5 stars
Expected publication date - March 25, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley, and Grand Central Publishing for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

Sami Kierce is teaching a small class for amatuer sleuths on investigation. A woman walks into the class, and after Sami notices her, she quickly leaves. She looks a lot like a girl Sami had a whirlwind fling with, 22 years prior, in Spain. Except, he thought she had been killed, possibly by his own hand.

This is a great, fast-paced thriller. I was hooked the whole way through. The characters in Sami's life are extremely entertaining, especially his group of sleuth/students, who drop everything to help him uncover the truth. I hope we get another book, or a few, featuring Sami Kierce.

I absolutely loved this book. Harlan Coben is such a good author. I had a hard time trying to solve this mystery but that is what makes a great mystery book. I highly recommend the book. I am so excited that all the characters in this book including the main character will be in another book. I am just guessing this because of the ending!

Harlan Coben has not lost his touch! His witty dialogue, highly evocative place descriptions, and ability to inject a quick side-story as character development all continue to enrich his masterful plotting. I must admit I have not read "Fool Me Once", the book to which this is a sequel, but I sure will now!

Well, Harlan Coben has done it again. No surprise there, of course. Just
when you think he couldn’t possibly get any better, he does just that. This tense fast paced thriller will leave you breathless to the very end.

How can you not love Sami Kierce? Yes, he’s a disgraced detective who now teaches night classes to a group of armchair detectives. But, he’s truly a good guy. He loves his wife and young son and just wants to do good in the world. That world is turned upside down when he sees a woman he met in Spain more than 20 years ago, whom he had a brief relationship with and woke up to find her dead, thinking he killed her. With the help of his former partner and students Sami must dust off his detective skills and find out who this woman is and what new nightmare he’s about to walk into. With the superb storytelling and masterful twists Harlan Coben is known for, you will need to put all else on hold and read Nobody’s Fool. Coben is an author not to be missed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Harlan Coben does not miss when he writes a book. I was captivated from the start. Thank you for letting me read.

Excellent book by Harlan Coben, who just keeps getting better. Well-developed characters that draw on your sympathy. A family reacting to their child missing, later found. In classic Coben style, plot twists galore and stories that intersect. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Sami Kierce sees a woman he thought was dead a longtime because he was covered in blood the last time he saw her. It’s now many years later and he sees Anna again and he’s positive it’s her. Now he’s trying to find out what really happened that night many years ago.

This was a fun and wild ride. It takes you on quite a journey. The characters are well developed and it’s easy to connect to them. The twist near the end was completely unexpected. Harlan Coban is known for his layers and this book is an excellent example of this. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mystery thriller. Even if you haven’t read anything by Coban before, this is still a great one to start with.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This thriller was... a ride. Like, buckle up, because it takes you everywhere—from sun-soaked Spain to the gritty streets of NYC. It's one of those stories where you think, "Wait, what just happened?!" but in the best way possible.

The plot keeps peeling back layers, and just when you think you've got it all figured out—BOOM—a twist! Honestly, the main character's life is a total mess (and kinda relatable in a “thankfully not me” way). I mean, disgraced detective-turned-professor? That alone is drama. But throw in a haunting blast from the past, and it’s chaos in the most entertaining way.

The pace? Lightning fast. And while some parts felt a tiny bit too convenient, the jaw-dropping moments made up for it. You’ll be flipping pages (or, you know, tapping your Kindle screen) so fast it’s basically cardio.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for letting me dive into this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another interesting book from Harlan Coben. Characters are well developed and you sympathize with the main character. It shows how a family reacts when a child goes missing and is found many years later. However the plot starts to twist and stories intersect. Good read.

You know how they say “He makes a mean burger?”
Well, Harlan Coben weaves a “mean thriller.” It’s that PERFECT classic detective mystery that so rarely appears among the modern genres. I certainly haven’t read a wonderful semi-amateur detective (ex-cop) mystery in a long time.
It’s one of those books where you read the first page and just know that this story already owns you and you are must finish it incredibly fast!
It’s written in a mature, seasoned, clever writing voice.
The voice surprisingly not devoid of emotion and humanity.
I can’t help but love a good classy detective! And this one was great!
The writing, the language, the nuances, the way the author so artfully, so subtly leads you very gently in the direction of his plot twist. Without TELLING you, without making suggestions…. Just slowly nudging your subconscious in the right direction.
His writing voice is just such a pleasure. I always seek a humorous writing voice, one full of heart and meaningful soul. One that doesn’t take himself too seriously.
I want a writer who conquers you with the story, who wins the round of the guessing game every time. It’s a pretty difficult task. And Harlan Coben knows how to develop a tight perfect-puzzle double plot.
And to do it with grace, with talent of storytelling, genuine unexpected humanity… it was a breath of fresh air!

It was wonderful to read such a vibrant detective story that brings back all the greats - the Sherlock Holmes being the KING of the Detective Genre.

