By: Harlan Coben
Narrator: Vikas Adam
Detective Sami Kierce #2
ISBN: 9781538756355
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 03/25/2025
Format: Hardcover & audio
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
A year after the devastating events that took place in Fool Me Once, Harlan Coben’s bestselling thriller and #1 Netflix series, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce's college days comes back to haunt him. Present day is hard enough for the disgraced 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 doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.
Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and 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. As soon as Kierce 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—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.
My Review
Harlan Coben, the master of thrillers, returns triumphantly with his highly anticipated (Detective Sami Kierce Series), following the success of his bestselling thriller and #1 Netflix series, Fool Me Once #1.
Now, he unveils the next chapter in this gripping saga with NOBODY'S FOOL (#2). In this unputdownable thriller, a long-buried secret from former Detective Sami Kierce's college days in Spain resurfaces, threatening to shatter his present. His past is about to catch up with him in the most unexpected way…
About...
2025 New York City: Sami Kierce is now a disgraced detective and PI teaching night classes in New York City. He sees her in his classroom: Anna. He could never forget her face. Could she be alive and here in New York City? Is he hallucinating?
The Anna he knew was 20-ish, and this woman was in her mid-forties. She does not have long auburn hair like before, but she is short, blonde, and wears glasses. Is she in disguise? It can't be her. It makes no sense.
He believed she was dead twenty-five years ago in Spain. The woman who has tormented him for years. He reaches out. She flees. He is determined to locate this woman and unravel the enigma that has haunted him incessantly.
2000 Málaga, Spain: Sami is backpacking in Spain with friends and wakes up one morning covered in blood with a knife in his hand. Beside him is the body of a woman, Anna. DEAD. He does not know what happened. He still hears the echo of his screams.
After he reported, he ran. His hopes of becoming a doctor ended, and he dropped out of medical school, drank, and became a cop, then that ended.
After all this time, Sami's investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove that he's NOBODY's FOOL. Some secrets should stay buried!
My thoughts...
Harlan Coben, the King of this genre, in a category of his own and a long-time favorite, is back with another showstopper, NOBODY'S FOOL. A master storyteller, no one does it better! Detective Sami Kierce takes center stage with more action than you can imagine!
An action-packed, fast-paced, heart-pounding suspense full of thrills, intrigue, mystery, plot twists, turns, and shockers with plenty of humor. As always, this is an unputdownable series.
Sami is a great character; when his past meets the present, it is explosive. He finds himself in a mystery with secrets, lies, and plenty of danger. You feel for him as a disgraced detective, teaching and, as always, a rule bender who wants justice, and he has the worst luck.
His lover, Nicole, was murdered (his fiancée). He got kicked off the force for messing up big-time. He is working for a high-end white-shoe Manhattan law firm and not getting paid. He is being sued by the family of a high school kid named PJ Dawson. Whit Shaw represents him in exchange for his working jobs off the books following cheaters (divorces).
He is happily married to Molly and has a baby, Henry. He also teaches a night class named Academy Night Adult School on the Lower East Side, a group of amateur sleuths.
His criminology class and characters are a riot! The Pink Panthers (three women in their 70s - think Golden Girls); Debbie the Goddess (the Daddy tactics are hilarious); Instagram influencers who started true-crime podcast gals called Three Dead Hots; Hex, who wears gray sweatpants with matching hoodie and wants to solve his aunt's murder from 1982; Golfer Gary who wears ironed polo shirts with logos from ritzy clubs; and Leisure Suit Lenny (show n tell) with his mysterious gadgets and tracking devices. And Raymond.
Please continue this series and Netflix! I cannot wait to see The Pink Panthers and the others on screen and who they cast.
There is a whirlwind of action as Sami endeavors to piece together the puzzle to track down this woman who could be Anna and a mystery that spans decades.
Plus, in another storyline, which is also intriguing, his ex-fiancée's convicted killer is being released from prison, claiming innocence, and wants Sami to team up with him to find the real murderer.
Needless to say, Kierce has a lot on his plate! Get ready for a wild ride, and hang on. It is a doozy! Now, the million-dollar question? When😉 is #3 coming? Harlan, between all you have going on, I hope the next one is in the works.
Audiobook...
The audio version was a treat, narrated by the sexy and mega-talented Vikas Adam, a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his 200+ audiobooks. He's established himself as one who creates versatile, distinct, and clear voices for the characters he embodies. Vikas adds flair, humor, and plenty of drama, making an ideal choice for NOBODY'S FOOL, further elevating the story with great characterization for all voices. Highly entertaining!
In summary, if you're a fan of Harlan Coben, you simply can't miss Nobody's Fool. Get ready for a rollercoaster of suspense, action, and a shocking twist that will leave you reeling.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for a gifted advance reading and listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: March 25, 2025
About the Author
Photo credit: Claudio Marinesco
Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-six languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries, with eighty million books in print worldwide. His Myron Bolitar series has earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and several of his books have been developed into Netflix original series, including the #1 global hit Fool Me Once, The Stranger, The Innocent, Gone for Good, The Woods, Stay Close, and Hold Tight, as well as the Amazon Prime series adaptation of Shelter.
Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children. WEBSITE
