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Fool Me Once
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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Fool Me Once
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Missing You
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
Number-one New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben set huge sales records with last year’s Six Years - and he’s poised to do it again in his next breathtaking stand-alone thriller. Harlan Coben, author of six consecutive instant number-one New York Times best sellers and a total of 24 award-winning, best-selling, and internationally acclaimed novels, returns with another ripped-from-real-life thriller full of impossibly high emotional stakes and the real-to-life characters for which he has become famous.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-04-03
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Win
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors - and the items stolen from her family were never recovered. Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead - with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.
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1 out of 5 stars
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aweful. Dragging on and on, story line lacking,
- By Nathalie on 2021-06-24
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Tell No One
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Ed Sala
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 151
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
It has been eight years since Dr. David Beck’s wife, Elizabeth, was murdered by a serial killer. When Beck receives a message containing a phrase only Elizabeth should know, he is tormented to tears. Either someone is playing a sick joke, or the wife he’s never stopped loving is still alive. He’s been warned to tell no one, and as the desperation of his search for the truth intensifies, he heads straight toward a deadly secret.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Time well spent
- By MicheTM on 2020-04-15
Written by: Harlan Coben
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The Woods
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 184
Paul Copeland, a New Jersey county prosecutor, is still grieving the loss of his sister twenty years ago - the night she walked into the woods, never to be seen again. But now, a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to the disappearance. The victim could be the boy who vanished along with Paul's sister. And, as hope rises that his sister could still be alive, dangerous secrets from his family's past threaten to tear apart everything Paul has been trying to hold together....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Quality of recording not what I have come to expect
- By Lois J. Rowe on 2021-02-16
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
Six Years
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 129
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for...but she is not Natalie....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable read with excellent narration
- By Ellen P., Toronto on 2020-09-22
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Don't Let Go
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks - and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.
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5 out of 5 stars
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How can you go wrong with Harlan Coben!
- By Amazon Customer on 2017-10-05
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Missing You
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
Number-one New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben set huge sales records with last year’s Six Years - and he’s poised to do it again in his next breathtaking stand-alone thriller. Harlan Coben, author of six consecutive instant number-one New York Times best sellers and a total of 24 award-winning, best-selling, and internationally acclaimed novels, returns with another ripped-from-real-life thriller full of impossibly high emotional stakes and the real-to-life characters for which he has become famous.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-04-03
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
Win
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors - and the items stolen from her family were never recovered. Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead - with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
aweful. Dragging on and on, story line lacking,
- By Nathalie on 2021-06-24
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
Tell No One
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Ed Sala
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 151
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
It has been eight years since Dr. David Beck’s wife, Elizabeth, was murdered by a serial killer. When Beck receives a message containing a phrase only Elizabeth should know, he is tormented to tears. Either someone is playing a sick joke, or the wife he’s never stopped loving is still alive. He’s been warned to tell no one, and as the desperation of his search for the truth intensifies, he heads straight toward a deadly secret.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Time well spent
- By MicheTM on 2020-04-15
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
The Woods
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 184
Paul Copeland, a New Jersey county prosecutor, is still grieving the loss of his sister twenty years ago - the night she walked into the woods, never to be seen again. But now, a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to the disappearance. The victim could be the boy who vanished along with Paul's sister. And, as hope rises that his sister could still be alive, dangerous secrets from his family's past threaten to tear apart everything Paul has been trying to hold together....
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Quality of recording not what I have come to expect
- By Lois J. Rowe on 2021-02-16
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
Six Years
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 129
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for...but she is not Natalie....
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable read with excellent narration
- By Ellen P., Toronto on 2020-09-22
Written by: Harlan Coben
-
Don't Let Go
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks - and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.
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5 out of 5 stars
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How can you go wrong with Harlan Coben!
- By Amazon Customer on 2017-10-05
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Run Away
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 275
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 273
You've lost your daughter. She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found. Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park. But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble. You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home. She runs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Hard Pass
- By Anonymous User on 2019-11-27
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Miracle Cure
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
They’re one of the country’s most telegenic couples: beloved TV journalist Sara Lowell and New York’s hottest basketball star, Michael Silverman. Their family and social connections tie them to the highest echelons of the political, medical, and sports worlds - threads that will tangle them up in one of the most controversial and deadly issues of our time. In a clinic on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a doctor has dedicated his life to eradicating a divisive and devastating disease. One by one, his patients are getting well.
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4 out of 5 stars
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2nd book Harlan!!!
- By AllenaDarlene on 2022-04-13
Written by: Harlan Coben
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I Will Find You
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
David Burroughs was once a devoted father to his three-year-old son Matthew, living a dream life just a short drive away from the working-class suburb where he and his wife, Cheryl, first fell in love—until one fateful night when David woke suddenly to discover Matthew had been murdered while David was asleep just down the hall.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome
- By Natalie Lafleur-Roy on 2023-07-16
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Caught
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Seventeen-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Better in Paperback...
