Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of thrillers and one of the most versatile and consistently entertaining crime writers working today. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1962 and raised in Livingston — where his childhood friend was future New Jersey governor Chris Christie — Coben studied political science at Amherst College alongside fellow author Dan Brown. He has sold over 90 million books worldwide, translated into 46 languages, and is the first author in history to win the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award. Twelve of his novels have been adapted for film and television, and his partnership with Netflix has produced some of the streaming platform's most popular international thriller series. His novels are known for their suburban New Jersey settings, their suburban-dark premise of a perfect life suddenly upended, and their relentless twist-per-chapter pacing. In 2025 he co-authored Gone Before Goodbye with Reese Witherspoon, his first collaborative novel.
Where to Start with Harlan Coben
New to Coben? The best entry point depends on what you want. For his series, start with Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar #1). For his standalones — which are darker and more psychologically complex — start with Tell No One (2001), his breakthrough novel and still his finest standalone. The Stranger (2015) is his most popular Netflix adaptation and another excellent entry point. For his most recent work, Think Twice (2024) returns Myron Bolitar after an eight-year gap.
Myron Bolitar Series — Read in Order
Myron Bolitar is a former NBA prospect whose career was ended by a knee injury. He now runs MB SportsReps, a sports agency in New Jersey, and has a habit of stumbling into murder investigations involving his clients. Lighter in tone than Coben's standalones, with more humor and a running cast of supporting characters including Myron's best friend Win — Windsor Horne Lockwood III, a Philadelphian blue blood with a talent for violence.
1. Deal Breaker (1995) — Myron is hired to find out why a star quarterback's supposedly dead girlfriend is calling him. The debut novel and best starting point. Buy on Amazon
2. Drop Shot (1996) — A former tennis prodigy trying to make a comeback is murdered during the US Open. Buy on Amazon
3. Fade Away (1996) — Myron is asked to find a missing basketball star who is also his rival. Buy on Amazon
4. Back Spin (1997) — A young golfer's son is kidnapped during the US Open. Won the Anthony Award and the Shamus Award. Buy on Amazon
5. One False Move (1998) — Myron is hired to protect a female basketball star with a tragic family history. Won the Edgar Award. Buy on Amazon
6. The Final Detail (1999) Buy on Amazon
7. Darkest Fear (2000) — Myron discovers he has a son he didn't know about, who now needs a bone marrow transplant from his biological father — a man who has disappeared. Buy on Amazon
8. Promise Me (2006) — Myron makes a promise to a teenager that puts him in the middle of a missing persons investigation. Buy on Amazon
9. Long Lost (2009) Buy on Amazon
10. Live Wire (2011) — Won the RBA Prize for Crime Writing worth €125,000. Buy on Amazon
11. Home (2016) — Ten years after two boys were kidnapped, only one comes home. The other is still missing. Buy on Amazon
12. Think Twice (2024) — The FBI tells Myron his former client Greg Downing is wanted for murder. The problem: Greg died three years ago. Myron's return after an eight-year gap in the series. Buy on Amazon
Win Series — Read in Order
Spin-off from the Myron Bolitar series focusing on Win — Windsor Horne Lockwood III — Myron's aristocratic, lethal best friend. Best read after getting to know Win through the Myron series.
1. Win (2021) — Win is drawn into an investigation when a man is found dead in his family's storage facility, clutching a painting stolen from Win's family during World War II. Buy on Amazon
Mickey Bolitar Series (Young Adult) — Read in Order
Young adult spin-off following Myron's teenage nephew Mickey Bolitar, who moves to a new town after family tragedy and keeps uncovering mysteries. Best read after the first few Myron novels.
1. Shelter (2011) Buy on Amazon
2. Seconds Away (2012) Buy on Amazon
3. Found (2014) Buy on Amazon
Wilde Series — Read in Order
Follows Jonah Wilde — a man who was found as a child living alone in the woods with no memory of how he got there. Now an adult, he lives off the grid and is drawn into investigations despite himself.
