A review by vivisms_82
Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

My stars are mostly for the amazing narrator January LaVoy - she did a terrific job creating the characters and bringing their own voice to the page.

I know some folks have issue with the "twist" but that didn't bother me and to me, frankly made sense.
I found Maya supremely unlikeable - she is brash, lacks warmth and her lack of remorse in war and unshakeable sense of self righteousness made it fine to me that she was a liar and the killer of Joe. Don't get me wrong soldiers have a duty and see and do what most of us couldn't fathom - it's just that I have never come across a soldier that had so little humility - even if they believed in the cause. Maya essentially killed Joe because he killed her sister. The fact that he also killed his own brother, a kid in an atrocious hazing incident and another gentleman (sorry escapes my mind who he was) were just details to Maya. So to Maya, her killing Joe was justified. He had gotten away with two murders already so Maya knew it was unlikely he would have ever been brought to justice for killing Maya's sister or the other gent. His family was too powerful. She essentially took justice in her own hands and even though I didn't particularly like her, I thought that made sense to her character.


As for Harlan's story... again a great premise but just a mediocre delivery. The problem I find with him is that although he is good at making a page turner, the climax is always underwhelming, convoluted and unfortunately forgettable the day after I finish reading. I also didn't like how Maya's looks were constantly brought up - added zero to the story and was unnecessary. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings