This is billed as a sequel to “Fool Me Once,” the first book in the Sami Kearse detective series, but it bears no resemblance to the first book, so don’t feel like you have to read it to understand what’s going on.

That being said, I’ve been a fan of Coben’s since his first book, “Tell No One,” and while I’ve missed a few along the way, this wasn’t quite up to his usual standards. First, I tried this in audio, but the narrator became a little overwrought at times, so I switched to the print book.

Secondly, while the plot was convoluted with a few surprises along the way, it became a little confusing; however, it all came together in the end, even though it was somewhat implausible (I won’t go into further details lest I spoil the twists). Coben did leave the ending open for another book in the series, so watch for that in the next few years.

[This comment doesn’t apply to the book at all, but I thought it was funny that he used the word “thrums,” a Wordle puzzle solution (thrum) that many were flummoxed by, as they had never heard the word, but many replied that it was because they didn’t read pot-boiling thrillers. 🙂 )