It's the year 2000, and Sami Kierce is an awkward young man, tagging along with friends in Spain. He meets a girl, Anna, in a club, he falls hard and fast, and he awakens one morning covered in blood. Hers. She's dead. There is a knife in his hand. He remembers nothing.

In present day NYC, Kierce, now a disgraced police detective turned private investigator, is teaching a criminal justice night class. One night, while teaching class, a very familiar face pops into the room. Anna. The moment he makes eye contact, Anna runs. Her death 25 years prior has haunted him every day.

He has to know what is happening. He has to confront his past. But at what risk?

I have been a Harlan Coben fan for 30 years so imagine my excitement and getting approved for this book! I love a good, twisty thriller with little to no romance, and NO smut and Coben does this well.. Coben is also a marvelous and clever writer. In this book, he left no crumbs. Every little thing was wrapped up (whether happily or not). These are things I, and a lot of readers, notice. Even small things that are left undone. You don't find that in a Coben book. This book was gritty. I felt like I was on the streets of NYC with Kierce. I felt every bit of his anxiety. I love where the Kierce line is going and I hope it continues.

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Pure Suspense from Start to Finish

Harlan Coben's Nobody's Fool hits like a shot of adrenaline. Detective Sami Kierce is back, and this time his past isn't just haunting him—it's hunting him.

The setup is simple: Kierce's carefully constructed life starts cracking when a secret from his college days resurfaces. But what follows is anything but straightforward. Coben weaves a story in which every character hides something, and every revelation costs someone dearly. The mystery surrounding two women, Anna and Victoria, builds with the precision of a master watchmaker, ticking down to an explosive finale.

Kierce himself is a revelation. His sharp wit cuts through the darkness of the story, offering moments of genuine humour that make the suspense hit even harder when it returns. And return it does—especially in the book's final quarter, which moves with the momentum of a runaway train.

What elevates Nobody's Fool above standard thriller fare is its emotional weight. This isn't just about solving a mystery—it's about redemption, family, and the prices we pay to protect the people we love. Coben writes with a lean efficiency that never wastes a word but still manages to punch you in the gut when you least expect it.

Sure, die-hard Coben fans might spot some familiar patterns, but it hardly matters when the execution is this good. At 352 pages, it's a perfect one-sitting read that'll keep you up well past midnight.

Verdict: 4.5/5 stars. Nobody's Fool proves that even after dozens of bestsellers, Coben isn't just maintaining his game—he's raising it. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to his work, this one's worth every minute.

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Cobden is as all his novels, FANTASTIC! I could not put it down. Excellent story development, perfect blend of characters, and light hearted twist with the detective club who helps solve the case. As always a surprise turn of events on solution of murders at the very end. Can’t wait to see this as a Netflix movie!

I enjoyed this quick passed mystery. I sure didn't see the twists and turns.

While teaching a class, Sami see's a woman he remembers from 22 years ago. The last time he saw her she was covered in blood and he was hold in knife.

I am a huge Harlan Coben fan and have read most of his books. Having said that, Nobody’s Fool is absolutely one of his best. I was immediately taken over by this story and couldn’t put it down. The characters are so well developed as to make them real people that I cared about. There are a few mysteries and I never saw the endings coming - I was on the edge of my seat. And not because there were misdirects but rather the skillful unfolding of a complex story and Coben is a master storyteller.