- By Shannon on 2020-12-21
Written by: Harlan Coben
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No Second Chance
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Mark Arnold
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance3 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
Marc Seidman's idyllic world is brutally ripped apart when he is gunned down in his home. Twelve days later he wakes up in hospital to learn that his wife is dead and his baby daughter Tara is missing. A ransom demand is made and agreed to. But something goes terribly wrong. The kidnappers escape, and Marc remembers the ransom note's ominous warning: there will be no second chance. An agonising eighteen months pass with no word. And then, as Marc has just about given up all hope of seeing his daughter again, a package arrives with a note attached: want a second chance?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great plot
- By Eric de Vries on 2023-12-01
Written by: Harlan Coben
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The Truth About Melody Browne
- Written by: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 577
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 509
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 507
When she was 9 years old, Melody Browne's house burned down, and it took all of her childhood memories with it. Now she's a single mother of a teenage boy living in Central London. She hasn't seen her parents since she left home at 15, but she doesn't mind. She's better off on her own. She works as a dinner lady at her son's school and has no idea where her humdrum life is heading. But one summer's night, a hypnotist inadvertently unlocks memories of her childhood, and her whole life is turned upside down.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A page turner
- By Cheryl Benoit on 2020-12-06
Written by: Lisa Jewell
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The Boy from the Woods
- Wilde, Book 1
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 694
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 627
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 622
Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn't know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing. No one seems to take Naomi Pine's disappearance seriously, not even her father - with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde - with whom she shares a tragic connection - to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.
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5 out of 5 stars
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EXCELLENT
- By Liz on 2020-04-25
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Stay Close
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past never truly fades away. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Similar to the mini series
- By Daniel Davidson on 2022-04-20
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Just One Look
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe, Luke Daniels
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance2.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4 out of 5 stars 29
An ordinary snapshot causes a mother’s world to unravel in an instant. After picking up her two young children from school, Grace Lawson looks through a newly developed set of photographs. She finds an odd one in the pack: A mysterious picture from perhaps twenty years ago, showing four strangers she can’t identify. But there is one face she recognizes—that of her husband, from before she knew him. When her husband sees the photo that night, he leaves their home and drives off without explanation.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Worst narrator ever!!
- By Mae LeBlanc on 2023-11-08
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Shelter
- A Mickey Bolitar Novel (Mickey Bolitar, Book 1)
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Mickey Bolitar’s year can’t get much worse. After witnessing his father’s death and sending his mom to rehab, he’s forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools. A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey’s train wreck of a life is finally improving—until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley’s trail into a seedy underworld.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Ending bites
- By Devonius on 2023-10-06
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Deal Breaker
- The First Myron Bolitar Novel
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone, including the police, believes is dead, the deal starts to go sour. Suddenly Myron is plunged into a baffling mystery of sex and blackmail.
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4 out of 5 stars
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dated dialogue with unbelievable ending
- By Anne Marie Hayes on 2022-07-12
Written by: Harlan Coben
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Play Dead
- Written by: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Theirs was a marriage made in tabloid heaven, but no sooner had supermodel Laura Ayars and Celtics star David Baskin said “I do” than tragedy struck. While honeymooning on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, David went out for a swim - and never returned. Now widowed and grieving, Laura has a thousand questions and no answers. Her search for the truth will draw her into a web of lies and deception that stretches back thirty years - while on the court at the Boston Garden, a rookie phenom makes his spectacular debut....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing All Around
- By Anonymous User on 2023-10-19
Written by: Harlan Coben
Publisher's Summary
A widowed veteran gets the shock of her life in this impossible-to-put-down thriller from the bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix drama The Stranger.
In the course of eight consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers, millions of readers have discovered Harlan Coben’s page-turning thrillers, filled with his trademark edge-of-your-seat suspense and gut-wrenching emotion. In Fool Me Once, Coben once again outdoes himself....
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 was 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.
What the critics say
"Narrator January LaVoy's well-paced performance enhances the tension of this stand-alone thriller.... LaVoy's dynamic narration and distinct characterizations make this multilayered story a winning audiobook." (AudioFile)
“Coben is simply one of the all-time greats - pick up any one of his thrillers and you’ll find a riveting, twisty, surprising story with a big, beating heart at its core.” (Gillian Flynn, best-selling author of Gone Girl)
“[A] stellar standalone.... Coben is like a skilled magician saving the best, most stunning trick for the very end.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
More from the same
What listeners say about Fool Me Once
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Charge$It
- 2020-12-13
Terrible.
