Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben book review: A thrilling roller-coaster ride
Sami’s holiday romance died 20 years ago — so why has she just appeared in his classroom?
Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben: The key details
- Publish date: 27th March
- Genre: Thriller
- Publisher: Penguin
- Series/standalone: Part two in a series (but can be read as a standalone)
- No. of pages: 421
Blurb: A year after the devastating events that took place in Fool Me Once, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him. Present day is hard enough for Kierce, but his past isn’t through with him yet…
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 begins to scream – and then he runs.
Twenty two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by 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. But as soon as he 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. Soon he discovers that some secrets should stay buried…
Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben: The review
Believe it or not, Nobody’s Fool is the first Harlan Coben book I’ve read — and it certainly won’t be my last. I’ve absolutely loved this: it’s a fast-paced, easy-to-read thriller centring around ex-detective Sami Kierce. The book delves into Sami’s personal life, but it’s primarily about a very strange mystery. You see, 20 years ago, Sami met a girl on holiday in Spain. He woke up to find her dead in the bed next to him — but 20 years later, he sees her. Just what is going on?
What unfolds over the 420-or-so pages is a thrilling mystery involving kidnapping, missing girls, family secrets and more, and I lapped up every morsel of it. You’ll learn about a woman who was missing for 11 years, come to know her rich, somewhat well-known family, and also investigate what happened to her. There are also strands of other mysteries for Sami to delve into, too, but that trip to Spain some 20 years ago remains the central focus of the story.
Told from a first-person perspective, Sami’s narrative is very easy to follow and despite him seeing like a bit of a Jack-the-lad at times, he’s a very likeable character who I warmed to quickly. I’ve partially listened to the book on audio and the excellent narration helped cement Sami’s character for me. It’s a wonderful book to listen to, with the pacing and intonation always spot-on.
There are, of course, twists here, and I didn’t see the ending coming (though I’m not sure I ever do!). It didn’t come out of nowhere, though, and was excellently signposted without being obvious. Some of the narrative strands didn’t feel entirely relevant but nothing was off-putting, and it was nice to get a wider sense of who Sami is outside of the mystery he’s embroiled in.
This is technically the second book in a series, but you don’t need to have read Fool Me Once to enjoy this. Maybe you’ll know a little more about Sami’s past but it’s not necessary: I’ve loved this as a standalone. It leaves it open for a sequel, though, which I’ll (obviously) be very excited to dive into.
Pick this up if you like easy-to-digest thrillers. It’s a real rollercoaster, and I’ve loved every moment of it.
This review is based on an audiobook of Nobody’s Fool provided by Netgalley. I also purchased my own hardback copy.
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