Fool Me Once

“Fool Me Once” (2016) by Harlan Coben is a brilliant read.

Now, before I tell you more, a digression. I had it on pre-order as soon as it became possible, with the release date diarised… only to be caught out by the time difference between New Zealand and America, which meant I had to wait an extra day. Miss Patient I was not, as you can imagine.

And while I (don’t) have your attention, here’s another digression. The poor author had spent 6-9 months of his life writing the book. I read it in two evenings. (Could have made it one evening, but I wanted to prolong the pleasure.) It doesn’t feel fair, somehow.

All right, onto the review. The book contains all the essential bestseller elements that Coben is so good at: a character you’re immediately cheering for, a murder mystery, a family secret, a moral dilemma (should you use webcams to spy on the nanny?), a sense of impeding danger. It even has Win as a cameo – and if you don’t know Win, don’t read this book just yet, first read any of the Myron Bolitar thrillers (I like Promise Me and The Darkest Fear the best).

The blurb – I know you want it:

Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe—who had been brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband—and herself.