Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben delivers a fast-paced, twist-filled mystery that keeps readers hooked. The protagonist, is a well-crafted, relatable character whose journey through secrets and revelations is both suspenseful and engaging. Coben excels at building tension and creating unexpected twists, making the book hard to put down.

While the story is thrilling, there are moments where the plot feels a bit predictable, and the ending could have been fleshed out more. Still, it’s an enjoyable read for fans of Coben’s work and those who enjoy a gripping, character-driven mystery.

Another great Harlan Coben! He is the master of twists and turns. In this book he has revisited his signature style of resurrecting someone who has disappeared but seeming returns. The quest becomes- find out what happened. While Coben has used this technique before, he manages to make it seem fresh. I was unable to put this down. It kept me going right to the end. Thanks Net Galley for this ARC opportunity.

Harlan Coben’s “Nobody’s Fool” was a page-turner! I’ve seen his TV series, but this was my first book. I was instantly hooked on the main character, Sami. If you’re a fan of twisty thrillers, you’ll love this fast-paced novel. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in just over a day. Coben is definitely an author I’ll be reading again.

IF you have read Harlan Coben from the beginning in 1990 like I have, you will be familiar with the WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON mysteries that Coben writes. Within his 37 novels are the Mickey Bolitar series which, though most of the 15 novels are dated now, are typical mysteries about a sports manager and his rich and wacky sidekick. I love them. But Coben also has many more stand-alone thrillers where the reader is taken for a wild ride not knowing, well, what is going on!
A little out of the usual, Coben has written his second detective Sami Kierce novel with Nobody’s Fool. A year after the conclusion of Fool Me Once, 2015, we find Det. Kierce disgraced and no longer a police detective in New York. While teaching a group of misfits (who later help him solve what is going on) in night school, Kierce sees a woman in the back of the room who he thought he killed while a backpacker in Spain 25 years before.
But of course, she runs, he chases and the thriller begins. Did he actually kill the girl in Spain? Is this the same person? Nobody’s Fool is another in a very long list of complex Coben novels that are powerful, fun, thrilling and a joy to read. The belief that he killed this girl has haunted Kierce for 25 years, so he will stop at nothing to find out the truth. His band of quirky criminology students are perfect characters to allow a bit of humor into the novel. And as usual, you really have a hard time figuring out what is going on until toward the end when clues start dropping. Shock and twists are Coben’s forte, and you will find this latest novel the same.
The only problem I have with the novel is that a few important scenes have been left out of the book with only a catch-up paragraph used to move the story along. I would have preferred the book to be longer (when do you say that!?) and details flushed out and the storyline more developed at times.
But truthfully, I wait every year for another Coben book – and I have been doing this for 35 years. I am obviously a big fan of Coben and Nobody’s Fool does not disappoint.
This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. Nobody's Fool will be published on March 25, 2025.

Nobody's Fool contains some of the same characters as Fool Me Once but can totally be read as a stand alone novel. Nobody's Fool starts with Sami Kierce seeing a face from the past - the face of a woman he thought was dead. With that premise, readers are taken on a long and winding chase to find out the true identity of the lady, what really happened to Sami all those years ago while also solving the mystery of a reclusive once kidnapped heiress and brining a killer to justice. There are a lot of moving parts but the addition of Sami's armature detective night school students help weave the plot together.

In Nobody's Fool, Harlan Coben delivers a gripping thriller that masterfully intertwines the past and present, plunging readers back into the life of former Detective Sami Kierce. A year after the unsettling events of Fool Me Once, Sami finds himself haunted by a dark secret from his college days that resurfaces in a way he never anticipated.

The story begins with a harrowing memory: during a backpacking trip in Spain, Sami wakes up in a panic, covered in blood with a knife in hand beside the lifeless body of his girlfriend, Anna. Confused and terrified, he flees, leading to a life marked by guilt and unanswered questions. Fast forward twenty-two years, Sami is now a private investigator and a new father, trying to navigate a life filled with low-level surveillance work and teaching night classes in New York City.

Everything changes when he spots a woman in his class who resembles Anna. Initially dismissing it as a figment of his imagination, the moment they lock eyes causes her to flee, igniting a desperate quest for truth. Determined to uncover the mystery that has haunted him for decades, Sami plunges into the thrilling search for Anna, leading to a rollercoaster of twists and revelations.

