Imagine the shock when a woman he recognizes from a passing relationship years ago walks into Sami Kierce’s Criminology class. The last time he saw her, she was lying next him, dead and covered in blood. This begins Nobody’s Fool, another explosive thriller by Harlan Coben, master of the genre. Coben skillfully weaves two timelines, Sami’s past and present, together until they crash together in a totally unexpected, shocking conclusion.

This is a mystery/thriller you will want to read for yourself so no spoilers here. Nobody’s Fool is a masterclass in plot development, characterization, pacing and false clues. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Harlan Coben for this ARC.

As always Harlan Coben’s newest novel is just as fast paced and edge of your seat as his other ones. When former detective Sami Kierce sees the fact of a woman he thought to be dead in one of his classes he follows her and starts on a path of deception and danger. There really were two storylines that were interwoven in this book, one being about Anna/Victoria the girl Sami thought was dead but really was the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy family, and the story of the accused killer of Sami’s fiancé being released from prison. Both storylines were enjoyable and did not take away from each other.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my unbiased opinions

Harlan Coben, the master of thrillers, returns triumphantly with his highly anticipated (Detective Sami Kierce Series), following the success of his bestselling thriller and #1 Netflix series, Fool Me Once #1.

Now, he unveils the next chapter in this gripping saga with NOBODY'S FOOL (#2). In this unputdownable thriller, a long-buried secret from former Detective Sami Kierce's college days in Spain resurfaces, threatening to shatter his present. His past is about to catch up with him in the most unexpected way…

About...

2025 New York City: Sami Kierce is now a disgraced detective and PI teaching night classes in New York City. He sees her in his classroom: Anna. He could never forget her face. Could she be alive and here in New York City? Is he hallucinating?

The Anna he knew was 20-ish, and this woman was in her mid-forties. She does not have long auburn hair like before, but she is short, blonde, and wears glasses. Is she in disguise? It can't be her. It makes no sense.

He believed she was dead twenty-five years ago in Spain. The woman who has tormented him for years. He reaches out. She flees. He is determined to locate this woman and unravel the enigma that has haunted him incessantly.

2000 Málaga, Spain: Sami is backpacking in Spain with friends and wakes up one morning covered in blood with a knife in his hand. Beside him is the body of a woman, Anna. DEAD. He does not know what happened. He still hears the echo of his screams.

After he reported, he ran. His hopes of becoming a doctor ended, and he dropped out of medical school, drank, and became a cop, then that ended.

After all this time, Sami's investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove that he's NOBODY's FOOL. Some secrets should stay buried!

My thoughts...

Harlan Coben, the King of this genre, in a category of his own and a long-time favorite, is back with another showstopper, NOBODY'S FOOL. A master storyteller, no one does it better! Detective Sami Kierce takes center stage with more action than you can imagine!

An action-packed, fast-paced, heart-pounding suspense full of thrills, intrigue, mystery, plot twists, turns, and shockers with plenty of humor. As always, this is an unputdownable series.

Sami is a great character; when his past meets the present, it is explosive. He finds himself in a mystery with secrets, lies, and plenty of danger. You feel for him as a disgraced detective, teaching and, as always, a rule bender who wants justice, and he has the worst luck.

His lover, Nicole, was murdered (his fiancée). He got kicked off the force for messing up big-time. He is working for a high-end white-shoe Manhattan law firm and not getting paid. He is being sued by the family of a high school kid named PJ Dawson. Whit Shaw represents him in exchange for his working jobs off the books following cheaters (divorces).

He is happily married to Molly and has a baby, Henry. He also teaches a night class named Academy Night Adult School on the Lower East Side, a group of amateur sleuths.

His criminology class and characters are a riot! The Pink Panthers (three women in their 70s - think Golden Girls); Debbie the Goddess (the Daddy tactics are hilarious); Instagram influencers who started true-crime podcast gals called Three Dead Hots; Hex, who wears gray sweatpants with matching hoodie and wants to solve his aunt's murder from 1982; Golfer Gary who wears ironed polo shirts with logos from ritzy clubs; and Leisure Suit Lenny (show n tell) with his mysterious gadgets and tracking devices. And Raymond.

Please continue this series and Netflix! I cannot wait to see The Pink Panthers and the others on screen and who they cast.

There is a whirlwind of action as Sami endeavors to piece together the puzzle to track down this woman who could be Anna and a mystery that spans decades.

Plus, in another storyline, which is also intriguing, his ex-fiancée's convicted killer is being released from prison, claiming innocence, and wants Sami to team up with him to find the real murderer.

