Nobody's Fool

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use and death.

Nobody’s Fool is the sequel to Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once and centers a minor character from the original book. Fool Me Once’s protagonist is Maya Stern, a recent widow and ex-military pilot who goes on a quest for answers after seeing her murdered husband, Joe Burkett, on her secret nanny cam. While Maya conducts her own investigation into whether Joe is alive, Sami conducts an official investigation into Joe’s unsolved murder. Through a series of twists, the text reveals that Maya killed Joe because he murdered her sister, Claire. Claire discovered a scandal in the Burkett pharmaceutical company, so Joe killed her to keep her quiet. Judith, Joe’s overbearing mother, hired the nanny to project Joe’s image on the nanny cam, hoping the shock would force Maya to confess. Maya confronted Judith Burkett and her other children, Neil and Caroline, about the scandal, and Neil shot Maya. Sami helped Maya set up a secret livestream of the confrontation that exposed the Burkett crimes to the world.

In the Netflix adaptation, Harlan Coben expanded Sami’s character to make him a deuteragonist rather than a secondary character. He developed more details of Sami’s personal life, like his journey with sobriety and the murder of his former partner and fiancée Nicole—as well as his hallucinations of Nicole during the investigation. Coben was inspired to write a novel from Sami’s perspective after developing Sami’s character for the Netflix series, which is atypical for him (Szalai, George. “Harlan Coben’s New Novel ‘Nobody’s Fool’ Is ‘More of a Sequel’ to Netflix Hit Series ‘Fool Me Once.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Mar. 2025). In Nobody’s Fool, Sami alludes to the investigation of Joe’s murder, particularly how it became his last case on the NYPD. During his pursuit, his aggressive tactics led to a witness falling off a roof, and his further involvement in Maya’s livestream led to his permanent removal from the police force. These impulsive decisions create a ripple effect of fallout, leading to all of Sami’s prior convictions going under scrutiny for potential misconduct. Characters from Joe’s case also reappear in the sequel, like Judith and Caroline Burkett, who the readers learn were released from incarceration on bail. Sami has an antagonistic relationship with the Burketts, especially Judith, whom he sees as a self-centered, evil woman.

Nobody’s Fool continues Fool Me Once’s exploration of memory and deception, interrogating how people decide what is true. The two books also share discussions about class and the use of wealth for purposes of control, which Sami deals with again through another wealthy family, the Belmonds. As with Maya, a ghost from Sami’s past reappears and catalyzes his hunt for answers. Coben employs this device in several of his other mystery books, like Tell No One and I Will Find You.