1. The Boy from the Woods (2020) Buy on Amazon
2. The Match (2022) — A DNA match connects Wilde to a potential family member — and to a vigilante group punishing online trolls. Buy on Amazon
Detective Kierce Series — Read in Order
1. Fool Me Once (2016) — Maya Stern sees her murdered husband on a nanny cam — two weeks after attending his funeral. Detective Sami Kierce appears in the background. Buy on Amazon
2. I Will Find You (2023) — David Burroughs is serving life for murdering his son. When evidence emerges that his son may still be alive, he breaks out of prison. Buy on Amazon
3. Nobody's Fool (2025) — Sami Kierce is shocked when a woman from his past — who supposedly died decades ago — appears in his classroom. Buy on Amazon
Standalone Novels
Coben's standalones are darker and more psychologically complex than the Myron Bolitar series. Each is self-contained and can be read in any order. These are his most acclaimed and most adapted works.
Play Dead (1990) — Coben's debut. A bride investigates the disappearance of her husband during their honeymoon. Buy on Amazon
Miracle Cure (1991) — A medical thriller. Buy on Amazon
Tell No One (2001) — Eight years after his wife's murder, a pediatrician receives an email suggesting she might be alive. Coben's breakthrough novel and still considered his finest standalone. Adapted into a highly successful French film that won four César Awards. Buy on Amazon
Gone for Good (2002) — A man learns his brother — long presumed dead — may actually be the killer everyone thought he was. Adapted as a Netflix series. Buy on Amazon
No Second Chance (2003) — A man wakes up in hospital with no memory of the attack that left him there and his daughter missing. Adapted as a French TV series. Buy on Amazon
Just One Look (2004) — A woman finds an old photo in her newly developed vacation pictures — and the strangers in it lead to her husband's disappearance. Adapted as a French TV series. Buy on Amazon
The Innocent (2005) — A man who accidentally killed someone in a bar fight has rebuilt his life — until a photograph threatens to destroy everything. Adapted as a Netflix series. Buy on Amazon
The Woods (2007) — A county prosecutor investigates a murder that connects to the summer his sister disappeared twenty years earlier. Buy on Amazon
Hold Tight (2008) — Parents install spyware to monitor their troubled teenager and discover something far more disturbing than they expected. Adapted as a Netflix series. Buy on Amazon
Caught (2010) — A TV journalist conducting a predator sting operation unwittingly destroys a family. Buy on Amazon
Six Years (2013) — A man who watched the woman he loved marry someone else six years ago discovers she may now be in danger. Buy on Amazon
Missing You (2014) — A detective finds her ex-fiancé's profile on a dating site — eight years after he vanished without explanation. Adapted as a Netflix series. Buy on Amazon
The Stranger (2015) — A stranger approaches Adam Price at a youth soccer game and tells him a secret about his wife that unravels everything. One of Coben's most popular novels and the basis for one of Netflix's most-watched English-language thriller series. Buy on Amazon
Don't Let Go (2017) — A detective investigates the death of his twin brother and the disappearance of his brother's girlfriend fifteen years earlier. Buy on Amazon
Run Away (2019) — A father spots his drug-addicted daughter busking in Central Park and follows her into a world of violence and conspiracy. Buy on Amazon
Stay Close (2012) — Three people with dark secrets from the same past find their lives converging around a series of disappearances. Adapted as a Netflix series. Buy on Amazon
Safe — Original Netflix series created by Coben, not a book adaptation. Buy on Amazon
Gone Before Goodbye (2025) — Co-authored with Reese Witherspoon. A disgraced surgeon takes a shady job treating a mysterious patient in a high-security compound. When the patient vanishes, she becomes a fugitive caught in a global conspiracy. Coben's first collaborative novel. Buy on Amazon
Netflix Adaptations
Harlan Coben has a major ongoing deal with Netflix which has produced adaptations in multiple languages. His Netflix series include: The Stranger (UK), Safe (UK), The Innocent (Spain), Gone for Good (France), Hold Tight (Poland), Stay Close (UK), Missing You (UK), and more. The Polish adaptations in particular — including Hold Tight and The Woods — have been among Netflix's most-watched non-English series globally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read the Myron Bolitar series in order? Yes for full enjoyment — character relationships and Win's backstory in particular develop significantly across the series. Each mystery is self-contained, but reading from Deal Breaker gives you the full picture.
Can I read Coben's standalones in any order? Yes. Each standalone is completely independent. Start with Tell No One or The Stranger.
Is the Netflix series portray the books? Mostly yes on plot, though settings are often changed — UK, Spanish, Polish and French productions adapt the American suburban New Jersey settings to local equivalents while keeping the core story intact.
Looking for more? Browse our Top 50 Mystery and Thriller Authors list.