Needless to say, Kierce has a lot on his plate! Get ready for a wild ride, and hang on. It is a doozy! Now, the million-dollar question? When😉 is #3 coming? Harlan, between all you have going on, I hope the next one is in the works.

Audiobook...

The audio version was a treat, narrated by the sexy and mega-talented Vikas Adam, a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his 200+ audiobooks. He's established himself as one who creates versatile, distinct, and clear voices for the characters he embodies. Vikas adds flair, humor, and plenty of drama, making an ideal choice for NOBODY'S FOOL, further elevating the story with great characterization for all voices. Highly entertaining!

In summary, if you're a fan of Harlan Coben, you simply can't miss Nobody's Fool. Get ready for a rollercoaster of suspense, action, and a shocking twist that will leave you reeling.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for a gifted advance reading and listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
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Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, Harlan Coben, wonderfully narrated by Vikas Adam. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

When Sami Kierce was in college, he took a fateful backpacking trip with friends to Spain. Then he woke up one morning, covered in blood with a knife in his hand, and his girlfriend's body lying next to him. He runs. Decades later, Sami is now a private investigator, married with a young child. He's also teaching night school to wannabe investigators when one evening, he recognizes Anna at the back of his classroom. As soon as they make eye contact, she runs. Sami knows he must find her to understand the nightmare that has haunted him since Spain.

While this is the second in the Detective Sami Kierce series, I somehow missed that one, although I must admit I saw the Netflix series. But it’s easily read as a standalone, so don’t hesitate. There’s a lot going on in this one, with a big timeline and multiple mysteries, but it’s Harlan Coben so you know he pulls it off in grand style. This is written as though Sami is talking to the reader, a style I enjoy for I feel like it pulls me into the book as a participant and not just an observer. There are plenty of twists and reveals, along with Coben’s humorous moments. I ended up mostly listening to this one on audiobook and thought the narration was perfect.

This was such a addicting true crime novel. I really enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down. The author did a fantastic job of making the reader feel like I was right there with them. I highly recommend this book!

I have read most of the author's books but I must have missed the first in this series. However, it was easy to immerse myself into the story with very little knowledge of the characters and backstory. The plot is tightly woven and full of twists and turns. The amnesia plot device was a bit unbelievable but you can understand why it needed to be there.
Although I enjoyed the story, I don't think I will continue on with these particular characters as I really couldn't connect or become invested. I'm sure fans of the first book in the series will enjoy this second installment.

As always, Harlan Coben delivered yet another slam dunk with Nobody’s Fool. The king of sarcastic humor and complex, well-plotted storylines, the ride through this dynamite novel was nothing if not sublime. After all, despite its crime fiction core, the clear thriller vibe made it fast-paced and propulsive from the very first page. And I can’t forget its twisty, twisty premise. You know the kind where if you take your eye off the ball you’re lost in the weeds? Well, this was one of those. I do have to say, though, that there wasn’t a moment of confusion as former Detective Sami Kierce ushered me through these two jaw-dropping cases to their unguessable albeit believable closures.

As for the characters, they were what made this book—and all of Coben’s others—utterly sing. From the determined Sami who may not necessarily be the brightest of the bunch but he’s thoroughly dogged to his motley crew of assistants and their individual contributions, they came together to get the job done. Handling the case with both intuition and pragmatism, it made the entire plot feel all the more real. Speaking of which, I was over the moon to find the storyline just as taut and suspenseful as I would’ve expected. With plenty of long-buried secrets, dastardly deeds, and underhanded manipulations, there wasn’t a chance in hell of me putting it all together in time.

All in all, this book has only reaffirmed my all-out adoration for Mr. Coben and his masterful skill. Compelling, addictive, and seriously electric, I dread the long wait until I get to read another one of his novels. Considering that this second book in a series ended the way that it did, though, I can only hold out hope for the continuing saga to head my way soon. Both wrapped up tight and also left open for more investigations, it was the best of both worlds for this particular thriller lover. All I can say is that you need to grab this one quick, although I do recommend starting at the beginning as you don’t want to miss a minute with Sami. Rating of 5 stars.

