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  • Fool Me Once

  • Written by: Harlan Coben
  • Narrated by: January LaVoy
  • Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (278 ratings)

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Fool Me Once cover art

Fool Me Once

Written by: Harlan Coben
Narrated by: January LaVoy
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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.

©2016 Harlan Coben (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

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) 

What listeners say about Fool Me Once

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    165
  • 4 Stars
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    32
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    11
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Performance
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    66
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    10
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    30
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT AS USUAL FROM HARLEN!

Excellent story, great characters, nice strong female protagonist,totally kept my interest, and fantastic, perfect narration! Well worth the credit.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

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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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Was ok

Predictable but well narrated. Lacked emotion and was a bit over dramatic. Not up to his usual standards.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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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