Nobody's Fool

De: Harlan Coben

Narrado por: Vikas Adam

In this stunningly twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce's college days comes back to haunt him. His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don’t add up…which is something he cannot ignore.

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.

©2025 Harlan Coben (P)2025 Grand Central Publishing

Good.. but

The good... The story is fun, the iconic Coben twists and turns are in full effect, the wild story seemingly happening to the average Joe, it's there and well done.

The not as good.. It felt like Mr. Coben was writing for a screenplay not a book. Like he was writing it with the thought in mind that this will be the next one of his on Netflix.

The pretty close to bad... the narrator was not for me. Their female voices were bad. I've read other reviews saying the females all ran together, I think in part, at least for me, this was because of the voice performance. Anytime there was "action" the voice acting was bad. Anytime there wasn't "action" it was meh at best. It almost made me miss the over acting of Scott Brick on some of Coben's previous offerings.

Side note of meh: The lead's Pakistani heritage only pops up at random moments, it has so little to do with who the character is as a person it feels almost like a token at times. Though -- silver lining thank whomever directed the audiobook, they didn't allow the reader to try an accent, of any kind. Jersey, Pakistani or otherwise.

I've read all of Coben's books, I will likely read the next (and the next), I hope they reassess the voice for the next one.

Conflicted.

I am not sure if it was the narrator that reduced my interest in this book or the story but I will just say not as good as his others. Worth a listen or a read but lower your Coben expectations.

meh

Usually love HC. This book.... not so much. lots of references relating to earlier HC books - usually I like cross references to his other books but this time it felt like product placement in a movie - unnecessary and didn't add anything. I enjoyed the overlapping story concept but the execution was convoluted and distracted from each storyline. And there were no plot twists - at least no obvious ones. Finally, the beginning dragged on and the ending felt rushed.

Nobody’s Fool

The story kept me interested. Also the presenters who did the audio book were excellent.

You can always count on amazing plot twists from Harlan Coben, My favorite fictional author!

Coben’s latest book will keep you listening for hours at a time! Our go to author on road trips!

Different kind of detective

The protagonist is interesting and different from other procedural mysteries- the character avoids many of the tropes seen in this sub genre. There were plenty of realistic twists even if I guessed the ending a little bit before I got there. I also like how a few narrators were used, it felt more immersive.

Very East Coast. Funny for the rest of us you don't live up there.

Good storytelling and raw motion was palpable. Protagonist backstory is a tattoo over played but always makes for a good story. The ones down and out cop looking to set the score right.

Slow start great finish

I love all Harlan Coben books. I read them without any investigation of what it may be about because I know I will love it.
That’s why, for me, I was not sure about this story, in the beginning. The timeline jump frustrated me, especially because there was not enough information to bring about understanding.
If you find yourself feeling similarly, I encourage you to stay with. It is another great Harlan Coben book.

Classic Coben riveting story

Great story, twists and turns, and a lovable protagonist. Lives up to the expectations of all of Harlan Coben’s characters stories.

Lots of twists

Coben always delivers lots of twists. This one is good not my favorite but a good read or listen.