Thank you to Harlan Coben, Grand Central Publishing, and Netgalley for my complimentary digital and physical copies. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t read the first of this series so I felt a little lost at first. It was a slow build until midway when it picked up speed. I didn’t dislike Kierce but I’m not sure I’d read more from the series. I usually enjoy anything Coben writes, this was middle of the road. I did get invested once the mysterious appearance of Kierce’s dead girlfriend began to unravel. The tension and family drama is palpable. There were many unexpected turn of events and aha moments. I feel like those who have read Fool Me Once will really like this one. I’d like to thank Grand Central Publishing (via NetGalley) for providing an Advance Reader Copy of “Nobody’s Fool” Detective Sami Kierce #2, by Harlan Coben, publication is expected 03/25/2025. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I requested this, I didn’t realize this was book 2 in the series. I don’t think that mattered as I really enjoyed it without reading the first. I really enjoy the way Harlan Coben writes and I liked the main character Sami Kierce. Definitely flawed, a bit rough around the edges, but understandably so considering what he’s been through.

I loved the plot, I think my jaw dropped a couple of times. I love how it ended leaving it open for another book in the series. I already put book one on my TBR!

This is my first Harlan Coben book, although I've watched some his tv series, so have a good feel for his writing style and genre. This story takes place in Spain and NYC, as Sami Kierce tries to unravel what happened to him 22 years ago. On a college jaunt through Europe he meets a girl, Anna, in Spain he can't forget. They spend 5 glorious days together, then he wakes up and finds her dead next to him, covered in blood, and he has a knife in his hand. So it gets off to a great start. Years later, she walks into his criminology class, and that's when things start to get interesting. Coben does a great job here and I couldn't put this one down. The pace is excellent, and the twist at the end!! Followed by another final twist, that you hope indicates a sequel is on the way. There's great character development here as no one is who they seem, and as Sami digs deeper and deeper, lots of new suspects and motives come to light. The outcome is so shocking and unexpected that you have to keep reading to see the full explanation. The twist at the end is a ray of hope in this novel of betrayal, murder, and lies.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the eARC.

This was a twisty ride and I enjoyed it! Sami Kierce is a flawed main character but he knew it. I struggled sometimes with the direct conversation with the reader, but, I really never knew where this was going so I couldn’t put it down.

3.75/5!

Such a fun mystery! Kept me wondering the entire read and wanting more! Harlan Coben stories are always such good books- this is absolutely in tune with what Harlan is capable of and delivers each time!

this was a fun and propulsive crime thriller with a few different dots to connect. I enjoy Coben’s netflix shows but his books are hit or miss for me because sometimes he just tries to throw in too many different storylines but this one is a lot more cohesive and follows one character throughout the whole book. And some solid reveals at the end i didn’t see coming!

4.5 stars
I've read several Coben books and/or watched the TV adaptations and love the suspense and plot twists in his work. Nobody's Fool started out a bit slow for me, but once it got going, I didn't want to put it down. I was rooting for the flawed, but likable main character and kept in suspense by all of the twists and turns in the story. Sometimes I thought I had things figured out and then a new revelation would prove my theory to be wrong.

The book is listed as the second book in the Sami Kierce series. I didn't read the first book, Fool Me Once, but saw the adaptation. Since the stories are unconnected, Nobody's Fool can definitely be read as a standalone. Sami is a disgraced ex-cop who now works as an investigator for an attorney's office and teaches a criminology course part-time. I really love the relationship between Sami and his wife, Molly. She is supportive of Sami through everything even when more than one incident from his past comes back to haunt him and potentially puts his whole family in danger. In fact, I would love to read a novella told from Molly's point-of-view!

I don't want to spoil things by saying too much about the plot, but I will say again how much I enjoyed getting to know Sami. With some of the things in his past that start to come to light, I wasn't sure what to think about him at first. However, Coben does a great job of showing us how much his wife Molly loves him, his old friend supports him, and his students respect him. This quickly won me over and I liked him as a main character and from the way the story wraps up, I'm hoping this is the last we see of Sami.

I received an advance copy of this ebook from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for review consideration. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Excellent mystery, kept me guessing and very interested to find out what would happen.

This is the second book featuring Sami Kearce, who was a police detective when we first met him in Fool Me Once. Although the mysteries in both books stand alone, I think that readers should start with Fool Me Once in order to get the character's background and to know what happened with Sami on the job to lead him to where he is now, and why some of the events of this book are occurring.

In this installment, we have two mysteries--one features a woman from Sami's past who shows up when he is teaching a class. The problem? Sami has thought she was dead for twenty-two years. And when he follows after her, what he discovers is astonishing. The second is that the man who was convicted of Sami's fiancee's murder is released from prison on a technicality. Can Sami find new evidence to prove the man's guilt?

