A Gripping Mystery That Doesn't Fool Around (Book Review)

Book: Fool Me Once
Author: Harlan Coben
Publisher: Random House

If I have to sum up the story, I would say it in a phrase (from a Bollywood song), 'shikari khud yahan shikar ho gaya'.

I had lost the number of count I encountered twists in this tale.

The story begins with the funeral of the protagonist Maya's husband, who was (or is) a rich businessman and one of the heirs to a wealthy and affluent family. His murder, witnessed by Maya alone, is supposedly an unthought-of act by random robbers; however we know that there has to be something more to this death (and the story).

It’s all going fine, when one day Maya sees her dead husband in her house, with her daughter in the nanny cam. Now this gets her started (and me too) in search of the truth. In the process we come across plenty of elements that may not be connected to the murder mystery - family secrets, business secrets and Maya's past to name a few.

Did I mention that about four months back Maya's sister was also murdered... Two deaths, rather murders, in a family within a gap of four months can't be a coincidence, right?

In addition, a whole bunch of people from Maya's family, her in-laws, the maid's family, a couple of detectives, her husband’s classmates and of course his dead brother, they all add to the thrill and keeps the reader guessing who has done it?

The author's narration is something that kept me glued till the end. However, at some points I felt the narrative gets a little too verbose; for an example, the detailed description of Maya's past and memories were not really required. (Or maybe I was just losing on my patience to unearth the secret ;) ).

Overall, if you are a fan of thrillers and fiction and consider solving murder mysteries as a rightful duty, you cannot miss this book :)

My Rating: 4 stars

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A(NU) Thought

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