I was super excited to get my hands on an ARC of Harlan Coben’s latest book, but honestly, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

There are a couple of different storylines going on, all tied together by the main character’s students and his ex-partner. Sami, who used to be a cop, is now off the force due to his, let’s say, “questionable” behavior. He’s trying to turn things around with his wife and newborn baby, but here’s the thing: the story stretches over 22 years, and none of the plots really connect.

Sami is pulled back into his past when he’s asked to investigate a disappearance. He only agrees because, let’s be real, he’s hoping for some closure. But the deeper he digs, the harder it gets, and he has to decide if he has what it takes to face the uncomfortable truth.

By the time you reach the end, one plot is wrapped up, but there are still a bunch of loose ends, and the epilogue just doesn’t quite tie everything together the way I was hoping it would. If you know me you know I have a troubled past with any and most epilogues. Wasn't bad, but was left feeling a bit letdown.

I am a long-time Harlan Coben fan. I always turn to him when I'm in the mood for a thriller and this one didn't disappoint. It was full of great chatacters, an engaging plot, and twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I was thrilled for the opportunity! Incidentally, I didn't even realize until after I finished the book that it was the second in a series. I had read Foor Me Once when it first came out, but didn't even remember the character of Sami Kierce.

Harlen Coben never disappoints!
Thanks for the advanced reader copy from Netgalley!
I liked this new book and look forward to his next!

In classic Harlan Coben style, Nobody's Fool opens with an immediate jolt of suspense. Sami Kierce experienced an event in college that’s haunted him for over two decades. Now, 22 years later, he's called upon to investigate this long-buried mystery. True to Coben's trademark, the story is packed with unexpected twists at every turn.

*4-4.5 stars. Book two in the Sami Kierce series by Harlan Coben finds that the former NYPD detective has been discredited and left the police force and is now working as an unlicensed private detective. He is hired by a wealthy family to look into the decades-old kidnapping of their only daughter for which they will pay him lots of money as long as he agrees to a stringent NDA. A very, very convoluted and complicated plot that keeps the reader guessing through many twists and turns. I'm looking forward to more in this series! I really appreciate Sami's personal moral compass.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader copy of Nobody's Fool in exchange for my honest review.

I've been reading Harlan Coben's stand alone novels for over 20 years. Always excited for a new book. This one just wasn't my favorite though. I didn't love the execution of the premise unfortunately.

Coben's new action packed thriller, Nobody's Fool, keeps you guessing until the end. Twenty five years ago, Sami met Anna in a nightclub in Spain. As his friends move on for other adventures, Sami stays to spend time with Anna. One morning he wakes up to find a lot of blood and a knife in his hand so he panics and quickly leaves the country. The rest of the case takes place in the present. Sami who was a police officer has lost his job and is teaching a night criminology class. A woman appears who looks just like Anna but she quickly takes off with Sami at her heals. He wonder's if she is truly Anna or not. As Sami begins to investigate he utilizes the help of some of his top students on the case as well. You will have to read the novel to see how it all unveils. In typical Harlan Coben fashion, all is not as it seems. The characters are fun, fully formed and pull you into the novel. Sami is my favorite as he has a kind heart and always tries to do the right thing. The plot keeps you interested and guessing. A great read for any thriller fans! Thank you to NetGalley for an early version of the novel. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once again Mr Coben hits it out of the park. This is somewhat of a sequel to one of his previous books as this is a continuation of the Det. Sammy Kierce story. An instant love connection that Sammy had when he was in college, which ends up completely changing the course of his life comes back to haunt him many years later. With all the twists and turns, I could not put this book down and highly recommend it. 5 stars!

This is the first Harlan Coben book I have read. Watched multiple shows on Netflix and enjoyed them. This book is a second book so some of the story line was obviously established in the first. Don't think that significantly effected the plot. Multiple twists made this intriguing and a definite must finish. Will be reading more!

I'm a Harlan Coben fan--he can write a good twisty mystery that keeps my attention--but he is a prolific writer, so I haven't read them all and when I requested this book, I didn't realize it was the second in a series, but you definitely don't need to read the first one to enjoy "Nobody's Fool."

In this installment, Sami Kierce is a new father working as a private investigator and instructor. During one of his classes, a woman he recognizes from 20+ years ago appears and Sami must track her down as the way their relationship ended back then is one of the most significant moments in his life and he wants answers.

At the same time, a murderer that Sami helped put behind bars is now being let out due to a technicality--an error that Sami made (I assume this is the story in the first book)--and Sami can't help but wonder if the two are somehow linked.

As expected, it's a solid detective story with clues appearing as the story goes on revealing the truth in a well-packed sometimes unexpected way.

It is more of a detective story than the super-twisted psychological thriller that Coben sometimes writes, but it was enjoyable.

