Another winner from Coben. Readers may remember former Detective Sami Kierce from the novel Fool Me Once or from the Netflix series of the same name. Twenty-five years ago Kierce was a college student who met Anna, a woman who bewitched him over the course of a week while spending the summer in Spain. And then he woke up covered in blood with her body beside him. Flash forward to the present when Anna suddenly appears in the night class Kierce is teaching. What’s going on?

I liked Kierce in Fool Me Once and was glad to see he was the MC in this novel. He may be a disgraced detective, but the instincts are still there and rarely wrong. His career may have derailed, but his personal life is perfect – he has a beautiful wife and is the father of a baby boy. He no longer has the support of the police force (with the exception of his former partner), but he puts together an unlikely team of colorful students to assist him with this mystery. I’m not sure who was surprised more by their cleverness and determination – me or Kierce – but they’re well-developed support characters who certainly add to the story.

Myron Bolitar fans (and I’m a big one!) will delight in a few Easter eggs scattered over the course of the novel. Unexpected twists and shocking turns go hand-in-hand with Coben novels. I had only a small part figured out by the big reveal at the end. A further surprise in the last paragraph leaves open the possibility of another novel featuring Kierce, and I’m here for it.

Recommended for readers who enjoy redemption stories, dizzying twists, and mysteries blended with dashes of humor.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As usual Halan Coben wrote a fantastic book! He’s a must buy author for me. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review!

Loved this book 📖 pulled me in from the beginning. Definitely 5 stars for me. Whoever is looking for a good thriller/mystery i highly recommend this one.

Harlan Coben is one of those authors that you just know will give you a great book and never disappoints. Nobody's Fool is no different and will having you turning the pages quickly.

The story starts off with Sami Kierce reliving a tragedy that happened 22 years ago when a woman named Anna died while he slept. The story fast forwards to Sami now teaching some late night class when Anna appears in his class and then takes off again. Sami goes on the hunt to find out if it was in fact Anna or not. This leads Sami down a fast paced action packed thriller that will lead you down paths that are completely unpredictable. The characters are well written and the story lines will flow even if there is a lot going on. You can't help but love his wife and his son that he dotes on and cares for deeply. There are a lot of things happening in this story and if I say too much it will give it away. But you definitely want to get this book and read it for yourself. While Sami is a reoccurring character you can read this as a stand alone story. YOU.WILL.NOT.BE.DISAPPOINTED.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in return for an honest review. This book is scheduled to come out in March 2025 and it needs to be on your TBR list.

I have yet to read a bad Harlan Coben book, and I’m happy to report that streak remains unbroken. Nobody’s Fool is a sequel to Fool Me Once, which was adapted into a Netflix miniseries. However, let me assure you—it’s not necessary to read the first book to enjoy this one.
The novel follows Sami Kierce, a disgraced ex-police detective who is now struggling financially but finds fulfillment as a devoted husband to his wife, Molly, and father to their one-year-old son. To make ends meet, he works as a private investigator for a prestigious law firm while also teaching a criminology course in a rundown building to a group of quirky, amateur detectives. Despite his fall from grace, Sami maintains a relationship with his former partner, Marty, who still serves on the police force.
The story kicks off with a flashback to Sami’s past—25 years ago, before his planned future in medicine took a drastic turn. While backpacking across Europe before college, he had a brief but intense five-day romance with a woman named Anna in Spain. Their relationship ended abruptly (no spoilers!), altering the course of his life forever. Now, decades later, he swears he sees her peering into his classroom.
At the same time, the man convicted of killing Sami’s fiancée, Nicole, is being released from prison—an event tied to the very scandal that forced Sami off the force. His search for the mysterious woman leads him to the reclusive Ballard family and Victoria Ballard, a woman who vanished after a Y2K party and reappeared 11 years later, only to retreat into isolation.
Full of twists and turns, Nobody’s Fool kept me on my toes—I thought I had it figured out multiple times, only to be proven wrong again and again. It’s a fast-paced, gripping ride from start to finish.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

True to form, Harlan Coben has delivered another page-turner with “Nobody’s Fool.” This one kept me reading late into the night, which was a surprise since the first book in the series, “Fool Me Once” wasn’t one of my favorites. I especially didn’t connect with the character of police detective Sami Kierce who seemed to be a bit of a side character.

