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.
Nobody’s Fool is a gripping psychological crime thriller that will keep readers guessing. It is the 2nd book in the Sami Kierce Detective series and can be read as a standalone—but it’s recommended to read “Fool Me Once” first for a fully immersive experience, as some characters reappear in this book.
The narrative centers on Sami Kierce, a former detective whose life was forever changed during a backpacking trip in Spain. He awoke one morning to find his girlfriend, Anna, dead beside him, with a bloody knife in his hand. Overwhelmed and confused, he fled back to the USA. Two decades later, now a PI & night school instructor in NYC, Sami sees a woman in his class who looks just like Anna. When he calls out to her, she flees, reigniting his need to uncover the truth. As he investigates, Sami gets caught up in a complex web of a powerful family, a past murder case, and buried secrets.
Protagonist Sami Kierce is complex, deeply flawed, and carries his past trauma openly, making him refreshingly relatable. His inner dialogue is filled with witty humor, puns, funny nicknames for others, and mind-bending puzzles as he tries to unravel the mystery of the woman resembling Anna. The book gives just enough backstory of his haunted and mistake-riddled past that led to him becoming a PI—all the while adding emotional depth to the story and making him very likable. The book has a fantastic ensemble of side characters, including a group of Sami’s students, who call themselves “The Pink Panthers”, and who act as amateur detectives to provide key information to his investigations. They also offer comic relief and a respite from Sami’s emotional intensity.
Similar to his other recent thrillers, Coben starts by introducing the characters, lays out the basic mystery, and then adds layers of complexity. The dual timelines, connecting Sami’s past in Spain with his present-day investigations in NYC, unfold with perfect timing, giving readers just enough information at each stage to keep them fully invested and constantly guessing. Along with the dual timelines are multiple subplots that require readers’ full attention to grasp all the intricacies of the plot! The story has great pacing and a variety of twists and turns throughout, with the tension building steadily towards a jaw-dropping conclusion—one so dramatic thatreaders will be reeling and eagerly awaiting a third installment in the series! The first book in the series has already been adapted into an 8-part Netflix series, and this thrilling sequel is sure to follow suit!
Overall, Nobody’s Fool is a complex, unputdownable thriller that will have readers gripped from the very start. The book has been touted by many as Coben’s best work in recent years. Readers who love psychological thrillers with complex subplots, dual timelines, and unguessable endings will absolutely love this book!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of Nobody’s Fool is an unstoppable listen narrated by the incredibly talented Vikas Adam! From the very first chapter, Vikas creates a suspenseful and atmospheric narrative, bringing protagonist Sami Kierce vividly to life with all his emotional intensity and incessant inner dialogue—you’ll be on the edge of your seat, guessing what’s coming next the entire time! The dialogue between Sami and the woman he believes to be “Anna” is a major highlight of the audiobook. Adams narrates their interactions with high intensity and palpable chemistry, and listeners will be hanging on to every word!
From Sami’s initial obsession over tracking down “Anna” to his compelling discussions with his ragtag amateur detective team to his heartfelt dialogue with his wife and son, Adams delivers ALL of the emotions and makes Sami a multi-dimensional character that readers will root for! With the jaw-dropping ending, brought to full effect by Adam’s amazing acting skills, readers will be left utterly breathless—and they’ll be immediately craving another book in the series!
Adams also provides distinct voices for the great variety of side characters, including engaging voices for the “Pink Panther” crew and hauntingly compelling voices for the Belmont family members and villain—it all adds up to a very immersive and highly entertaining listening experience that you would normally get from a multicast audiobook!
Overall, the author’s brilliant writing, coupled with Adams’ outstanding narration, will have listeners glued to their headsets. Readers who enjoy multi-layered plots, fierce protagonists, and intricate dual timeline storytelling will love this audiobook!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of Nobody’s Fool is an unstoppable listen narrated by the incredibly talented Vikas Adam! From the very first chapter, Vikas creates a suspenseful and atmospheric narrative, bringing protagonist Sami Kierce vividly to life with all his emotional intensity and incessant inner dialogue—you’ll be on the edge of your seat, guessing what’s coming next the entire time! The dialogue between Sami and the woman he believes to be “Anna” is a major highlight of the audiobook. Adams narrates their interactions with high intensity and palpable chemistry, and listeners will be hanging on to every word!
From Sami’s initial obsession over tracking down “Anna” to his compelling discussions with his ragtag amateur detective team to his heartfelt dialogue with his wife and son, Adams delivers ALL of the emotions and makes Sami a multi-dimensional character that readers will root for! With the jaw-dropping ending, brought to full effect by Adam’s amazing acting skills, readers will be left utterly breathless—and they’ll be immediately craving another book in the series!
Adams also provides distinct voices for the great variety of side characters, including engaging voices for the “Pink Panther” crew and hauntingly compelling voices for the Belmont family members and villain—it all adds up to a very immersive and highly entertaining listening experience that you would normally get from a multicast audiobook!
Overall, the author’s brilliant writing, coupled with Adams’ outstanding narration, will have listeners glued to their headsets. Readers who enjoy multi-layered plots, fierce protagonists, and intricate dual timeline storytelling will love this audiobook!
The audiobook of Nobody’s Fool is an unstoppable listen narrated by the incredibly talented Vikas Adam! From the very first chapter, Vikas creates a suspenseful and atmospheric narrative, bringing protagonist Sami Kierce vividly to life with all his emotional intensity and incessant inner dialogue—you’ll be on the edge of your seat, guessing what’s coming next the entire time! The dialogue between Sami and the woman he believes to be “Anna” is a major highlight of the audiobook. Adams narrates their interactions with high intensity and palpable chemistry, and listeners will be hanging on to every word!
From Sami’s initial obsession over tracking down “Anna” to his compelling discussions with his ragtag amateur detective team to his heartfelt dialogue with his wife and son, Adams delivers ALL of the emotions and makes Sami a multi-dimensional character that readers will root for! With the jaw-dropping ending, brought to full effect by Adam’s amazing acting skills, readers will be left utterly breathless—and they’ll be immediately craving another book in the series!
Adams also provides distinct voices for the great variety of side characters, including engaging voices for the “Pink Panther” crew and hauntingly compelling voices for the Belmont family members and villain—it all adds up to a very immersive and highly entertaining listening experience that you would normally get from a multicast audiobook!
Overall, the author’s brilliant writing, coupled with Adams’ outstanding narration, will have listeners glued to their headsets. Readers who enjoy multi-layered plots, fierce protagonists, and intricate dual timeline storytelling will love this audiobook!