Book: Nobody's Fool
Author: Harlan Coben
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Detective, Mystery
Places Featured: New York City, Spain
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑾𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒇𝒖𝒍, 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇, 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒏.

Sami Kierce was once a recent college graduate backpacking in Spain with friends. When he meets Anna, his planned itinerary with those friends gets derailed. Everything is bliss until he wakes up one morning, covered in blood with a knife in his hand. Beside him is the body of Anna. Sami has no memory of what's happened, and he runs.

Fast forward twenty-two years later, and Kierce, a former detective, is working as a private investigator, is happily married with a new baby, and is teaching a night class of budding sleuths at an NYC college. One evening his life irrevocably changes when he looks up to see a new arrival in his class--it's Anna. They lock eyes, and she runs, just as he ran all those years before. He knows he has to find her to solve the mystery that has haunted him for all of this time.

I've read most of this author's works, but there have been large gaps in between. I know there were nods to prior works that I didn't catch, but I don't think that hindered my enjoyment of this book at all. Every character, even the secondary ones, well so well crafted, and the plot was perfectly executed all the way to that shocking, thrilling end that I never saw coming. Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the early copy. This title is expected to publish March 25, 2025.

Nobody's Fool
by Harlan Coben
Pub Date: Mar 25 2025

I'm embarrassed to say, this is the first Harlan Coben book I've read but it definitely won't be the last! "Nobody's Fool" was an AMAZING 5 star first read for me!

The story has a fantastic thought out plot, riveting characters, it's an intriguing thriller with many exciting twists and turns. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down.

Synopsis: In this stunningly twisty thriller a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him. His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don’t add up…which is something he cannot ignore. His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.

Many Thanks to #NobodysFool #NetGalley and #GrandCentralPublishing for providing me an E-ARC of this 5 star book!

Harlan Coben is a reliably good writer. The characters he creates are always fascinating, with multiple layers and complexities, and so real that they feels like friends or colleagues. Sami is no exception. He is your typical sarcastic but hilarious best friend. I loved the storyline, and Sami brought it to life. Nobody's Fool is another hit from Harlan Coben!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this 2nd installment! I actually watched the Netflix show (as opposed to read the first book), so I wasn't sure what I'd think of the book but Harlan Coben is never a bad read! I loved the story line and all the twists and turns. A solid 4 star read!

Nobody's Fool is a fast paced thriller that I couldn't put down. It was clever and super entertaining. I have been a fan for a long time and his books just keep getting better and better.

Many thanks for my gifted copy.

I was immediately hooked. Each chapter is packed with action.

Initially, I doubted I’d enjoy this book since I hadn’t read Fool Me Once and thought it might be challenging to connect with or follow. However, everything came together seamlessly.

The ending was particularly satisfying. This is a fast-paced read.

This was a little slower than the pace I am looking for. I thought the story was well laid out but references to prior books in the series made me think I wasn’t the target audience.

FIle this book under "done in a day." I could not put it down, which is the norm whenever I read a Harlan Coben book. He is the master of the page turner. In this book, Sami Kierce is surprised by the sudden appearance of someone from his past, someone he thought was dead. As he tries to solve this mystery, he plunges himself and those around him into danger. It's a thrill ride, and I know that much of this is not likely to happen in real life, the former partner willing to do some favors bordering on illegal, a class of would-be detectives helping him out, but let it go and enjoy the ride. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge Harlan Coben fan. I read everything he writes! That being said this one is not my favorite.

At first I thought this was a standalone novel but it’s really a sequel of sorts to Fool Me Once featuring detective Sami Kierce. While I do like this character this was hard for me to get through. The first half just drug along for me and there were just so many plot lines happening.

Over the past several years, I have read and reviewed several Harlan Coben books, and with the exception of Win, all were four or five stars (although it may have been that Covid screwed up my ability to enjoy my usually reliable authors’ releases). Hmmm. In any case, I was happy to receive a copy of Nobody’s Fool from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

Just as was the case with 2023’s I Will Find You, I made a fairly conscious decision to “go along for the ride” and just enjoy the story, overlooking any need for willing suspension of disbelief or other pesky obstacles to just a fun read. In this one, a young man backpacking through Europe with his girlfriend following his college graduation wakes up in the middle of the night to find himself lying next to his dead girlfriend. As if that isn’t enough, he has a knife in his hand, he’s covered in blood, and he has less than zero clue what happened. So he does what we’d all do (?), he runs.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and the man, now a private investigator, is working a second job as a teacher during the evenings in New York City. When he sees a woman at the back of the classroom who he is SURE is that dead girlfriend from years ago, he gets a huge jot, and as soon as he makes eye contact with her, she does what we’d all do (?), she runs!

Time for him to figure out the whole mystery, both from twenty-plus years ago and from the present day. As with all Coben’s books, there are some interesting plot twists, some well-drawn characters, and a pretty good time! Four stars.