This is Sami Kierce's second outing. The first being Fool Me Once which Netflix made into a series starring Adeel Akhtar as Kierce. (I'll admit now I need to read the book because the tv series lost me entirely.)

In Nobody's Fool we find Sami teaching class to a bunch of detective wannabes. Happily married to Molly and now with a baby boy. It seems Sami's turbulent years are past. That is until a woman he believed long dead walks into his classroom.

What follows is classic Coben twists and turns as we try to get to the complicated truth. There's a sub-plot involving the release of Tad Grayson who had been incarcerated after murdering Sami's then fiancee, Nicole. Grayson continues to protest his innocence.

Can Sami get to the bottom of the mysterious woman's reappearance in his life while trying to put Grayson back behind bars? And will his more than willing group of students help or hinder?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I didn't get lost in the twists (a first for me). I find Sami a completely engaging character. His students added humour and interest to the story too. Also the denouement made my mouth drop open. It was incredibly difficult to put down so what more do you need?

Excellent. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance review copy. Most appreciated.

Nobody’s Fool is the second book in the Sami Kierce series by Harlan Coben. This is a fast paced psychological thriller, full of suspense, colourful characters and intriguing twists.

The story begins in Malaga, Spain, in 2000, when young backpacker Sami Kierce wakes up in a nightmare, covered in blood, a knife in his hand, and the body of a woman named Anna beside him. He has no memory of what happened. Not sure whether he killed her or is involved in some sort of frame up. Either way it is a something that will always remain with him.

Moving forward to New York City, 2025. Kierce is a shamed former detective who spends his evenings teaching classes, still tormented by the unsolved mystery. One evening while teaching a class he notices a woman in the audience and is convinced it is Anna. There eyes meet and she immediately sets off. Can the woman he thought dead for the last 25 years actually be alive? Sami is determined to uncover the truth and to solve the mystery that has haunted him.

Written in Coben’s imitable style, twisty plot that is fast paced with a touch of humour.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Random House UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

As always another fast paced brilliant thought out book. Harlan coban is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I’d highly recommend this book.

Although this is the follow-on book from Fool Me Once, it is not necessary to have read that book before reading this.
As usual with Harlan Coben the characters are superb, the storyline intense.
His novels are called suspense novels. This one is no different it keeps the reader in a pleasant suspense throughout.
Sami Kierce has a pleasant personality and the point of the titles of the books featuring him is that he may appear to be a pleasant fool, but underneath that mask a genius lurks.
I am looking forward to hearing about Sami Kierce again, and hopefully seeing his portrayal on Netflix again.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sami Kierce is an ex-cop who was forced out due to poor judgement and rule breaking. However he's trying to move forward despite the fact all of his closed homicides' are being revisited. In addition to this he's haunted by an event that took place while he was back packing round Europe, the pre- university rite of passage. An event that so overshadowed his life, he became a cop and not a doctor.
Life it ticking along for Sami, he's a private investigator and he teaches night classes on criminology. But suddenly out the blue his class is visited by a woman, one sight of her and Sami's thrown back 20years.
What a fabulous novel, Harlan Coben never fails to deliver incredible, enthralling reads that leave me stunned. Nobody's Fool is truly amazing.

Nobody's Fool is another fantastic book by Harlan Coben. It is packed full of twists and turns with lots of interesting characters, some likeable and some not. The storyline was great, and I look forward to reading more (hopefully) books featuring Sami Kierce.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my ARC.

Nobody's Fool a crime thriller book 2 of 2 Detective Sami Kierce by Harlan Coben was so long drawn out but worth it as the ending more than made up for it.

Twenty two years earlier Former Detective Sami Kierce left the force and is now working as a private investigator taking classes to train students to become super sleuths and also pay off his debts. He loves quoting the great Sherlock Holmes whilst teaching his students at night classes.

One evening a face from the past makes a speedy visit to his class and he realises it is a girlfriend Anna whom he met at a disco whilst backpacking in Spain.

With the help of his student sleuths he is determined to track Anna down but he is to be biting off more than he bargained for as he unravels who Anna really is and what she did to him twenty years ago.

