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Thank you Edelweiss and Penguin Group Dutton for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 22nd, 2016

Synopsis: Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband Joe–who had been 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 definitely 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.

Harlan Coben can always be counted on to provide more twists and turns in his standalone novels than the scariest roller coaster and Fool Me Once is no different. Captain Maya Stern Burkett is a strong yet complicated character. In addition to having her husband gunned down right before her eyes, she’s still coping with the loss of her sister Claire who was murdered just four months previously. She also has PTSD leading her and the reader at times to doubt her sanity throughout the book. As she begins to investigate the deaths of Joe and Claire, events in Iraq concerning decisions she made come into play, further complicating matters. I’m going to be honest and tell you Maya is a little hard to warm up to. She’s smart, absolutely fearless and determined, but at times she comes across a little remote and cold and some of her parenting decisions are a little questionable.  But you see, Coben also exels at creating complicated characters that despite their shortcomings make you care about them anyway. There are no end to suspects in this thriller but I guarantee when you get to the big reveal it won’t be anything you expected. Fool Me Once is a twisty tale that you don’t simply get lost in. From the very first page you will be hanging on to every word and by the time the story reaches its breathless conclusion you’ll feel as though you were on an actual roller coaster. If you’re a fan of mysteries, thrillers and psychological suspense, this is definitely the book for you!