logo
‘Nobody's Fool' Book Recap & Ending Explained – What happened to Victoria that night?

‘Nobody's Fool' Book Recap & Ending Explained – What happened to Victoria that night?

The Review Geek11-05-2025

Nobody's Fool Plot Summary
Rejoice because Harlan Coben has finally released the sequel to Fool Me Once almost a decade later. Released in March 2025, Nobody's Fool happens to be the second book in the Detective Sami Kierce series and this time it focuses wholly on Kierce as his past comes back to haunt him. Following the events of the Burkett case, former cop Kierce is now in a good place, teaching a criminology class to wannabe detectives.
However, his past catches up with him, literally, when his first love, Anna, who was murdered 22 years ago in Spain, walks into his class. At the same time, Tad Grayson, the killer of his ex, Nicole, walks free over a technicality. Kierce decides to take back control of his life as much as he can, even if it means chasing a dead girl who completely derailed his life.
With more twists than the driveway of the Belmond family, we have decided to do a recap and ending explained of Harlan Coben's Nobody's Fool.
Quick Recap
Sami Kierce's marriage is in a good place; he has a one-year-old son whom he dotes on and a good job, even if it isn't enough to pay off his debts. But when Dead Anna walks into his class and runs off on seeing him, he decides to get to the bottom of the case and follows her all the way to the Belmonds' house.
As a former cop, Kierce knows all about the disappearance of Victoria Belmond, a young girl who vanished on 1st January 2000 and was returned to her parents 11 years later, beaten up and traumatised. She doesn't remember a thing and has been living as a recluse. After Kierce makes the news 14 years later for the acquittal of Tad Grayson, Victoria recognises him and decides to visit him, leading to a messy chain of events.
Kierce enlists his class to help investigate as he realises that he just may be the missing piece that may help figure out what happened to Victoria. Given that he knew her when she was called Anna during her kidnapped years.
Our protagonist is a busy bee as Grayson also insists that he is innocent and wants to work with Kierce to catch Nicole's real killer. With a stalker harassing Kierce's wife, Molly, the Belmond security working overtime to keep him away from Victoria and Grayson emotionally blackmailing him, Kierce has a lot on his plate.
How is Anna alive?
22 years ago, Anna and her handler, Buzz, target Kierce who is partying with his friends in Spain. Anna falls for Kierce and tries to delay the trap but ends up sticking to the plan. 5 days later, Kierce wakes up with a knife in his hand and blood all over a 'dead' Anna. Buzz barges in and tells Kierce to run as he may be arrested for Anna's 'murder.' Once he leaves, Buzz and Anna steal his money.
Kierce does go to the cops but his father makes him come home as he may become a scapegoat. Remember, Kierce is a brown man while Anna is white.
At present, as Kierce digs into Anna, he uncovers the truth with the Spanish cops revealing that there are several such scammers who target tourists.
We then learn that Anna and Buzz are victims of Radiant Allure, a modelling agency and a child trafficking ring. During their final con, the mark was a thug who beat up Anna and tortured Buzz after he realised that the duo had tried to con him. Anna takes a flight to USA and goes to the Belmond NGO, Vic's Place, for help. That is how she comes into contact with the Belmonds.
14 years later, she sees Kierce on the news and feels guilty that his life is a mess, as he believes that he killed her. Wanting to set things right, she decides to show her face to him so that he can let go of that burden.
Are Victoria and Anna the same person?
No, Victoria and Anna are not the same person. Victoria's brother, Thomas, accidentally kills her and to protect his family, their dad, Archi,e concocts a story that Victoria has been kidnapped. However, her mother, Thalia, is not able to move on. 11 years later, when she spots Anna in Vic's Place, she believes that her daughter has returned.
To end Thalia's pain and false hope, Archie decides to turn Anna into Victoria. Anna agrees and she pretends to get a DNA test from Belmond Labs which 'confirms' that she is Victoria. Over the 14 years, the Belmonds come to love Anna as their own. But except for Archie, Thomas and Kierce, no one knows that Victoria and Anna are two different people.
What happened to Victoria that night?
On 31st December, 1999, Thalia considers ending her marriage and flies to Chicago to see her ex. Archie sulks and stays home while a drunk Thomas drives Victoria and her girlfriend, Caroline Burkett, to their party. Thomas has just broken up with his girlfriend, Lacey and finds solace with alcohol and drugs.
Victoria refuses to let him drive home and takes the car keys. This has Thomas drinking in a bar nearby. At the party, Victoria keeps checking on a drunk Thomas while Caroline hangs out with her 'boyfriend', Buff. Caroline later confesses to Kierce that she was using Buff to keep her secret.