Nobody's Fool is the second book in the Detective Sami Kierce series. The first book was fantastic, this one is even better.
22 years ago Sami, on holiday in Spain, woke covered in blood with a knife in his hand next to the body of his holiday romance, Anna. Desperate and frightened Sami fled back to America but never put the trauma behind him. So, when a woman who looks like Anna walks into his class it starts a chain of events that no one could have ever predicted.
I absolutely love the character of Sami, the way he speaks remind me of another much-loved Harlan Coben character Myron Bolitar, and I love the relationship he has with Molly and their son.
I really hope there will be more books in this series and also would love to see a Sami, Myron and Win collaboration in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my ARC.

At the age of eighteen Sami Kierce fell in love with Anna while backpacking around Europe. Things ended dramatically when he woke in bed next to the blood-covered dead body of Anna. Twenty-two years later he's convinced Anna has just walked into his classroom.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben is the second book in the Sami Kierce series but can easily be read as a standalone novel as the author quickly outlines all the relevant information.

The opening chapter is set twenty-two years ago when a young Sami Kierce is traveling Europe with friends in the summer before starting college. He is surprised and flattered when a beautiful woman ignores his much more athletic friends and shows interest in him. A whirlwind romance follows, with Sami and Anna spending all of their time together. After a drink and drug-fueled night Sami wakes to discover he's covered in blood and holding a knife. Anna's body is in the bed beside him.

If that opening isn't enough to grab your attention then what follows certainly will. Twenty-two years later Sami is an ex-NYPD detective, having been kicked off the force for causing a suspect to be badly injured. Kierce is making ends meet by working as an investigator for a lawyer and running an evening class on criminology. It is during one of the evening classes that a woman walks in, and then promptly leaves. Even with only a brief glance at the woman Sami is convinced it was Anna. After giving chase Sami is unable to catch up but it does lead him to a well-guarded property and the infamous Belmond family. In 1999 teenager Victoria Belmond disappeared, feared kidnapped. Nothing was heard of her until eleven years later when she suddenly reappeared with no memory of the past. Are Anna and Victoria the same person? If so, how is she alive when Sami woke next to her dead body?

You just know that when you open a novel by Harlan Coben you are in for a treat with all the twists and turns, twists that will completely blindside you and I couldn't believe how many are packed into the opening chapters of the book. Added to all of this is a gritty setting, lots of action, humour and zippy dialogue. I love the way in which the author also includes mentions of other books. The Lock-Horne Building, home to Win Lockwood, Myron Bolitar's best friend, gets a fleeting mention. There is also a reference to the serial killer who featured in Think Twice.

Trying to figure out what is happening, following the clues, nags at you as you read, it's like having an itch you just can't quite reach. The shocking revelation left me gasping, totally unexpected and so well planned.

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben is the second book in the Detective Sami Kierce police stories.
It is now a year after the events of Fool Me Once took place. Now a secret from former detective Sami Kierce’s past comes back to haunt him. When he was taking a gap year the young woman Sami was sleeping with turned up dead in bed beside him one morning and it looked as if Sami had stabbed her. He runs back home, after reporting the death to the local police.
He is taking his night class in New York 2025, when he spots a woman whom he identifies as Anna, the dead woman from his time in Spain. He chases after her but doesn’t catch up with her. He then is determined to find out who she is and where she is living. He needs to find out how she is still alive when his dreams have been filled with her death.
He even involves his students from his night class to help solve the mystery.
An interesting storyline with plenty of twists and turns before the reader finds out the truth.
Highly recommended

Sami Kierce is an Asian-American who grew up wanting to be a doctor but became a police officer and is now a sort unlicensed private investigator. He also teaches a night school class for would be sleuths.
Before Sami went to university he travelled around Europe with friends. On the Costa del Sol he met Anna. Blond and beautiful, they seemed to be falling for each other. But something happened and Sami fled back to the States.
Years later Sami is a disgraced detective and one night a woman turns up at his class. Sami is convinced it is Anna and tracks her down, opening up a web of secrets and lies.
A thoroughly enjoyable read with a new 'hero's from Harlen Coben. I hope we see more of Mr Kierce

Firstly, thank you for the ARC of Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben.

I did not know this was the 2nd instalment of this series, however in my opinion, it can be read as a stand alone, it was brilliant. You get to know the characters, I enjoyed reading about Kierce, he’s a likeable individual. The plot is great and the pace of the book is ideal.