This story takes place a year after the events in the previous book where we find that Sami has been ousted from the police force after being blamed for what happened and for his part in another tragedy. He has a new baby, a ton of debt and is cobbling together work to make ends meet.

In addition to private detective gigs, he is teaching a night class to a bunch of armchair detectives, who I believe need their own series. Together with this ragtag group, he endeavors to solve a decades old mystery that he may have had a part in. I definitely did not see where this was going to go, which I love.

In the end, Sami comes off as a “good” guy that does stupid things. That right there is what makes you want to root for him. Which I did all the way up to the last page. He has a ways to go until I love him like I love Myron and Win, but I’ll give the next book a shot, for sure!

***Also, I would like to note that although none of the characters have overlapped (yet), this series does take place in the world of the Myron Bolitar series as the Horne Lockwood building is mentioned.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't realize that Nobody's Fool was the second book in a series, however it touched on what happen in the previous book so I do not think I missed out on anything. This book started off pretty interesting, there was not a lot of action, but it made up for that with intrigue. Unfortunately about halfway through the book it really slowed down. I had to force myself to keep moving forward to finish the book. It did have an interesting twist at the end but did not make up for the boringness that was a large chunk of the book.

This was SO GOOD. I hope I don’t offend by saying my expectations were medium. I’ve been reading deep into Coben’s backlist and the most recent of his I read was from 1995. The 30-year jump in quality was stunning. He’s gotten nothing but better. I was in a book slump and this had me glued to my kindle late into the night.

I’d love for him to turn Sami Kierce and his criminology class into a series. Every member of the class was fantastic and I’m quite attached to Sami himself, along with Molly and Henry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing.
A year after the events in "Fool Me Once", Sami Kierce is back. No longer a police officer, he is now a private investigator and teacher. One night during his class, Sami sees someone at the back of his class that he thought was dead.
Harlan Coben's ability to create characters that we love despite their flaws is one of my favorite parts of his novels. The plot moves along at a thrilling pace with sharp turns and twists.
A very well done flow up novel.

Former New York detective Sami Pierce's past comes back to haunt him. Forced to resign in disgrace, Sami is now doing some freelance investigative work for a law firm and teaching an evening class for want to be sleuths when one night the woman he had met in Spain after graduating college - who he thought was murdered while sleeping next to him walks into his classroom. Sami gives chase only to be blocked by a formidable estate and security in Connecticut. It turns out that she is the daughter of a wealthy family who had disappeared for 11 years only to turn up with no memory of what had happened to her during those years. Then the man jailed for killing Sami's young policewoman fiancé is released from jail due to a technicality and even stranger things start happening. To top it off, Sami has married to the love of his life and has a young baby and now they feel threatened. So how can this all work out? With the help of his student sleuths, his ex-partner and his legal employer, Sami goes on a crusade to answer all of these questions. In perfect Harlan Coben precision, we are led on a wild ride in this amazingly engrossing adventure. Kudos to the master once again. I loved every second of this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlen Coben and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to reach this Advance Reader Copy of a book I just could not put down.

Following his college graduation, Sami Kierce sets out on a European tour with his friends. When he meets Anna in Spain, he tells his friends that he intends to stay with her. When he wakes up one morning next to her body, and he's covered in blood and holding a knife with no memory of what happened, he flees back to the US at his father's urging.

Over 20 years later, Anna, or someone closely resembling her, shows up at a class he is teaching then mysteriously disappears. Sami, who was dishonorably dismissed from the police force for not following rules and causing a death, seeks to find her, learn the truth about what happened 20 years ago, and solve a famous kidnapping case from the same era. To add to the complexity of the drama, the murderer of his fiancée was recently released from prison, after 18 years, because of a technicality. Investigating all of these seemingly unrelated events brings Sami's wife and child into danger, and brings Sami to a crossroads of what is moral and what is legal.