This is another good one from Harlan Coben! It's written really well with lots of twists and turns. The only reason why it's not a 5-star review for me is because it's a sequel to Fool Me Once which I read when it came out in 2016 and I could barely remember it and didn't feel like there was enough of a review of what happened in it. Another complication is that Fool Me Once was made into a Netflix series which changed its setting to England and changed some character's names and some of the storylines. I watched it after I finished Nobody's Fool and wish I had watched it before. NYPD homicide detective Roger Kierce was renamed Sami for the Netflix series and now both books are being presented as the Detective Sami Kierce series. Nobody's Fool begins a year after Fool Me Once when we find out about something in Sami's past that continues to haunt him. In 2000, Sami is a college student backpacking through Europe with college friends when he met Anna in a club. They begin a relationship and one morning he wakes up to find her covered in blood and a knife is in his hand. At his father's instruction, he flies immediately back to the USA and never finds out what really happened that night in Spain. It's now 2025 and Kierce is married with a son and is a disgraced detective (because of the events that happened in Fool Me Once) teaching night classes. One night, he sees Anna standing at the door to his classroom. When he makes eye contact with her, she runs. This sets off a series of events that answer a lot of questions for Sami, but also puts him and others in grave danger. Thanks to #netgalley #grandcentralpublishing and #HarlanCoben for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book! It was so good to to get more information on Sami's back story after reading the prior book. This was well written and had great depth to all of the characters.

Nobody’s Fool is my first Harlan Coben book and it won’t be my last. It was an enjoyable and thrilling read. I was hooked and entertained from the first page. There is a large cast of characters, but it was easy to follow. A bit of a stretch in some of the plot points, but nothing too unbelievable. I enjoyed the authors writing style and the mystery suspense kept me wanting to continue reading through the night.

After a backpacking trip in Spain gone wrong, Sam Kielce returns to the US to continue on. Life doesn’t go as expected, for Sam, burying his fiancee and being thrown off the police force. Fast forward a couple decades and Sam is married, has a child, and teaches a class for amateur crime junkies. After he spots a mysterious visitor in class whom he ultimately recognizes, he enlists the amateur sleuths help in finding the truth about the woman and what really happened on that fateful trip decades before.

Nothing hits the spot quite like a Coben novel. I know I’m always in for an action packed, twisted ride and this one was no different. I especially enjoyed our main character Sami. He was flawed but incredibly dedicated and resilient. I loved the perspective of the book, like he was telling the story himself. The big twist had run through my mind previously while reading but I kept second guessing myself on it so no harm no foul. The layered storyline worked incredibly well as we unraveled several different mysteries in one. The ending! Cmon now! I was in shock.

What I enjoy most about Harlan Coben books are their bingeable quality and the twists I don’t see coming. NOBODYS FOOL had both of these things 🙌🏻

Despite there being A LOT 😬 of characters, and needing to suspend a bit of belief, it all pays off and comes together in the end.

Thank you Grand Central Pub & NetGalley for the arc 🫶🏻

Imagine being a young graduate and going on a grand adventure backpacking in Spain. Except you wake up covered in blood, but that's not all. You also are holding the weapon, a knife. His girlfriend has fallen victim to this violent crime, but who did this? Was is Sami who woke up to this nightmare?

Fast forward twenty-two years later and meet Kierce who is a private investigator. Doing everything they can to survive, by taking less fulfilling cases they see an eerily familiar face. Who is this mystery woman and what do they know? Go on this thrilling adventure and find out for yourself!

I really enjoyed reading about Sami and his misfit group of amateur detectives. I hope this is made into a movie on Netflix.

I've always enjoyed this author 's books, and this one did not disappoint. I didn't find Kierce as likeable as I might have, but his story was compelling. From the trip to Spain and the awful circumstances there to his current life with his wife and son, he definitely has been through a lot of struggles. The reappearance of Anna drew me in, and I was hooked on the story from that moment. I also enjoyed his amateur sleuths; they were fun and charming and added levity and interest as Kierce sorted through the events. Overall a satisfying and enjoyable read. I wouldn't say it's his best, but it's well done.

Disgraced Detective Sami Kierce is teaching a night course and in walks a woman he thinks he recognizes from his past. When he approaches her she runs off and the chase is on. Sami Kierce must get to the bottom of what haunts him from his past and it begins with that familiar woman.
This is book number 2 in a series but it can be read as a standalone. There is some references to the case in the first book, but nothing too deep where you can’t catch on. Right from the start this book had me hooked and I wanted to know what happened. There are mini side cases (thats the best way I can put it) but they all fit in nicely into the story and everything comes together in the best best way.

