is the woman's lover. We move on to modern times when the man is now a private detective and recent ex-cop. He thinks he sees the woman in one of his adult night-school classes, and gets involved in her life. There are too many plot twists and turns to recount here, and the timeline of the European trip and the modern era are woven back and forth expertly. Of course, by the end of the novel you finally have what appears to have happened, how various characters made various mistakes, and what their motivations were at the time. Coben still can tell a tale and for mystery fans will enjoy this book.

According to the old saying: “Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me.” Judging by that standard, most of Harlan Coben’s devoted readers are fools many times over. And judging by his book sales, they enjoy that status. Coben’s latest thriller, “Nobody’s Fool,” brings back a protagonist from an earlier novel, former New York City police detective Sami Kierce. (That earlier book is aptly named “Fool Me Once.”) In his latest adventure, Kierce must solve three interrelated mysteries, two of them from his own past. The result is a fascinating thriller that will keep readers guessing until the last page.

“Nobody’s Fool” begins with a prologue set some 20 years earlier when college student Kierce and some friends spent a holiday in Spain. Kierce had a whirlwind fling with a young woman he met, leaving his pals behind. The romance didn’t end well when he woke up one morning holding a bloody knife next to the woman’s dead body. Kierce followed his father’s advice and fled the country, never revealing what happened to anyone else. In the present day, Kierce’s life isn’t much better. He’s been kicked out of the police force because of a lawsuit filed by the family of a high school student who died from a fall while being chased by Kierce. His primary source of income is teaching a night school criminology course.

Kierce’s life changes when he recognizes one of his new students as the supposedly dead girlfriend from two decades ago. He follows her and learns that she is Victoria Belmond, a woman from a very wealthy family who mysteriously disappeared as a teenager on December 31, 1999 (the eve of Y2K). She then, just as mysteriously, reappeared in a Maine diner a decade later. Victoria claims to have amnesia regarding the missing decade, and there is no external evidence about her activities or whereabouts during that time. Kierce’s financial situation improves tremendously when Victoria’s father hires him to investigate what happened to his daughter during the missing decade.
I mentioned Kierce must solve three interrelated mysteries in “Nobody’s Fool.” This third mystery involves the death of his fiancée soon after he joined the police. The woman’s abusive ex-boyfriend was convicted of her murder, but his conviction has just been vacated because of Kierce’s problems with the law. The ex-boyfriend insists he’s innocent, and he and his lawyer persuade Kierce to look into the murder again.

I always thought that Ross MacDonald, creator of Lew Archer, wrote the best complex mysteries of any hardboiled author. MacDonald’s plots often involved years-old crimes that had remained buried until Archer began poking around. The plot of “Nobody’s Fool” could have come straight from an Archer novel, with the added complication that Sami Kierce is a primary character in the mysteries he’s trying to solve. He must reevaluate his own memories about his college fling and what happened afterward. The novel’s storyline becomes increasingly complex, but mostly, it is easy for readers to follow. Harlan Coben surpasses Ross MacDonald by introducing multiple twists and surprises that lead readers to reassess their opinions about past events. Fans of whodunit mysteries will enjoy “Nobody’s Fool” although the question isn’t “whodunit” but “what really happened.”

Much of what Kierce discovers is depressing, but the author lightens the book’s mood with a healthy dose of humor. Kierce can dispense wisecracks with the best of them. Part of the fun lies in the nicknames he gives some of the book’s characters, such as Scraggly Dude, Golf Shirt Gary, and the Pink Panthers. Those last two nicknames refer to students in Kierce’s criminology class that he recruits to help with some of the background research on the case. The Panthers are septuagenarians who find solving actual crimes a hoot. Gary always wears a golf shirt for class as a reminder of the incident that changed his life for the worse. His tale of woe is one of the best and saddest anecdotes in the book. The author maintains an appropriate tone throughout the novel. As the storyline becomes less pleasant, the author drops most of the humorous asides to preserve the proper mood.

I had some minor problems with the plotting in the book. The ultimate resolution depends on a couple of huge coincidences of the sort that never occur in real life but are common in crime fiction, helping authors and protagonists out of trouble. More important for me was the author’s reference to the earlier book in this series. Authors don’t have to recap everything that happened earlier in a series. However, if events in a previous book affect what happens in the current story, the author should give readers enough of the backstory to avoid confusion. Here, events in the earlier volume, “Fool Me Once,” impact “Nobody’s Fool.” However, unless readers are familiar with the earlier story or (like me) do some internet research, the author’s vague references will be more confusing than informative. Harlan Coben is too good a writer to have such sloppiness, even in a small part of the novel.

