I discovered Harlan Coben back in 2020 with the release of The Stranger (which came on my radar because of Jacob Dudman’s casting), and have been a big fan ever since. Not all of the series’ based on his novels have been hits, but some of them have been absolute thrill rides to watch, particularly the British ones. So as you can probably imagine I was extremely excited in the build up to the release of Fool Me Once. Also just so you’re aware I’m going to make this spoiler free as I really don’t think a series like this should ever be spoiled.
The big reason why Harlan Coben’s series’ are so fun to watch is because of their mysteries and twists. It never has the most compelling of characters, but it doesn’t matter because they feel real and act perfectly as vehicles for the mysteries. This series is no different, with it keeping itself engaging for its entire runtime. This series (along with most of Coben’s) is eight episodes, which for me would normally be a little long for a serialised Series, but that never ends up being a problem for Coben’s stuff. I watched this entire series in one night, and I don’t feel any guilt in saying that at all because it seemingly has no problem at all keeping us hooked as viewers.
Michelle Keegan plays the lead role in this one, that being Maya. Maya has lost both her husband and her sister, but she winds up getting enrolled into a conspiracy way bigger than she had bargained for during her investigations. Something else that these series benefit a lot from is the actors leading them, and Michelle is absolutely phenomenal in this role, every single aspect of the character feels very raw and I really grew to love her with each episode I saw. Like I said before, the Coben characters aren’t exceedingly memorable at all, but in the moment of watching the series they fulfil their role and purpose really well (this series is no exception).
This series also has somebody who I think may be one of the most underrated actors in the current era of television, that being Adeel Akhtar. Adeel also happens to play my favourite character in the thing too (Sami Pearce), and actually comes out as a bit of a gem of a character overall I think. He’s not just the police officer character doing the investigation, he has a major part in the overall storyline and the way that progresses is terrific I think. I won’t spoil anything but I also like how they ended things for him as well.
Again though, the heart of Coben’s storytelling is in the mysteries he creates, all of which are absolutely thrilling throughout. It all begins after something big happens to Maya which causes a spiral into chaos and insanity to ensue. As is typical with Coben it continues to develop in ways which are unexpected and unpredictable, but then eventually tying up onto a neat bow that makes total sense but could not have been foreseen at all (not by me anyway). It does a good job at keeping all the characters involved too, which isn’t always the case with these series but every single character has a role to play in the mystery to some extent.
Harlan Coben strikes again with another excellent series of mystery and mayhem. To say that alone would be enough of a compliment, but I must admit that this may very well be my favourite of the Coben adventures so far in fact. Eight absolutely thrilling episodes that piece together a cohesive, unique and utterly shocking story and should be watched by anybody who loves a good thriller.
Writers' Room Reviews 