Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Nobody's Fool.

I read the first Sami Pierce novel and enjoyed it though I don't remember what happened.

It was awhile go and I had to go through my list on Goodreads to reread my review to remind myself I liked it.

I mostly enjoy Mr. Coben's books.

I like the way he writes; his characters are likable, relatable, and down-to-earth; supporting characters are mostly decent and loyal, though some of his narratives take a bit more disbelief suspension I'm willing to give.

The events in Nobody's Fool takes place an year after the first book.

Former Detective Sami Kierce is slumming it as an off-the-books PI and teaching a true-crime course at the local college.

When a blast from the past reminds him of a shocking event from when he was in Spain as a college grad, it leads him down the road to discover the truth, but at what cost?

At the same time, a convicted cop killer has his conviction overturned on a technicality and causes Kierce further distress at the same time.

Is this a coincidence? And what does it mean, if anything?

First, I enjoyed the writing; it's fast paced, there's lots of stuff happening and the narrative kept my attention.

Second, there's a lot of characters, minor and supporting, and though I liked their inclusion, they didn't add much to the narrative and read as filler.

Third, I love the procedural aspects of the case; Sami interviewing the family, witnesses, suspects, etc.

Fourth, there's a lot going on, not just with all the characters, but the subplot of the released cop killer so there's a lot of multi-tasking as to what is happening with which narrative.

Fifth, I like the ending, though I guessed a few of the twists.

As I mentioned, the narrative takes a bit of disbelief suspension but it's a wild ride, its engaging and captures your interest if you can ignore some of the obvious:

Would you really use a class of true-crime enthusiasts to help you solve a cold case? Can these people be trusted?

How open are witnesses from an old murder case be willing to speak to you decades later?

Can they recall details years later?

I look forward to the next book featuring Sami Kierce.

I have read all but 2 of Harlan Coben's book and this one did not disappoint. And even though this is billed as Sami Kierce #2, I don't think you need to have read Fool Me Once to be able to follow and enjoy this book. Mr. Coben's writing style and trademark humor makes for easy reading which made this one hard to put down. The ending may surprise you!

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Though this was the second installment for Detetie Kierce, you don't need to read the first one to understand the plot. It was a nice,, easy-to-read thriller. There were some twists and turns that were unexpected and a morally grey MMC. Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben is a thriller about a former detective that is teaching night school one evening when a girl from his past suddenly makes an appearance in the back of his classroom. She runs off, but he manages to follow her. And what he finds is a serious mystery. Because he thought this girl was dead. Just like every book Coben writes, this one was full of twists and turns that kept me fully drawn into the story from start to finish. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own,

Sami Kierce has been fired from his job as a police officer, so he’s making ends meet by teaching a Private Investigator course. During class one night, a woman walks into the room - and she’s the girlfriend Sami has thought was dead for 22 years. He simply can’t let this go and sets out to discover the truth of what really happened back then.

I did not read the first book in this series (but I have seen the tv show) and I think this can definitely be read as a standalone. There’s enough background that I felt like I knew what was going on throughout the book. I thought everything was really well done and I enjoyed the two concurrent mysteries. I think I’ll probably go back and read book one and then I’m hoping for a book three!

Nobody's Fool isn't exactly a sequel to Fool Me Once, but you're definitely better off if you have read it or at least watched the show (which was pretty darn faithful). Sami Kierce has lost his job and his reputation after the events of Fool Me Once and events that are alluded to after. Part of the reason I like him so much is that he really can't let a mystery go. As a former cop, he has the knowledge and tools to investigate where other people would not even know where to start. When the girl he spent a week with during a college Eurotrip comes up dead, he leaves the country plagued with not knowing what really happened. Fast forward to the present time. This very same girl shows up in his armchair sleuth class, taking him on a twisting mind screw of an investigation. Naturally, he's encouraged to stop by various different factors, and he ignores it. Because, like any good detective, he just can't let it go. What happens next is a lot to process for me, so I can't imagine how it was for him. Each truth finds more questions until you're brought to the conclusion in a way only Harlan Coben can make work. Then finally you think everything is figured out, only it's not.

Fantastic book! I would highly recommend both this book and other books by this author. Be sure to read this book!

“Nobody’s Fool” was my introduction to Harlan Coben’s writing, although I have seen some of his stories developed into television series, hence my interest in reading this book. Though the book had twists and surprises, I found it underwhelming.
The storyline was hard to believe—young intelligent college graduate is scammed into thinking he killed his lover, it ruins his life, he becomes a disgraced cop rather than a doctor, he’s teaching a criminology class at night and the dead girl drops in to check out the class. And from there, it just gets weirder.
Not my favorite book. Not my favorite characters.
My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

This is book two in the Detective Sami Kierce series, picking up a year after the events of "Fool Me Once", the detective is dealing with the ghosts from his past and trying to uncover the truth. Nobody's Fool starts with the scary flashback to 2000, where a very young Sami finds himself in a nightmarish situation in Spain where he is covered in Anna's blood, with a girl he had been seeing. It has left him questioning what happened all those years ago setting the stage for regret and trauma. Now it's 2025 and Sami is a disgraced detective attempting to rebuild his life but the sudden reappearance of Anna sends shock waves through his life. Now Sami is determined to uncover the questions that has haunted him since that bloody day in Spain. Coben was again brings us a page turner that will leave you wondering about telling the truth and the impact of our past choices.

I read a lot of thriller/crime novels. I'm not a huge fan of Harlan Coben but decided to try this one out. It was not anything special in my opinion, but very similar to many other authors in this genre. Overall, I enjoyed it. It did take me a while to get through it, but that's probably more on me because I was so busy.

Compelling Writing Style Marred By A Convoluted, At Times Slow Moving Plot That Strains Credulity!