I can't think of anything that I didn't enjoy about this book. It is witty, suspenseful, and at time heart-wrenching.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

What a great mystery read. This is a sequel but reads as a stand alone which is good since I hadn't read the first book. Sami Kierce is a very unlucky detective who was disgraced during his time with the NYPD and now works for a law firm. He also teaches a night class is detective work with an interesting group of, dare I say, misfits.

Sami is teaching one of his night classes when a women from his past walks in, he recognizes her as a woman he had a five day affair with in Spain twenty-five years prior. Only, Sami thought this "Anna" was dead and that he was responsible. He's also dealing with the man convicted of killing his fiancé years earlier is being released on a technicality. There's a lot going on and Sami gets some of his students to help out solving both story lines.

I really enjoyed this book, it flowed wonderfully and at times had Sami talking directly to us, his readers. Sami is an enjoyable character as are many of the secondary characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is Harlan Coben at the top of his game. The plot, characters, twists, setting, atmosphere, all come together for a quick paced thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Harlan Coban doesn't disappoint.

A former detective is shocked when a woman he'd known as a teenager and thought dead appears in his class for amateur sleuths. She disappears when she's recognized and, aided by his students, he is determined to find her and the mystery surrounding her.

Excellent!! 10/10. You can't really go wrong with anything from Harlan Coben but this was exceptionally good.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love Harlan Coben and have read all of his books, although the Myron Bolitar series is my favorite. He has never disappointed me, and he did not disappoint me with Nobody's Fool.

The main character may be familiar to some readers - disgraced former police officer Sami Kierce, who is incredibly likable, which makes this book a pleasure to read. We go back to Sami's college days when he was backtracking through Spain, connected with and hooked up with a beautiful girl, and woke up next to her one morning to find her dead.

Fast forward decades later and Sami finds who he thinks is the same woman in his everyday life. Even more intriguing, it appears that this woman is a missing heiress.

Sami uses the help of some of his students to investigate (and eventually solve) this case. This book is fast-paced, engrossing, and hard to put down. Yes, the ending is a little far-fetched, but it didn't bother me a bit.

I loved this book the way I love all of Harlan Coben's books. And I think you will too.

I can’t believe that despite this authors name recognition, I have never read any of their books. After reading this one I will definitely be reading more of his work. This is an amazing story, well written and engaging. The book started off slowly but picked up momentum toward the middle of the first third. After that it went full speed through to the end. The characters were dynamic and likable with some snarky and funny dialogue. The timing in the mystery was impeccable and I never saw the resolution coming.

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

This might be hard to believe given his massive popularity, but I have never read a Harlan Coben book before this one. However, I have seen all of the UK-set Netflix series based on his books, so I knew the plot of Fool Me Once and knew the character of Sami Kierce. He was a standout for me in that first story, so I enjoyed getting to know more about him in this sequel but also prequel since we see Sami as a young man. Events from that time help set in motion this new story.

I really liked the structure and how several plots were balanced throughout. I did not guess the outcomes but thought they were pretty clever. This is definitely a page turner, and I'm looking forward to the inevitable Netflix adaptation of this new book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Another fast-paced, creative Harlan Coben book that I couldn’t put down. How does one come up with these stories? Coben is the Steven King of crime drama, but his flair for humor and his fun writing style puts him over the top. While this book does not star my favorite character Myron Bollitar, Sports Agent, there is an equally funny and interesting protagonist and because of Coben’s writing, it is sometimes hard to not picture the tall, athletic Bollitar. And that takes nothing away from the story. Coben is such a great writer and his style is so unique and fun. I highly, highly recommend this as a fun read to make you forget about the real world.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

This detective story is a thrilling ride from start to finish! The pace is relentless, and just when you think you've figured it all out, another twist leaves you reeling. At the heart of it all is a tense mystery-kidnapping, disappearances, and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones. The stakes are high, and the emotional depth is palpable.
The story plays with social and wealth divides in ways that make every character's choice feel consequential. The dual timeline adds layers of suspense, gradually revealing clues that keep you guessing until the final page. It's a fast-paced, unpredictable, and deeply engaging story that leaves you questioning how far you'd go to protect the ones you love. If you're into tightly woven plots with shocking twists, this one will have you hooked.