NOBODY’S FOOL by Harlan Coben

5 stars

In his second page-turning outing, former police detective and now private investigator Sami Kierce is haunted by a passionate very brief relationship he had right after college on a trip abroad with his friends. He spends four days immersed in fun partying and drugs with Anna, only to wake up next to her one morning with a knife in his hand and a bloodied body beside him in bed.

Fast forward 25 years later, Sami has been kicked off the New York police detective force yet is happily married to a wonderful wife with a one-year-old son. A a woman who Sami instinctively believes to be Anna appears in the back of a night class on detective work he’s teaching. He pursues her to Connecticut to a property blurred out on Google maps. Compounding all of this, the convicted killer of Sami’s former fiancé Nicole has just been released from prison based on Sami’s role in the investigation. Coincidental or something more?

Sami, who’s been haunted by what he believed to be Anna’s death and his possible involvement in it, enlists his novice detective students and his old police partner Marty to uncover the truth of what’s going on.

Sami, despite his considerable flaws, has emerged decades after the Spain incident with a strong moral compass, compassion, impeccable detective skills, and a fierce determination.

Sami’s quest for self-redemption forms the raw and powerful emotional core of the story, amidst the intense plot twists and ratcheting up of psychological tension amidst deceptions.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.