This is the second book in the author's "Detective Sami Kierce" series, and despite thinking I'd never read the first, I took it on just because I've read and loved several of his other books. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. But after I finished, I looked back through my old reviews, and surpise - I did read the first one, "Fool Me Once," back in 2016. No surprise, then, that I don't remember a thing from that one. But rereading my review of it did leave me thoroughly confused, because nowhere in that review did I even mention Sami Kierce - nor, I found after I checked, did his name appear in any reviews by other readers I checked. Huh?

Anyway, no matter where Sami was hidden in that first book, he's moved front and center here. A former cop who got thrown off the force for transgressions, he spent time in Spain right after college and before medical school, where he met and had a serious fling with a girl named Anna, he wakes up in a post-drug fog with her bloody body next to him and a blood-covered knife in his own hand.

More than 20 years later, he's happily married to Molly, with whom he has a young son Henry, teaching true crime night classes and doing private detective work for a law firm that specializes in divorce. One night, a woman shows up at the class - and she catches Sami's eye immediately: it's Anna, the woman he is certain he murdered all those years ago. She runs away, but when Sami and his class of true crime clue-hunters learn she was a victim of a supposed kidnapping years ago, Sami goes to meet the uber-rich family, who hire him to find out what really happened to her.

Amid all this, the man who was convicted of killing Sami's former fiance (yeah, Sami gets around) has just been released from prison; while and Sami and class of true crime clue-hunters think the guy is guilty as sin, the guy wants Sami to clear his not-so-good name by finding the real killer.

If you think all this is complex, it is; but I assure you it's easy to follow, especially as clues start falling into place - right up to the ending (a cliffhanger of sorts; to be continued, methinks). All in all, an entertaining read - and I'm already looking forward to seeing the next installment. For now, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

I typically love Harlan Coben novels, but this book is not one of my favorites. Sami is not a particularly likable character, but what happens to him on his trip to Spain would scar the best of us. However, Victoria’s family’s actions, particularly the father and brother, were just reprehensible. There was also very little back story about Molly and Sami, how they met and fell in love. That story would have helped us understand Sami’s character better. Also, Sami’s students….would have liked to see more development there. Overall, I was disappointed.

Enjoyable mystery thriller about a disgraced cop who ends up teaching a night class to make ends meet and support his wife and young son. When a woman who he thought was dead turns up at his class one night, Kierce involves his students to help him solve the mystery.

Lots of funny moments and witty dialogue and colorful characters made this thriller highly entertaining. I also love that most of his books are set in the NYC/NJ area.

Hope this one makes it to Netflix too. Highly recommend. I did not read the first book in this series, Fool Me Once, but that did not seem to matter with following the plot.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Sami Kierce is with friends in Spain when he meets Anna, a gorgeous young woman. They have a short affair which ends when Sami wakes up to find a knife in his hand and an apparently dead Anna next to him. Buzzz, a friend of Anna's, comes into the room and encourages Sami to run before the police come. Sami runs, and Harlan Coben has a story to tell in Nobody's Fool. Unraveling the story, the reader is entertained by the events which develop, and when Anna appears in Sami's classroom years later, the mystery deepens. I found it a very entertaining read.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I feel like when you read any book by Harlan Coben you will not be disappointed. This is a sequel with main character Sam Keirce in it and wow! As expected by this author this book has twists and turns and is a page turner! Sam sees his ex girlfriend at the back of a room as he is teaching and runs after her. He thought he murdered her or did he??? Believe me when I say that's just the first couple pages this book takes you on a roller coaster of mystery and suspense! Absolutely loved this book and yes plan on staying up all night. Such a great author and accolades to another excellent book!

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben is a whirlwind of suspense and mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish. The twists in this story are relentless, and Sami Kierce’s journey to uncover the truth about his past had me on the edge of my seat. The moment he spots Anna—his long-lost girlfriend—alive after all these years is just the beginning of a mind-bending unraveling of secrets. I loved how Coben masterfully weaves together past and present, keeping me guessing at every turn. If you’re a fan of fast-paced thrillers with jaw-dropping twists, this one’s a must-read!