Have watched several of the limited series on Netflix based on his books so thought I would give one a try. This book was suspenseful filled with unexpected twists. At the end of each chapter it posed you with a question in your mind {at least mine} which propelled me to read the next one so I could get answers to my questions. The main characters were complex with the supporting characters adding a special touch of some humor while still being an intricate part in solving the mystery surrounding Anna/Victoria. Is well written. A subplot is also introduced. How is this intertwined with the main plot? If you enjoy a good mystery, you will enjoy this book. Recommend. Received a free copy thru NetGallery and this is my honest voluntary review.

Harlan Coben remains a must-read for me. He is the king of suspenseful thrillers for me, and this book is no different. I love his mastery of character development and deft use of humor.

Former Detective Sami Kierce makes a great protagonist. I loved the inclusion of his colorful classmates and Sherlock Holmes references. The dual mysteries were compelling and well formed. They're we're many twists and turns that I did not figure out in advance. Just a great book all around.

Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Harlan is a clever, witty, and dry humored story teller, which I enjoy reading. I was sucked in, wanting to know how everything intertwined. The rat pack of wannabe true crime detectives were true underdogs of the story and left you cheering for them along with the fallen hero of a detective.

This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed the book a lot, might be part of a series but was fine to read alone. Likeable hero, humor mixed in with the mystery, a cast of unusual characters helping him solve the mystery of a woman from his past showing up, after he thought he had killed her years ago. I think it will be good reading for my students and lots of issues to discuss about the truth and how it heals and harms. 4.5

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the eARC.
This was my first Harlan Coban book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't read the previous book, but feel this one can definitely be read as a standalone.
Sami Kierce is a very relatable and sympathetic character. I also really liked Sami's private life with his wife and baby boy. The story is fast moving and tense with a good ending. All in all it's a great read and I will definitely read more of Harlan Coban's books!

I haven’t read any of this author’s works yet and I’m kicking myself for not checking him out sooner. I loved the way that the story moved and I really enjoy the characters. Definitely will be recommending this one!

Former New York detective Sami Kierce is Nobody’s Fool, the latest mystery by Harlan Coben coming out March 25. One evening while he is teaching an adult ed criminology class on the Lower Eastside, a mystery woman briefly pops into class. Thinking she is someone from his past, fast-acting Sami slips a tracking device into her coat pocket as she dashes out of the room.

Sami dismisses his students so he can follow the woman who he dubs “Maybe Anna,” a woman who he met in Spain when he backpacked through Europe with some friends after college 25 years ago. He trails her to an upper-class neighborhood in Connecticut where he is deflected from the estate by two guards.

Not to be deterred, Sami engages his students—many of whom are true crime fanatics--with the task of finding out the identity of the woman. He does not reveal his main concern: the last time he saw Anna in Spain, she was dead.

Anna’s death knocked him off his career path of becoming a doctor. Instead, he chose to join the police force, a job from which he eventually was fired for multiple violations of law enforcement protocol. In addition, he was being sued for causing a civilian to be seriously injured. To make ends meet as he supports a wife and son, Sami has been trading legal representation in the lawsuit for becoming an investigator in divorce negotiations, supplementing his income with his part-time teaching gig.

How can the visitor to his classroom possibly be a woman he met 25 years ago? What are the chances he can redeem himself and dismiss his guilt IF Anna is really alive?

Harlan Coben is a prize-winning mystery and suspense writer with the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards to his credit—the first author to have won all three. A dozen of his books have been adapted into the Netflix series including Fool Me Once, which premiered in January 2024.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting January 21, 2025.

I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Harlan Coben NEVER dissapoints. What a great page turner and diversion for a lazy weekend afternoon. Before I knew it the book was over and loved it all.

Harlan Coben does it again! This was an action packed ride and fantastic story the whole way through. Sami has spent the last 25 years thinking he killed a woman in Spain then fled for safety. This is his quest to find out what happened.

Coben doesn't disappoint in keeping you interested and guessing in this fast paced thriller. It was an amazing story with a surprising ending for me, Loved going along with Sami on this journey to find the truth.

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

Following up his bestseller Fool Me Once, which was turned into a hit Netflix series, Harlan Coben is back with another tale featuring disgraced former detective Sami Kierce. Because of poor professional judgment, Kierce is no longer a cop. Instead, he is scraping by as an unlicensed private investigator and a sort of criminology teacher at a sketchy adult-education enterprise. Out of nowhere, he sees a woman from his past—or does he?

When he was a young college grad traveling through Europe with friends, Kierce takes up with a beautiful young woman named Anna. When one morning he awakes beside her covered in blood and holding a knife, he decides that discretion is the better part of valor and flees, believing that she is dead.

Twenty-two years later, Anna’s sudden reappearance upends Kierce’s entire life. At the same time, his former fiancée’s convicted killer is released from prison as the result of perceived errors in the case Kierce had helped to build against him. Kierce must deal with the anguish caused by this while simultaneously trying to solve the mystery that he has lived with almost his entire adult life.

If you’re already a fan of Harlan Coben, you know what to expect and you won’t be disappointed. This book is full of twists and turns, and the last forty or so pages contain one surprising development after another. This is another compelling thriller from Harlan Coben. Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Nobody’s Fool.