I found this book to be extremely flat and completely uninspired. It was a struggled to get tnrough.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michelle Preyde
- 2020-11-18
Couldn’t stop listening
Great story. Lots of twists and turns. Great narration too. I listened to this audible in two days!!!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jess
- 2021-03-09
Worst Harlan Coben book I've read so far.
This book was really disappointing. I'm usually obsessed with Harlan Coben's unexpected, complex plots but this one just made me roll my eyes the whole time.
I didn't give a heck about any characters. And the twist ending didn't redeem the plot at all in my opinion.
I definitely recommend skipping this book and listening to one of Harlem Coben's other books.. heck, if you're intrigued by someone seeing their murdered spouse, apparently alive on film he has another book with the same darn premise (Tell No One) and it's wayyyyyyyyyyyy better.
Narrator did an awesome job though so there's that. ( Hence the 3 star review)
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Duane
- 2020-03-07
Fantastic!
Great story great twists. Narrator is one of the best I have ever listened to.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Marie-Michèle M.
- 2021-03-13
It was good... until the end
Let me start by saying the reader is the best. Whatever book she’s reading, January LaVoy is amazing.
About the story, it was good until the last hour. The end is a bit ridiculous and it left me unsatisfied. Just a big « meh » for me.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Shirley's awesome reads
- 2020-12-13
With a Twist
Quite the surprise ending but not his best
I had trouble paying attention. His work is usually riveting but everyone has an off one
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Casey
- 2023-06-23
Disappointing
I agree, it was ok. I resented the author’s repeated references to ‘civilians’ just not getting it. I think it’s true but I would guess most people appreciate the lives they live are as good as they are because of the military’s service to their countries. It’s not an everyday in your mind thing but it’s there I don’t think real military personnel expect civilians to think that way.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Barbara Steele Exp
- 2023-06-05
Was ok
Predictable but well narrated. Lacked emotion and was a bit over dramatic. Not up to his usual standards.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2023-02-06
The Abridged Version Is Actually Better
It almost pains me to say that. As a general rule, I'm not a fan of Abridged Audiobooks. It seems like a waste of a Credit if I'm losing too much content, the flow is too often interrupted, and elements of character/motivation development are almost abandoned (underemphasized).
I still largely hold to that policy - but in this case (having listened to both versions of 'Fool Me Once') - I can say that editors at Brilliance Audio did a fantastic job cutting out extraneous material. Coben's tendency to plot twists is faaaaar overdone in this narrative.. and the protagonist of the story is quite frankly unlikeable (I didn't mind hearing less about disgraced gung-ho attack helicopter pilot 'Maya'). For this particular book, shortening it actually resulted in the removal of some deficiencies. It isn't Harlan Coben's best work.
The performance by January LaVoy, however, is a revelation. Her diction, timbre, cadence, and voice-acting are praiseworthy.. but it's her tone, in particular, that impresses. It matches the story *perfectly*.
The pure joy of listening to her read me the book almost (almost) led me to prefer the longer iteration of the book.
Altogether, this mystery rates a respectable 7 stars out of 10. You wouldn't be crazy to spend a Credit on it.. it's just that - notwithstanding the brilliant narration - the shorter version is actually more enjoyable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ray Petro
- 2022-11-08
Great Listen
This book kept me engaged the entire time and kept me guessing. I’m a fan.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Gray
- 2016-03-25
Darn it
As a Harlan Coben fan, I was so eagerly anticipating the release of this latest novel and devouring it on my day off. Now that I've read it, all I can say is meh. Yes, it had some suspense and some twists and turns, but by the time I'd reached the midpoint, I had lost interest in the whodunit plot. I know the main character was supposed to be scarred by war and PTSD and therefore, she had difficulty being empathetic and frankly, even likable. But I should have still been able to care about her, her struggles and her motives. And I tried, I really did. But I just couldn't get there. Worse, none of the other characters (of which there were many) were fleshed-out either, so I had no team I could really "root" for. Finally, I know that in novels where the main character strikes out on their own to solve a murder(s) one has to suspend a certain level of disbelief for it to work but this story - for me - just had too many holes in it and was just too unbelievable for me to buy into it. I still love Harlan Coben and will, without question, continue to anticipate future novels. I've enjoyed the vast majority of his body of work...this just wasn't one of his best efforts, in my opinion.
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169 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Dani
- 2016-03-29
Very disappointed
I have considered myself to be a Harlan Coben fan for several years. However this has been the second book in a row that I have considered to be a big disappointment where I struggled to finish. The story summaries are excellent but the books don't deliver. I don't think I'll waste anymore money on these books.
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111 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- green ice cream garden
- 2016-03-30
No fooling, 2 stars is generous
The last 2-3 chapters helped earn an extra star for this book, barely. To get to the dramatic ending, which wasn't that spectacular just better than all that came before it, you have to wade through incessant and repetitive internal dialogue, hackneyed characterizations of the "bad guys," dead end subplots, and (surprise) an unreliable narrator. There's no way to swallow a decorated, military pilot turned into a master sleuth. It's also difficult to reconcile how a proud veteran - one who goes into detail about posture and attitude setting an authority figure - can also be mistaken for a stripper and a ditz. There's no point in spending more character space on a book that wasn't worth the wait.
