2 December 2016

Review #566: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“I am a fool with a heart but no brains, and you are a fool with brains but no heart; and we’re both unhappy, and we both suffer.”

----Fyodor Dostoyevsky



Harlan Coben, an international bestselling author, has penned yet another engrossing and riveting thriller, Fool Me Once that revolves around a former female Army soldier who sees her dead husband on their two year old daughter's room's nanny cam, two days after the funeral of her husband who has been shot dead by the robbers in front of his wife's eyes. But trust if the big thing that is nagging at the back of the female soldier's mind, unraveling the truth might lead her to a dark, ugly path.



Synopsis:

You think you know the truth. The truth is you know nothing.

The international number one best-selling author of Tell No One and Six Years is back with his next impossible-to-put-down thriller.

If your husband was murdered,
And you were a witness,
How do you explain, seeing him on your nanny cam?
You thought you trusted him.
Now you can't even trust yourself.

Dark secrets and a terrifying hunt for the truth lie at the heart of this gripping new thriller.



Maya Burkett, the Army veteran, finds her husband, Joe's footage on the nanny cam that she installed in their two year old daughter, Lily's room to keep an eye out on the nanny, Isabella. But Joe's funeral was held two days ago before the video's time stamp, who was shot by two robbers in a park right in front of the eyes of Maya. Already living her life with a huge baggage of guilt because of the video that destroyed her Army career, Maya is filled with fresh guilt of not being able to save her husband that night. But when she asks Isabella, the nanny, about the man who looks like Joe on the video footage from Lily's room, she assaults Maya and runs away with the memory card of the nanny cam. Baffled Maya, could not risk to approach the detective who is investigating the death of Joe, as he looks shady and moreover, when he has already found out that the gun that killed Clair, Maya's sister in a home invasion few years back, also killed Joe. Little did Maya knew that her self investigation will lead her on a corrupted path of lies, deceit and ugly secrets, but no matter what, the readers will be left fooled thousand times over.

This is the first time that I read any book by this author, and I feel extremely guilt about the fact that I missed so many amazing stories by this talented crime thriller. This book is spine chillingly addictive and highly absorbing, and right from the very first page, I was sucked right into the depth of the story line, and could not let myself go from that rush of this story. The book is a must read for one and all, be the reader is a crime thriller fan or not, but one must gran a copy of this book for sure, as the story not only unravels with a mystery but also with the best of human emotions and twists that will leave the readers anxious as well as surprised to their very core till the very end. The chapters end with a complex challenge that will beg the readers to turn the next page and so on.

The author's writing is something, as the author has penned in an arresting manner and it felt like the author knows how to lure his readers into such an engrossing thriller. The narrative is both sentimental and appealing enough to make the readers stick to the pages of this book like a moth stuck on a glowing light bulb. The pacing is extremely fast and the whole story unravels at the speed of some unpredictably wild tornado although it feels deeply satisfying after experiencing Corben's tornado, meaning the book!

There are so many layers and unpredictable twists that come out of nowhere that will make the readers feel like getting slapped real hard right on their face all-of-a-sudden, although that slap feels good and fits perfectly with the mood and the flow of the story line. The author keeps his big guns till the climax that is bound to throw the readers off the edges of their seats. The mystery reads like a roller coaster ride filled with full of anticipative moments and adrenaline rushing scenes. The pace of the revelation of the truth is smooth and will occur gradually through the backstories and once the readers are accustomed well enough with the story line.

The characters shine like a gem through their flaws, strength and humanity. The characters are real to their very core and will constantly make the readers comprehend with the behavior. The main character, Maya is an excellent character, she has few flaws, but a great wife-cum-mother who is protective towards her daughter and dedicated enough to get to the bottom of the stinking mystery behind her husband and her sister's death. Maya's back story shapes her up into a thoughtful human being and so the readers will easily be able to connect with her. Her journey and her investigation will keep the readers rooted till the very end.

In a nutshell, this is an arresting book with a mystery so well concocted that even the seasoned crime readers can't be able to figure tout the major twisted and will be eventually left fooled by the characters.

Verdict: A must read page turning thriller of the year!
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Author Info:
With over 60 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben’s last seven consecutive novels, MISSING YOU, SIX YEARS, STAY CLOSE, LIVE WIRE, CAUGHT, LONG LOST and HOLD TIGHT all debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and lists around the world. His books are published in 43 languages around the globe.
Coben is the winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – and he has received an eclectic variety of honors from all over the world. His novel TELL NO ONE has been turned into a hit French film of the same name. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications.
Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.
Visit him here


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