I loved the last few chapters, you got everything you needed to know wrapped up with a bow on the top. It does make you think, how far would you go to protect your children.

I look forward to reading more from Harlan and wish him every success for publication day.

Thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with Sami again and some other old friends, nice to know he's settled with a family. He is doing what a lot of 'retired' police do, acting as a private investigator and teaching evening classes. He is unprepared when an old girlfriend suddenly turns up and then disappears again, especially as he thought he had killed her whilst in Spain on holiday. He starts to investigate with the help of old friends and his class students and soon finds out the truth, but at a price. All the clues are there but as usual with Harlen Coben you don't see the ending twist.

Sami Kierce goes on holiday to Spain with friends from college , he meets Anna, and as his friends continue their travels . he decides to stay with her at her apartment. Most nights are spent in a haze of drugs and drink but one morning Sami wakes up with a knife in his hand and Anna covered in blood apparently dead, He wants to tell the police but Anna;s drug dealer/friend tells him to leave immediately. He rings his father who tells him to get the first plane back to America . He does but keeps worrying about Anna;s death.
On New Years Eve 1999 Victoria , a rich girl from a very rich family , goes missing from a party she was co-hosting at a pub.She is never seen again for 11 years until she is found at a diner suffering from memory loss .
Some years later Sami , having been sacked from the police force , is teaching a class in Criminal Detection to a bunch of want to be sleuths when he sees Anna at the back of the class ,she starts to run but is seen jumping in to a Mercedes with a driver.
He enlists the help of his class to investigate how she could be alive and who she is, It appears that she is Victoria , and eventually her father asks Sami to investigate Victoria;s missing 11 years.
However things are not as they appear as they never are with Harlan Coben. Another cracker.

Well, this was twisty!

Ex-cop Sami Kearce now teaches a class for wannabe sleuths, a job that doesn’t quite pay the bills, but it’s all he has to support his wife and baby son.

22 years previously, Sami had a brief holiday romance with Anna and woke one morning to find her dead in the bed beside him, a bloodied knife in his hand. He ran, but it’s haunted him ever since. Until Anna turns up at his class one evening. He recognises her instantly, but she runs.

What a plot, I was hooked! As Sami tries to find Anna and the truth, a man who was convicted of killing Sami’s cop fiancée is released from jail.

There was a slow down in pace towards the end and then a massive rush to the end with a couple of brilliant and very unexpected twists that had my jaw on the floor! The rushed ending was a bit of a shame for such a well thought out plot, but nevertheless, a great read!

4.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Harlan Coben and Random House Cornerstone for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This had an interesting plot, following on from Fool Me Once but it failed to deliver for me. I found the writing to be quite tedious. I do like the character of Sami Kierce though but the book lacked the usual tension from the author and there were too many loose endings in the sub plot. It's an ok read, just not what I expect from the author and I just feel a bit let down. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant, another Harlen Coben masterpeice

Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben
Published by: Century, Penguin Random House UK
Publication Date: 27/3/25

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
No Spoilers

You know you are never going to be disappointed with a Harlan Coben book. Although this contains a few characters from Fool Me Once, it serves equally well as a standalone. Love the main character, and the clever plotting and conclusion blew me away. I couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to the author, publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I love Harlan Coben! I just couldn’t put this down. Lots of storytelling so you feel fully in the picture. Great thriller and I would recommend this.

This is an honest review for the publisher based on an advanced digital copy. More, please!

#Nobody’sFool #HarlanCoben #NetGalley

This was only going to get 3 stars, but the ending saved it, so 4 stars it is.
I'll admit that I find the writing style difficult to read. I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan of American writers. I don't get their humour. But saying that, once I got past the lingo and sorted it out from the actual story, it was rather good.
Sami Kierce, as a young student, backpacking, wakes one morning to discover himself covered in blood with a knife in his hand. Lying next to him is Anna.
Fast forward to the present, and Sami is teaching evening classes. There, he spots Anna in his class, but she runs off. He chases her. Is it really her? He thought she was dead.
There were a lot of twists to this, which I really liked as I didn't know what was going to happen next.
Sami has to sift through what the truth is and what are lies, and there are plenty of them.
Overall, it was a decent read with a shock ending.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Random House uk for the invitation to read this in return for an honest review.