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102 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amber
- 2016-03-24
Disappointed
I am a huge Harlan Coben fan. Just One Look was my first book I read by him. I loved it. I loved almost all of his other books. This book was terrible. I can't figure out if I just didn't like the characters and the story or the narrator's performance. The main character Maya is so incredibly rude and unlikable. The story line involving her daughter is too sappy in conjunction with her personality. About halfway through the book, I simply didn't care about how the plot was going to play out and listened absent-mindedly thought the second half. At the end, I was glad it was over.
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72 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wayne
- 2016-03-23
Incredible story!
As a Harlan Coben fan I left Fool Me Once as the last to listen to of the 3 pre-ordered Audible books that entered my Audible library yesterday. It's sort of like the desert at the end of a great meal. The novel does not disappoint. Of the 14 Harlan Coben novels in my Audible library Fool me once is not my favorite, but it deserves a 5 star rating nevertheless.
Some reviewers will likely say that the story is not credible. It's true that it is unlikely. I've written in other reviews that enjoying fiction requires the reader to often suspend disbelief. In this case the outcome is unlikely but far from impossible.
Narration is excellent.
I recommend Fool Me Once for those who enjoy mysteries and especially for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.
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71 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- R. Pontiflet
- 2016-03-27
Nanny Cams, Mental Illness and Murder!
Most of this story is told from the main character's point of view. Some parts of the story were told in the third person which, for me, helped to keep the storyline straight and made it less confusing by providing more details as the story went along.... thus, more interesting..... There are enough suspense, and twists and turns that held my interest and attention from beginning to the very end. Although I could see some of the events coming, and had suspicions about who the probable killers were, I listened at every opportunity.
The main character, Maya, is a "kick-ass" type girl. She is a mother and loves her child deeply, but she's not your typical "soccer-mom." She a "pistol-packing" mama... she's an ex-military pilot with dark secrets about something that happened while in combat. And, she is now suffering PTSD with horrible nightmares. Her sister and her husband was murdered about 4 months apart, and now she must find out who killed her sister. In addition to her dead husband and sister, she encounters two other dead people. Then, she starts to worry that death maybe following her.
The plot was suspenseful .... a few murders, mental illness, and an ending with an unexpected twist. How can the advancements in electronics' technology help you prove whodunit? Surprise, surprise, surprise. The major twist comes near the end of the story which is expected but I didn't see the severity of the twist coming. Of course, you must suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy the story.
I enjoyed the story. Yes, there are moments when you can only "roll your eyes" because you can't suspend your disbelief that far. But, the story is well narrated, which elevated the story to an easy listen.
The narrator, January LaVoy, is excellent with a variety of appropriate voices.
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62 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- shelley
- 2016-03-23
This might be Coben's BEST yet!!!!
Any additional comments?
This book is an absolutely totally believable WOW of a book! I thoroughly enjoyed this and was so sorry it ended when it did. I will say it ended at the perfect time though because to ad more would have probably just been filler and taken away from this amazingly well crafted story. Honestly, one of Harlan Coban's best.
So who killed Maya's husband Joe? And who murdered Maya's sister Claire? These are the questions that plague Maya throughout the book. Maya, who suffers from PTSD is no push over being a retired fighter pilot. She is experienced with firearms and with a 2 year old daughter she protects she is a formidable force to come up against. Following her journey builds from questioning to nail biting edge of you seat suspenseful to the end that will knock you off your feet it is so unbelievably shockingly in your face realistic that you wonder why you didn't see it before.
Excellent Excellent Excellent !!! And Highly Recommended!
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47 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 2016-03-30
Not his best.
For a guy that has given us so many great plot twists and suspense in the past, this one leaves me shaking my head and wondering if he's lost his imagination. Very disappointing.
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35 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chip Atkinson
- 2016-04-11
Great Mystery
Did you see The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis in the theater? The twist was so remarkable most every one I know had to go back and see how we missed the clues. So it is with Fool Me Once. Its one of the few mysteries I have read where the mystery overshadowed the characters and any minor shortcomings.
I used to read all of Coben's novels, but frankly grew weary of the Bolitar series. (I loved the first 2-3, so don't let that stop you from reading anything by Coben.)
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31 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cathy
- 2016-03-23
Terrific!
Any additional comments?
At the beginning I thought this book was very similar to the movie Double Jeopardy and was a little disappointed but having read enough of Harlan's books I knew what initially seems apparent is far from how it ends, and as usual with his books I was not disappointed with the turn of events throughout the book. I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend listening to this one.
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27 people found this helpful