Despite these minor annoyances, “Nobody’s Fool” is one of the best Harlan Coben novels I’ve read. Sami Kierce is a likable character with a complex, realistic life story. The book also features entertaining secondary characters, some of whom appear only for a chapter or two. Above all, this is one tricky puzzler of a novel whose twists caught me entirely by surprise more than once. “Nobody’s Fool” is Harlan Coben at the top of his game.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

While Harlan Coben is definitely one of my favorite suspense authors, Nobody’s Fool missed the mark for me. The plot (an old murder, a shocking reappearance, and a haunted ex-detective) had serious potential, but I found the execution of this story a bit flat.

I struggled to get into the book from the first pages, and while I did start enjoying it more as I got further into the story, the plot twists felt more convoluted than clever. There were some glimmers of intrigue, but overall, this one felt more like a recycled story with new names. Not terrible, just not on par with previous books from one of my favorite authors.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben is a gripping, fast-paced thriller packed with sharp twists and emotional depth. Coben delivers his signature blend of suspense and heart, keeping readers hooked from the first page to the last. A must-read for fans of smart, character-driven mysteries.

This is another winner from Harlan Coben.

What would you do if the woman you thought you might have killed twenty years ago showed up at your night class?

Sami Kierce is an ex-cop who is a private investigator and teaches a class in night school about criminology called "No Sh*t, Sherlock." He has a loving wife and a baby, but it still haunted by an incident years ago when he met Anna, spent a heady week with her, and thought she died when in bed with him. He ran to the police, but when they went back there was no body and no evidence of a crime. He also lost a fiancee to murder, and her killer has just been released due to evidence being overturned. Despite all of this, he's happy with his life.

Now, twenty or so years later, a woman walks into his class, then runs away. He's sure it is Anna. He follows her, and gets involved in solving who she really was, what happened to her those many years ago, and how (or if) this connects to his fiancee's killer's release.

What I love about Coben's books are the twists. There are several that completely change the direction of the story, some of which you might see coming, but others will shock you! His books also have a little light in them. There may not be complete justice, but you know that give things are going to happen in the story. I also love how he created several minor characters who make a huge impact on what happens and what he learns.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller and a good love story. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

Harlan Coben was an author I initially checked out after reading The Outsider by Stephen King. (The highest of honors to have the king of horror mention you!). I read I Will Find You in one sitting. I did not expect Nobody's Fool to be the same. I love when a book is only kinda predictable, and this was no exception. Mr. Coben, you have become an auto buy author for me.

Love Coben’s books! This one (detective Sami Kierce #2) is as great as other ones i have read. Situations of loved ones missing and murdered abound. Great clues and investigative work . Sami’s an ex cop but still continues his efferts to solve crime, especially when they involve his past. This is a must read for mystery thriller fans.

Nobody's Fool
by Harlan Coben
Pub Date: Mar 25 2025
I think we can all agree that Harlan Coben is a great thriller/mystery writer. Nobody's Fool is no exception.
Sami Kierce is a disgraced former police officer now turned to an off-the-books investigator. He is finally in a good place: loving wife, adorable one-year-old son, and news about his fall from grace has died down.
Just as the dust is settling, a ghost from his past emerges. His first love, who he last saw covered in blood dead after a wild few days (oh and he was the one holding the knife), just walked into his night class and, upon making eye contact, bolted. He has to find out if it's really her. Could the past he's been running from still be alive? And, if that's not enough, since being stripped of his badge, several of his former cases are being reviewed for any possible improper procedures that might get criminals freed. One of his most important cases where his second love and fellow police officer was shot dead execution style is one of the cases being reviewed, and the criminal found guilty is being released. Now, he has to find more evidence to prosecute the killer and lock him back up and make sure it's all by the book.
With these two twisted cases suddenly being thrust back in his life, Sami finds his life and his family's life in danger.
Good intertwining of past and present with twists and turns at every corner.
#NobodysFool
#HarlanCoben
#netgalley

As usual, Halran Coben hits with a punch! Loved all the twists and turns and the ending was perfect. Thanks for the ARC!

I’ve read some Harlan Coben books before and enjoyed them, but I have by no means read them all. But this one gives me the resolve to read more.

There were many twists and turns here, and I will confess that I did not figure it all out. The author had me fooled from the beginning. So many mysteries, in different countries even, and I really admire the writing, the intricate plotting, and the way it was all tied up in the end.

Every little detail was addressed in a really crazy devious tale that I’d never have thought of in a million years!

This one is a five star read for me!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Sami Kierce is a former (disgraced) NYPD detective just barely scraping by. One night the night school class he teaches, a woman enters and there is an immediate recognition. This is the woman he met in Spain, 20+ years ago. The woman he thought he killed. Sami he begins, investigating the woman and finds out that she is Victoria Bertrand, the famous victim of a kidnapping. Sami feels compelled to find out what really happened to Victoria and he is drawn into a deadly game.

For some reason, this book didn’t draw me in as much as Coben’s other books. The ending is good, and I liked the resolution with the main case and the side case in the book. The beginning of this book in particular just didn’t do it for me. I did like the kidnapping case and the twists and turns.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of this book.