Before midnight, Buff is all over Caroline and having had enough, she kisses Victoria. The partygoers mock them and Victoria runs out. Caroline goes after her and Victoria assures her that they are fine. However, Thomas is in a bad shape and Victoria leaves Caroline to check on her brother.
She drives Thomas home and wishes her father Happy New Year. Lacey calls and takes Thomas back. Excited, he loses control of the car and hits Victoria who is walking their dog. She dies on the spot. A scared Thomas is about to call for help but Archie decides against it. He doesn't want to lose his remaining child and reasons that justice won't bring Victoria back.
They bury her and rush out to get alibis. Thomas visits Lacey while Archie flies to Chicago to see Thalia. Archie uses Victoria's phone to send texts and waylay everyone. Later, they burn the woods where her body is buried, get rid of her phone and the car.
How does Kierce find out about the Belmonds using Anna?
The first clue is when an 'amnesiac' Victoria insists that she visited Kierce to right a wrong. He has a feeling that she is feigning memory loss. The second clue is when Buzz believes that Anna is playing a long con by pretending to be Victoria. While Kierce doesn't believe him, the idea is planted in his head.
Next, Victoria almost comes clean in the park by sharing that she has her memories and that Kierce must protect the Belmonds no matter the truth. On top of that, there aren't any photos of Victoria before her reappearance. When she reappears, she looks different but the world chalks it up to torture and trauma.
Kierce then finds it odd that, as her best friend and lover, Caroline wasn't allowed to visit Victoria when she returned. The Belmonds claimed that she needed to recover and no one was allowed to meet her.
The final clue is Thomas' alibi. Caroline testifies that Thomas is the last person to see Victoria. As for Lacey, she tells Kierce that Thomas met her hours after their phone call. And as confirmation, Kierce surreptitiously gets a DNA test done which reveals that Thomas and Victoria aren't siblings. In the end, he confronts Archie and Thomas who come clean about Anna pretending to be Victoria.
Why does Archie hire Kierce?
Archie realises that Kierce will never let go of the case when he follows Anna that first day all the way home. While it is not illegal to have Anna pretend to be Victoria, Archie doesn't want Thalia to know the truth, as it will break her heart. He decides to hire Kierce with an iron-clad NDA so that even if the former cop learns the truth, he cannot tell anyone except Archie. And that is exactly how it goes down.
Who is Scraggly Dude and why does he stalk Molly?
In the middle of the Victoria case, an ex-convict, dubbed Scraggly Dude, stalks Kierce's wife, Molly. He sends threatening texts to Kierce and mocks him. With the help of Kierce's former partner, Marty, he learns that Scraggly Dude aka Brian Powell is Tad Grayson's cellmate. Initially, the team believes that it is too obvious and so someone has hired Powell to frame Grayson as Kierce's harasser.
However, it is Grayson who hires Powell to harass Kierce. When Powell finds out that Grayson killed Victoria, Grayson kills him. Kierce finds out via Raymond, one of his homeless students who follows Grayson.
Is Tad Grayson innocent?
No. Tad Grayson gets out of prison on a technicality. He fools his mother and his lawyer into thinking that someone has framed him and that he is innocent. His only argument is that he bought an untraceable gun and so, someone ensured that it could be traced back to him and was the murder weapon. Unfortunately, it was just his bad luck that the gun was traced back to him.
He harasses and toys with Kierce because he blames the former cop for ruining his life. As revenge, he tries to kill Kierce when he is meeting Anna at the park. However, the bullet hits Anna. In the end, we learn that while he didn't care if he killed Anna or not, he is glad that he did, as it will torture Kierce to know that the girl died because of him. Had Kierce not contacted Anna, she would not have been in the line of fire.
How is Nobody's Fool connected to Fool Me Once?
In both books, Kierce is a pivotal character. Nobody's Fool is also set in the same universe and brings back several characters like the Burketts. Caroline and Judith Burkett make an appearance and there is a mention of Joe and Lilly. However, it is worth noting that in the Fool Me Once book, he is a white cop called Roger Kierce.
In the 2024 TV adaptation of Fool Me Once, Roger is changed into Sami, a brown cop with Pakistani roots. It seems that Coben is sticking to this change as the protagonist of Nobody's Fool is the same Sami from the TV show. Marty, Nicole and Molly are all original characters of the show. Kierce's storyline in the show is also mentioned and how his choices led to his current status in Nobody's Fool.
And while reading the prequel and watching the show can help in pointing out easter eggs, it is not necessary. Nobody's Fool also works as a standalone novel. But there just might be a third book, given that Kierce believes that Anna gave birth to his child.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Study shows less online abuse of athletes during March Madness
Study shows less online abuse of athletes during March Madness