Without getting into detail about the plot, Nobody’s Fool is a thriller that follows disgraced ex-detective Sami Kierce as he unravels a decades-old mystery after coming face-to-face with a woman he thought was dead. More about the plot can be found in the Amazon and Goodreads Book Descriptions and in the other reader reviews.

The focus of the reminder of this review is on what I hope will be of help in deciding if Nobidy’s Fool is a book for you.
Basically, my overall 3 star rating is driven largely by Coben’s 4-5 star ability to write in a style that captured my attention from the first page and held it captive for the large majority of the rest of the book.. In my opinion, this is quite a feat since, while I found the storyline of Nobody’s Fool to be entertaining, it was subpar due to its often being convoluted, and implausible to the point that it went beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. In addition, all of the characters were very thinly developed and lacked depth; with little description provided of the main character, Sami, Kierce, other than that he is quite short and of Pakistani descent. Further, the characters participating in Kierce’s detective course who he recruited to help in his investigation were totally unrealistic to me..

Nonetheless, despite my issues with the plot and character development, I found it good enough to finish due, as I said, to Coben’s captivating writing style. It is not, however, a book that I recommend you rush out to read unless you are the type of thriller reader who is willing to cast aside credulity and well-developed characters in favor of a very gripping reading experience.

Not one of his finest books. I found the story a little slow and unbelievable. Every thing just seemed a little too convenient. Some of the characters were great, but they all seemed to lack depth for me. I have definitely read better books by him

Sami Kierce has been kicked off the police force. He's now working as a private investigator and teaching night school in New York City. He really needs more to support his wife and new baby. One night he recognizes a woman in the back of the classroom who he last saw 22 years ago. Before he can talk to her she's run away.
Twenty-two years ago Sami was backpacking across Europe with other recent college graduates. He meets a beautiful woman named Anna. They grow close quickly. He tells the others to go ahead since he wants to stay on the Costa del Sol with Anna whom he sees as a girlfriend. One morning, after a night of excessive drinking, he wakes up covered in blood and Anna with a knife in her chest. With the help of his father, Sami runs away and doesn't pursue higher education goals.
He becomes obsessed with finding Anna. The mystery of his past has haunted him. This search becomes much more complicated quickly. Sami wants answers without putting his family in harm's way.
Sami faced prejudice over time since he wasn't the typical police officer. At the same, he isn't entirely blameless. He is a sort of anti-hero in many ways. We don't know quite as much about his wife though she does play an important role.
"Anna" and other secondary characters actually play the most pivotal roles. The many twists revolve around them. If you are expecting the typical Harlan Coben "gotcha" ending, you won't be disappointed. I always know I can count on those with all of the author's novels.This novel is actually #2 in the Sami Kierce series. The first on FOOL ME ONCE gives more background on Sami. I can see NOBODY'S FOOL being a Netflix series in the foreseeable future. I do hope this one will be set in the U.S. Of course, foreign settings in other Netflix settings have worked well as adaptations.
I first discovered Harlan Coben through his Myron Bolivar series. Myron was a favorite protagonist with his smart aleck attitude. As long as Mr. Coben keeps writing books, I keep reading them.

I'm a fan of Harlan Coben and always enjoy his latest novel. In true Harlan fashion, it's a fast-paced, gripping, and suspenseful read. You won't be disappointed!

This book got me hooked and I could not stop listening! I kept guessing and thinking one thing then it would turn out to be another! I love books that just suck me in from the start and keep me enthralled until the very last sentence. This book did just that. You get an answer for something and then another question pops up like umm what? You wonder what is going to happen next. Another great read by Harlan Coben and I hope there will be another book to answer the question the book ended on!

I really enjoyed this one! It had the suspense and twists you’d expect from Harlan Coben, but what made it especially fun were the characters—some of their one-liners actually made me laugh out loud.

There was a lot happening plot-wise, but somehow it never felt overwhelming or confusing. Coben kept everything moving at a solid pace, and even though I managed to predict part of the ending (*pats self on back*), there were still plenty of surprises that caught me off guard.

Overall, it was a fast-paced, entertaining read with a great mix of mystery and humor—and although it’s the second in a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley & Grand Central Publishing for the eARC!

I have read other books by Coben, and while I enjoyed this one, it wasn't one of my favorites. It is the second book in a series, but it could likely stand alone. There is a lot packed into this storyline, and at times, it felt like too much, making it hard to keep things straight at times. As expected, characters are well developed, and there are numerous unexpected twists.

Action-packed. Suspenseful. Entertaining. Intriguing. WTF?!? Just a few words that came to mind while reading Nobody’s Fool. Mr. Harlan Coben… you knocked it out of the park, sir! The wit and humor interwoven throughout the serious plot is *chef’s kiss.*

While I typically enjoy stories that are told with multiple POVs, this one is told strictly from Kierce’s POV, as if he’s speaking directly to us. To be honest, that’s the only POV that matters. The character development of Kierce is fantastic; at times I loved to hate him. Throughout the story I felt as though I were right there with him. He feels like just a regular guy, but with a serious backstory.

The story itself is full of twists and turns with an ending that truly blew my mind. I simply could not get enough of this book and I am craving more of Sami Kierce!!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars!

I have read quite a few Harlan Coben books and I have enjoyed them all. This one was no exception! It pulled me right in and kept my attention the entire time. I was not super shocked by all the "twists" but when you read thrillers on a regular basis, that is to be expected. It was a very quick read for me as I read it in a little over a day. The characters were fun as well! Definitely recommend if you are looking for a quick read and you enjoy a good thriller/mystery. And with the way it ended, I am hoping we will be hearing more from Sami Kierce.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Haven’t read a book by him I don’t like! Fast paced and full of twists and turns that leave you in shock! Never a dull moment!