Book Review: Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

This psychological thriller written by Harlan Coben is the follow on novel from Fool Me Once. Sami Kierce’s whole life changes 25 years ago after he goes backpack in Spain with friends for a holiday. He is a medical student who works with the college football team. He meets Anna. at a disco and they hook up. Anna is a free spirit who is involved with drugs. Sami also starts to partake. One morning Sami wakes up with a knife in his hand, covered in blood and Anna’s lifeless body next to him. She had been stabbed to death. He has no recollection of the previous night. He goes to the police but when they return to the scene of the crime Anna’s body has gone. His father tells him to leave. He flees from the scene of the crime and the country. Shortly after returning home there is a huge news about a local heiress Victoria Belmond being kidnapped 

His whole life changes. Prior to Anna’s murder he was a medical student but he instead becomes a NYPD police officer. Several years ago he was engaged to  Nicole Brett, also a police officer Sadly she was murdered by Tad Grayson. He is now married, to Molly,  lives in NYC and has a baby boy. 

Career wise Sami is  a disgraced cop, kicked out of the force after chasing a suspect off a roof.  He works as a private investigator for a law firm  and teaches criminology night classes. He is sure he has seen Anna alive and well at one of his lectures. There eyes lock and she runs as soon as she realises he has recognised her. Tad has also just been released on a technicality. Tad asks the firm Sami works for to investigate Nicole’s case and Sami agrees to help. 

Sami enlists his criminology students to help solve the two murders, the kidnapping of Victoria and the possible link between her and Anna,  find out what really happened in Spain and figure out who is stalking his family. There are lots of twists, red herrings and cliff hangers in the storyline. The ending cannot easily be guessed, leaving enough room for a third book in the series?! 

I enjoyed this book. It is fast paced, well throughout with lots of sun plots. The humour is brought in by his amateur detective club which is run by Sami. The characters add variety and dimension to the plot and direction of the storyline. I don’t normally enjoy novels written in the first person but with Sami acting as the narrator I felt it drew the reader into the story. 

I received this book via Netagalley and Random House UK in exchange for a honest review.