If you’re anything like us, you probably binged Fool Me Once in one sitting. Netflix’s Harlan Coben adaptation was completely addictive, and full of the twists and turns you’d expect from one of our favourite crime writers.
We’d call Fool Me Once one of the best crime TV shows of 2024. But if you’ve finished the series and are waiting for your next obsession, fear not: we’ve rounded up seven novels with themes and tension that remind us of the hit Netflix show…
If you enjoyed Fool Me Once , and the book the series was based on, you’ll love Harlan Coben ’s latest thriller, I Will Find You , which was also made into a Netflix drama series. It follows David, a married man who wakes up covered in his 3-year-old son’s blood. He knows he didn’t murder his son, but the evidence is stacked against him, and he’s sentenced to life imprisonment.
Five years into his sentence, his wife’s sister visits him and drops a bombshell: his son is still alive. Can David clear his name, save his son, and find out what really happened?
CCTV footage clearly shows Cate and Aiden driving home, seconds before their car fell into a ravine and exploded. But when the emergency services arrive, the vehicle is empty. Missing persons investigator David Raker is on the case – but he has no idea what dark truths await him, or that they’ll be so close to home…
This is a complex, tightly plotted thriller, with the unpredictability and edge-of-your-seat tension of Fool Me Once .
Karen and Tom seem like a happily married couple – until Tom returns home to find that Karen has vanished. Then Karen gets into a car crash, suffers a concussion, and has no memory of the day she left. She returns home to an unsettling feeling: someone has been in her house. But everyone in this house is a stranger, and they’ll go to extreme lengths to keep their secrets…
This intriguing tale, with its fast pace and almost claustrophobic tension, is perfect for fans of Fool Me Once .
Like Fool Me Once , this dark domestic thriller will make you question how much you can ever know the person you love. Celia thinks she knows her husband inside out until she discovers a letter, addressed to her, that she is only allowed to open in the event of his death.
Unable to resist, she opens the envelope and learns her husband’s devastating secret. Now she faces a terrible choice: confront her husband and destroy her family, or face the consequences of staying silent…
Laurel has never given up hope of finding her teenage daughter Ellie, who disappeared 10 years ago. But when her new boyfriend introduces her to his 9-year-old daughter, she is stunned: his daughter is the spitting image of Ellie. Now, all of Laurel’s unanswered questions coming flooding back, as she is determined to find out what happened to her daughter, once and for all.
This gripping, original page-turner is dark, claustrophobic and surprisingly moving.
Sive is separated from her two young daughters in London when they jump on the Tube ahead of her, just as the doors close. Sive races to the next stop but, when she gets there, only one of her children is waiting on the platform. The other is gone.
Unsure if she is lost, or has been taken, Sive is in a race against time to find her daughter. This intricate plot feels more like a puzzle, which is why it’s perfect for fans of Fool Me Once .
Looking for a new tale of hidden identities and deceit? Keep Your Friends Close is a strong contender. Mary tells her new friend Willa her darkest secret – and then Willa disappears.
Months later, Mary sees Willa: in a new town, with a new name, and a new family. Clearly this woman is not to be trusted. But, since she knows her most intimate secret, Mary has no choice but to keep her close – or risk losing everything.
And if you want to read the book that inspired the hit Netflix show...