Nobody's Fool is a compelling exploration of memory, guilt, and the shadows of the past. Coben's expertly crafted narrative keeps readers on the edge of their seats, inviting them to uncover the truth alongside Sami as he confronts not only the mystery of Anna's fate but also the repercussions of choices made long ago. This thrilling read is perfect for fans of suspense and emotional depth in storytelling.

In 1999, a wealthy teenage girl goes missing in NYC. In the early 2000s, a college-aged girl is murdered in Spain. Fast forward to 2011, and the missing girl is finally found. Jump to the present day, and the supposedly murdered girl turns up alive—right in former NYPD Detective Sami Kierce's class. Currently teaching at a somewhat dubious community college, Sami recognizes her immediately since he's the one who might have been responsible for her murder. Following her to a heavily guarded palatial estate, his detective instincts kick into high gear.

But the surprises don't end there. The man who murdered Sami's fiancée is about to be released from prison, his conviction overturned due to Sami's dishonorable discharge from the force.

Sami's troubles mount as his wife and infant son become targets of a stalker, seemingly an ex-con. With all these events unfolding simultaneously, it’s clear that this is no coincidence.

Joined by his ex-partner and a group of his students, Sami delves into the tangled web of mysteries. This book had me laughing out loud and on the edge of my seat. As a fan of other Harlan Coben books and his Netflix mini-series, I found this thrilling mystery utterly engaging. I hope to see it adapted for TV and would love for Mr. Coben to revisit these characters in future works.

My love for this author started with the first book. He has never let me down and this book was no exception!

While not a Bolitar book - I sometimes felt maybe Sami might be related. His wit, sarcasm and nice guy attitude all reminded me of Myron
But I adore Sami and hope to see him in many more books.

With his usual style and phrasing, twist and turns and great storytelling Mr. Coben show us he is still one of the great mystery writers.

This is such a good book!!! It is a perfect thriller with so many twists and turns. You never really know where the book is going. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

With my list of books to be read and reviewed bordering on one hundred, I'm finding it more and more difficult to pick my next read. However, as soon as I received my approval for this one, there was no hesitation whatsoever.

This was another remarkable, memorable read by an author that has yet to write anything less than brilliant. The protagonist was flawed but well-rounded and highly intriguing with his tragic past and oftentimes questionable decisions. This was suspenseful and heartbreaking, yet the humor sprinkled throughout gave this the perfect balance. Needless to say, Harlan Coben has knocked it out of the park once again. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing, for this ARC.

This story follows disgraced former Detective Sami Kierce and let me say.. I love Sami Kierce. I love his narration, his humor, his details.

We get background on an event that changed his life 21 years ago and with it a story with a mix of wit and twists between his past and present that create a fantastic and suspenseful story.

Kierce is also teaching an adults night class and it’s perfect because Kierce’s students are wonderful side characters that really help the narration.

I hope this isn’t the last we hear from Sami Kierce!

Harlan Coben can do no wrong! He truly is a master at suspense, spine tingling creepy moments and page turning drama that kept me reading way past my bedtime.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy Nobody’s Fool. All opinions are my own.

Harlan Coben has a way of bringing a thriller to life with sarcasm and humor like no other author I read. Nobody’s Fool is no different with the first-person perspective of the main character, Sami Kierce. He is flawed, unlucky, and caught between the past and moving on with his family. Kierce first appeared in Fool Me Once, but this novel can easily stand alone. The book moves very fast from beginning to end but the ending was FAST and wrapped up very quickly, if not a little too quickly.

Years ago, in his college days, Sami Kierce wakes up in bed, in Spain, with a bloody knife and the dead body of his summer fling next to him. Years later, the former detective, now investigator, sees the same woman alive and well in New York. What follows is a crazy, twisty hunt for answers. The overall premise is bizarre (in the best possible way). The reader will have to come to terms with several ideas in this story: What is family? Should you let sleeping dogs lie? What promises should you keep?

Harlen Coben at his finest! Whether you’re a long time enthusiast or a first time reader of his, if you enjoy crime fiction, you will really enjoy this one. Packed with lots of suspense, this twisty page turner will keep you reading and guessing til the very last page.

Disgraced and removed from the NYPD, Detective Sami Kierce is facing demons from his college days when he and several friends traveled to the Costa Del Sol, Spain and Sami ditched his friends for a beautiful young woman, Anna. Upon awakening one morning, Sami is covered in blood, holding a knife and Anna is dead beside him. Years later as he’s teaching a night class on how to solve crimes, a familiar female face enters the classroom for a brief minute, which sets Sami off on a quest to find this woman and solve the mysterious crime that has preyed upon his mind for twenty-five years. If you love fast paced thrillers that engage you as an armchair detective, this one will not disappoint! As an author of 37 books with over 80 million copies in print, Harlen Coben still has the magic formula!