This book went in a direction I was absolutely not expecting. Just when I thought I had everything pieced together in my mind as to what occurred, I discovered I was totally wrong. I like Sami as a character. He's not perfect, but he is committed and really tries to do the right thing (or what he thinks is the right thing) no matter what. I loved the inclusion of the members of his class in the investigation, it added some humor to the tale.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and Vikas Adam does a great job with the narration. I'm really used to Steven Weber doing the narration for Coben's audiobooks, but Adam is able to give Sami the right tone and I hope he will continue to narrate these books if Coben writes more featuring Sami.

If you're looking for a solid mystery thriller, then look no further than Harlan Coben's latest.

There was no question when I saw this Harlan Coben book was available, I had to have it. Coben's books have great twists and turns and usually a very climactic ending that is a total shocking surprise. I've loved many of his books and couldn't wait to read this one.

Description:
Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.


Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts. For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.

My Thoughts:
Loved the group of students helping Kierce investigating. They were so eager to help and were great resources. I felt bad for Kierce who had been haunted so long with the memory from that summer in Europe that it threw his life off the rails. The plot is action-packed and yes, we have mystery and suspense with a shocking ending. There is quite a bit of humor in the book, which lightens the tension some. I couldn't put this one down. Coben writes great thrillers and I highly recommend this one.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I absolutely love investigations. The suspense of finding out what is happening and who is guilty always keeps me engaged and wanting to know more.

Former Detective, Sami Kierce, has been confronted with a secret that he long thought he buried. When Sami was in college, he went on a trip to Spain with his former roommates. Everything seemed to be going really well, they went to clubs and partied. While standing against a wall at a popular night club, he sees Anna. He is truly captivated by this woman while she dances with her friends. Everything is going really well.... until one morning he wakes up and Anna has a knife plunged in her chest. Sami is convinced he's responsible for her murder and is quickly instructed by his father to leave Spain and return to America on his next flight. This secret has haunted him, until he's convinced, he sees Anna while he's teaching a class.

"Hallucinations" are no stranger to Sami. He experienced them before while taking medication and saw visions of his former fiancé who was murdered. So now Sami must chase this girl and determine if she is really who he thinks she is.

While Sami is chasing "Anna", he is also dealing with the potential release of his former fiancée's murderer. How much can Sami really hold it together and will he receive all the answers to the questions he's currently chasing?

I absolutely love Harlan Coben books. They are paced nicely, engaging and constantly keep me on my toes. I would absolutely recommend reading this one. But maybe after you've read Fool Me Once since the characters and some scenarios filter into this book!

Vikas Adam did a fantastic job portraying Sami. He was pleasant to listen to and easy to understand.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a Harlan Coben fan, I was very excited to receive an early copy of NOBODY’S FOOL. While this novel follows the events of FOOL ME ONCE and features some recurring characters, I wouldn’t necessarily consider this a sequel. It could easily serve as a standalone. This story follows former detective Sami Kierce as he revisits a traumatic event from his past. I loved this book! I thought it was very good with great characters, plot, suspense, and twists. It definitely kept me hooked along the way. I thought it was a really good touch to include Kierce’s criminology students, who help with his case as sort of “amateur sleuths.” Highly recommended! NOBODY’S FOOL releases in 4 days on March 25. Be sure to check this one out! Thank you to Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and @harlancoben for the opportunity to read this story! #NobodysFool #Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to read Harlan Coben's books? Well, I do. He writes in so many voices and from so many perspectives, that I just relish each new one I find. And this one doesn't disappoint.

Sami Kierce has failed at basically everything he has done in his life. The plan was pretty clear until a trip to Spain with some college buddies just after graduation. It was supposed to be a quick blowing off steam before he returned to the states to attend medical school. But one night in a disco he met a girl. And it all went downhill from there, because he is pretty sure he killed her while high on whatever drugs they had been taking. But when you wake up covered in blood not your own, holding a knife, with a body lying next to you, what do you do? He goes to the police, but when they investigate the room is clean and as pristine as though it had never been occupied. So he calls his dad who tells him to get on a plane to America, which he does, and never talks about that adventure. But he also never goes to medical school, and instead becomes a policeman, which he also manages to mess up and now he is an unlicensed private investigator who makes a little money teaching a crime detection course to a diverse group.

Then one night that "dead" girl walks into his class. And his life is forever changed.

READ IT. You will NOT be disappointed!!

I love Harlan Coben. He is a writing machine and not afraid of a little chaos. Well, with this book he blew my mind in multiple directions. Not only was he unafraid to completely reimagine a former character, he really pulls out a surprising story. I love a story about a disgraced police officer working as a PI. Highly recommended! More Sami please (though please give Molly more to do.)