Reuters

time19 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Study shows less online abuse of athletes during March Madness

June 11 - The NCAA recently released a study that indicated a decrease in social media abuse targeting student-athletes, including from sports bettors, during March Madness. According to the study, athletes were targeted in 15 percent of March Madness-related abusive posts and comments flagged by data science firm Signify Group during the 2025 men's and women's tournaments. That was a significant drop from the previous year's tournaments, when 42 percent of March Madness-spawned abusive posts and comments were directed at student-athletes. Per the NCAA's report, Signify Group gleaned this year's data by using its "Threat Matrix" technology to monitor the social-media accounts of 2,042 players, 346 coaches, 136 teams and 269 game officials and selection committee members. More than 1 million posts and comments directed at these groups on X, TikTok and Instagram were logged and analyzed by Signify's artificial intelligence. That led to 54,096 posts and comments being flagged for potential abuse or threat. Of those, Signify's human analysts confirmed 3,161 as "abusive or threatening." Signify investigated 103 social media accounts for their malicious activity and referred 10 of them to law enforcement. "By supporting the NCAA in demonstrating that abusers can be identified and will be reported to law enforcement -- where criminal thresholds are broken -- it is possible to see a deterrent effect in play," Jonathan Hirshler, Signify Group's CEO, said in a statement. Other findings from the study: Abuse stemming from sports bettors decreased by 23 percent, all abuse directed at those on the women's March Madness side dropped approximately 83 percent and all abuse directed at those on the men's side increased by 140 percent. While the 140 percent increase in men's tournament total abuse and the significant drop in abuse directed at student-athletes overall might not appear to jibe, the difference is in the sharp increase of this year's abuse being directed at adults -- such as coaches and the NCAA Tournament selection committee chaired by North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham. --Field Level Media

Annie Knight breaks down crying as she tearfully recalls horrific sexual assault ordeal: 'I started screaming'
Annie Knight breaks down crying as she tearfully recalls horrific sexual assault ordeal: 'I started screaming'

Daily Mail​

time23 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Annie Knight breaks down crying as she tearfully recalls horrific sexual assault ordeal: 'I started screaming'

Annie Knight broke down in tears on Tuesday as she recounted the horrifying moment she was allegedly assaulted by a male sex worker. The OnlyFans creator, 27, shared a video to TikTok explaining she was filming a collaboration video when her scene partner began to 'push her down'. Knight said the accused ignored the 'boundaries' she put in place before filming began, and would not allow her to get up when she tried to leave the situation. 'I literally can't believe what happened. Sorry. Give me a second, I'm just going to calm down,' Knight cried as she began her video. She went on to say she was filming a sex scene with someone who was a 'verified creator' but new and unknown in the industry. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'We were filming the scene. I very clearly laid down my boundaries about what I'm okay with. I told him I didn't want restraining of any kind,' she said. 'We get down to filming and straight away he is doing things I told him I don't want to do. 'I've been in a similar position before where I was like enough is enough and I pushed him off me and left. 'This time was different because I asked him multiple times to stop and he didn't.' Knight broke down in tears again as she said: 'So I was trying to get him off me and the more I was pushing him, the more he kept pushing me down... I couldn't get up.' Thankfully, Knight said she had a security guard waiting in another room as she had hired a two-bedroom apartment to film the content in. The male content creator was apparently unaware Knight had security, so the alleged assault was stopped when Knight 'screamed' for help. 'Luckily I had a security guard next door because I am so scared of this exact situation happening,' she said. 'When I started screaming, thankfully, I had someone who came in and got this guy off me.' Knight went on to caution other sex workers to 'please be safe' and 'make sure you always have someone close by' for protection. 'I was so naive in thinking that because I've been doing this for so long now that this kind of thing doesn't happen,' Knight continued. 'It is so ridiculous that I thought that, but I am so lucky I still had a security guard close by just in case.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Knight for further comment. Knight shot to fame online in recent years for sharing videos detailing her experiences as a sex worker. She has also received a slew of media attention for her various sex challenges, the most recent of which left her hospitalised when she slept with 583 men in a day. Professionally dubbed as 'Australia's Most Sexually Active Woman', Knight has said she earns up to $3.5 million a year on OnlyFans for her X-rated content. She also recently announced her engagement to Henry Brayshaw, son of sports commentator James Brayshaw.