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Harlen Coben for giving this amateur sleuth many hours of reading enjoyment in exchange for my honest opinion. Publication date - Match 25

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben
Publishing Date: March 25, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of this book. This was an interesting read from the start. I’ve read several books by Harlan and have always been a fan of his thriller page turners. Can definitely see this one being made into a Netflix show. Highly recommend it.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben
(P.I. Sami Pierce, Book #2)
Genre: Thriller
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of this book. Loved this one! Although I didn’t read book 1 it was very easy to follow along. Such a page turner. Now I must read book 1.

Book 2 in the Detective Sammi Kierce Series takes place over two timelines. One being 2000 in Malaga and the other current day in New York City. First introduced to Sammi in Fool Me Once where he had a low profile, here he takes centre stage as his past comes back to haunt him.

What follows is in engaging story that came with the usual Harlan Cohen style in terms of red herrings, twists, unreliable characters and an interesting plot. Though it did take me a little bit to get captivated with the story once I did I was thoroughly entertained as I tried to decipher the clues and figure out what was actually taking place. There were many layers that wove together to an ending I really didn't see coming - that's why Harlan Coben is one of my auto-read author, he keeps me guessing.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review. You can find Nobody’s Fool on sale March 25

In his second page-turning outing, former police detective and now private investigator Sami Kierce is haunted by a passionate very brief relationship he had right after college on a trip abroad with his friends. He spends four days immersed in fun partying and drugs with Anna, only to wake up next to her one morning with a knife in his hand and a bloodied body beside him in bed.

Fast forward 25 years later, Sami has been kicked off the New York police detective force yet is happily married to a wonderful wife with a one-year-old son. A a woman who Sami instinctively believes to be Anna appears in the back of a night class on detective work he’s teaching. He pursues her to Connecticut to a property blurred out on Google maps. Compounding all of this, the convicted killer of Sami’s former fiancé Nicole has just been released from prison based on Sami’s role in the investigation. Coincidental or something more?

Sami, who’s been haunted by what he believed to be Anna’s death and his possible involvement in it, enlists his novice detective students and his old police partner Marty to uncover the truth of what’s going on.

Sami, despite his considerable flaws, has emerged decades after the Spain incident with a strong moral compass, compassion, impeccable detective skills, and a fierce determination.

Sami’s quest for self-redemption forms the raw and powerful emotional core of the story, amidst the intense plot twists and ratcheting up of psychological tension amidst deceptions.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

🤯 Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben 🤯
(P.I. Sami Pierce, Book #2)
Genre: Thriller
Length: 352 pages
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟‼️

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated are solely my own.

Synopsis:
22 years ago: college student, Sami Pierce goes on a European vacation with friends and ends up in Spain immediately falling for fellow American, Anna. After a five-day whirlwind romance, he awakens next to her, covered in her blood as she lays dead (stabbed) next to him. He tells the police, no body is found, and he flees back to the U.S., changing the path of his life forever.

Current day: now a former policeman and current P.I. Sami is married with a 1 year-old son, trying to make ends meet. While teaching a 'sleuthing' class to the general public, he is sure he sees Anna in the back of the room and runs out to pursue her. Is it really her? Is this a coincidence or linked to a mysterious case of a missing daughter on his current docket? Join Sami on a CRAZY thrill ride as he tries to solve the case, while also solving the one of his murdered fiancée from many years ago.

Opinion:
This was my very first Harlan Coben physical book. I have watched almost all of the Netflix limited series that are based off previous novels and I am definitely going to be reading his backlist after getting a real feel for his writing style! I absolutely loved the blend of intrigue, excitement, a dab of humor built into Sami's character, and all of the excellent plots going on at once that intertwined! You do not have to read book 1 (Fool Me Once) to get instantly hooked on this one. My favorite part of this story were the quirky 'regular folks' who took Sami's sleuthing class and ended up being fantastic side characters along the way. This was easily a 5-star read for me and if you like a fast pace and great writing, look no further than Nobody's Fool.

As usual with Harlan Coben books, I loved this one. New main character and a great crew recruited from his class. Lots of twists and some laughs in this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.