Coming March 25, 2025
Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce)
Suspense/Thriller
2nd in Series
Setting – New York – Spain
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing (March 25, 2025)
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 1538756358
ISBN-13 : 978-1538756355
Kindle ASIN : B0CW1CYLGN
Audiobook ASIN B0DHDDS3PT
A year after the devastating events that took place in Harlan Coben’s bestselling thriller and #1 Netflix series Fool Me Once, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him.
MALAGA – 2000
Sami Kierce, a young man backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning to discover he’s covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of a woman. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. He begins to scream.NEW YORK CITY – 2025
Kierce, now a disgraced detective, is teaching night classes when he recognizes a familiar face in the crowd. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she runs. For Kierce there is no choice. He must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that day.His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past. Soon, he discovers that some secrets should stay buried . . .
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Former Detective Sami Kierce is now teaching night classes. It is there that his past from 25 years ago hits him right in the face. A woman he was afraid he killed just walked into his class. He met Anna while he was backpacking in Spain with friends in 2000. His friends moved on and he stayed with her until he woke up one morning with a knife in his hand, covered in blood, and Anna dead.
The woman runs from his classroom as soon as he sees her. That moment in Malaga is heavily etched in his memory. Could Anna truly be alive? Is he hallucinating? What really happened that night? He can’t let it go. He has to find her. But he may regret tracking her down. Should the past remain in the past? Could it be dangerous? Will someone else die? Could Sami be killed? Is he putting his wife and young son in jeopardy?
Fool Me Once was released on March 22, 2016. It quickly became a favorite Coben thriller. While I remembered much about the story, I was thrilled that Netflix adapted it and released it in an 8-episode limited series last year which I binge-watched a few weeks ago. This not only made the story fresh in my mind, but it also put faces on Sami and the characters who join Sami Kierce in Nobody’s Fool.
Sami went through a lot in Fool Me Once, he is no longer a detective but works as a private investigator and teaches a night class in criminology with some very interesting students. He is still in contact with his ex-partner Marty and is married to Molly with an infant son named Henry. Life wasn’t great but they were getting by when his past walks back in his life. Molly and Henry are good for Sami, they keep him grounded as chaos starts to surround him. Their love is palpable and Molly is a treasure. Sami is a smart man with a good heart and when he starts something he intends to finish it, no matter where the clues lead. All the characters in this story are complex and well-crafted. Their interactions feel true and I enjoy the humor and sarcasm I have come to expect in Mr. Coben’s stories.
Mr. Coben never disappoints. Nobody’s Fool is full of plotlines twisted together with tons of action and suspense. Kierce has his class working a cold case after the guilty party was released from prison on a technicality. They have also convinced him to let them help with the Anna matter. As much as you try to figure out where the author is taking his characters and us readers, my advice is to just hold on and enjoy the ride because there are twists upon twists, turns upon turns, surprises, and edge-of-your-seat moments that only Harlan Coben can provide. I have to say the unexpected ending threw me for a loop. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Wow! Just WOW! Then stay tuned for the cliffhanger.
Nobody’s Fool is a fast-paced suspense thriller that blew me away. Another extraordinary story from Mr. Harlan Coben. I hope NetFlix picks this one up too. I already felt like I was watching all the drama, tension, and suspense unfold before my eyes so I would love to see what they would do with it. I also hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years for another Detective Sami Kierce book because I am very intrigued to see where life takes him next.
Look for Nobody’s Fool on my Best Reads of 2025. I encourage you to preorder your copy today!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About the Author
Find out more about Harlan Coben and his books on his webpage here.
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The Myron Bolitar Series
Also written by Harlan Coben
Find all of Harlan Coben’s books here.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”