Unhinged LA rioter dressed in makeshift tactical gear becomes laughing stock of protests
Unhinged LA rioter dressed in makeshift tactical gear becomes laughing stock of protests

Daily Mail​

time28 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Unhinged LA rioter dressed in makeshift tactical gear becomes laughing stock of protests

A protester in Los Angeles was taunted after storming the streets in makeshift tactical gear as she encouraged others to use a 'wind blower' as protection against tear gas. Other protesters caught the interaction on video and the clip circulated online, with many poking fun at the unidentified rioter's DIY gear. 'Why is she doing a bad cosplay of a minion from Despicable Me?' one commented on X. 'We need leaf-blower control legislation. Now!' another joked. 'Omg this has to be a satire protester lol,' a third said. The protester was asked on camera why she took to the streets and replied, 'This is our city and this was Mexico. You can't kick us out of the land that was ours.' When asked what the wind blower was for, she replied, 'That's for the f***ing tear gas. That's for the f***ing tear gas to blow it back at those motherf***ers. If you have a f***in blower bring it out. Push them back!' The protester then directed her attention to Donald Trump, and told the camera, 'You're just mad because Selma Hayek wouldn't give you the time of day b***h.' Los Angeles has been embroiled in protests since Friday as a political feud has broken out between Governor Gavin Newsom and President Trump (Pictured: Protesters come face to face during the protests on the 101 Freeway on Sunday) The video footage was taken as the California city has been embroiled in protests in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The protests have become a political flashpoint as Trump deployed the National Guard to provide additional resources to law enforcement. Typically, the guard is only deployed at the request of the state's governor, and California officials are accusing the administration of an illegal maneuver. California officials have also claimed that Trump's use of the National Guard will heighten tensions in the streets. 'If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. due to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning. Governor Gavin Newsom then filed an emergency motion in court to block military troops from infiltrating the city, arguing that the federal government was 'turning the military against American citizens.' A federal judge denied the state's request to prohibit Trump's administration from using the Marines and National Guard. 'This is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy,' Newsom wrote about the filing on X. The administration announced the deployment of 700 Marines and 2,000 National Guard troops to break up the protests. The protests entered their fifth day on Tuesday with demonstrators sparking the days-long controversy with a gathering outside the Los Angeles Federal Building. The demonstrations heightened on Saturday with officials deploying tear gas against rioters. Some demonstrations across the city turned violent, with images emerging of cars on fire and police firing rubber bullets at rioters. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said over the weekend that some rioters arrived at the demonstrations with hammers, cinder blocks, and rocks. The violence prompted Trump to call for all demonstrators in face masks to be arrested on Truth Social. As protests continued to break out in California, 300 members of the state's guard responded with Homeland Security officers at the city's detention center. Federal officials formed a line outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to block protesters as demonstrators were hit with tear gas and pepper balls. Protests have spread to other cities, including San Francisco and New York, as Trump continues to defend the deployment of additional troops (Pictured: Police fire off rounds on protesters in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Monday) Protesters even blocked Highway 101, which created chaotic scenes as officers fired munitions into the crowd. Over the course of the demonstration, at least 160 people were arrested, with a majority facing charges for failure to disperse. The demonstrations have spread throughout the US to other major cities, including San Francisco, where authorities said 154 arrests occurred. US District Judge Charles R. Breyer set a hearing for Thursday on the legality of the administration's deployment of the National Guard.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store