4 reasons Tell No One should be the next Harlan Coben Netflix show

Harlan Coben has taken Netflix by storm as of recent with his collection of eight shows based on his novels. Back in 2018, Coben signed a deal with Netflix that that planned for 14 total shows. With two more on the way, the total confirmed will grow to 10. This is not a math class, but that leaves us with four spots left for his initial deal. The deal was also renewed in 2022 so we will likely see even more than 14 planned.

Coben has written 38 novels to date with more on the way. While it is unlikely that every single thing he writes also makes a great show/movie, there are definitely some that we would love to see hit the screen. Tell No One was already made a movie back in 2006, but would make for a great Netflix series as well.

Tell No One was published in June of 2001. The plot, very similar to other works of Coben’s, follows a grieving husband who lost his wife eight years prior and is still unable to move on. It becomes much more difficult to move on when David Beck receives an e-mail with a phrase that only he and his presumed dead wife would understand. David is warned not to tell anyone anything, so he becomes forced to avoid the people he always trusted most.

This book is unputdownable and would likely have that same effect in a Netflix adaption. Here are four reasons why Tell No One should be the next Harlan Coben Netflix show.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the novel Tell No One.

1. The settings

The book starts out at a cabin in the countryside where David Beck believes his wife is murdered. Beck then finds himself in a multitude of places including: interrogation rooms, abandoned houses in low-income neighborhoods, a drug dealer’s truck, and a very wealthy mansion. Beck is on the run for large parts of the book, so seeing all of the places he discovers or is taken to would be fun to visually see versus only having your imagination to do the work with the book. We truly get both ends of the spectrum in the book as Beck goes from hiding in dumpsters avoiding police to finally understanding the truth behind everything at a mansion in the end.

2. The action

This story is jam-packed with action from the very first page. A good chunk of the book is spent on Beck fleeing police and going on the run. An officer is even assaulted in one part and while this can be slightly unbelievable as Beck is simply a pediatrician, it would be an interesting scene to watch how a normal guy is able to evade the police nonetheless.

The character Eric Wu can essentially be a reason in itself to make a show as well. He is the hired muscle by the Scope family and is described as the epitome of hired muscle in that he is crazy strong and appears to not have a conscience. Violence is not an issue for Wu at all and it would be entertaining to see the scenes where he is fighting people or beating answers out of them.

If pediatricians evading the cops and hired hit men beating people senseless is not quite your style, perhaps ruthless drug dealers with soft sides are?

3. The Tyrese storyline

Tyrese Barton is a drug dealer in the book and comes into contact with Beck because of his child TJ. Beck is seemingly the only person Tyrese will let care for TJ and provides hefty dollar amounts in doing so. Beck ultimately gives the extra money to his sister to put back into a charity she works for. Befriending a drug dealer with many violent connections seemed to be the best thing for Beck as Tyrese is able to get him out of sight while evading the police in New York. It is also Tyrese who comes to the aid of Beck when it seemed as though Eric Wu would be killing him.

Tyrese’s story is made for TV whether it be the gaudy outfits he provided to Beck in order to blend in the Bronx, his child suffering from multiple health concerns, or the violence he is capable of in order to protect those he cares the most about.

4. The Hester Crimstein character

Things get sticky for Beck as the investigation of two found bodies near the site of his wife Elizabeth’s death gets going. Things get even worse for Beck after an old friend of Elizabeth’s is found murdered just days after Beck meets with her to pick her brain about the possibility of Elizabeth being alive. Beck was evidently framed for the murder, but still needs a lawyer to get through the process. Enter Hester Crimstein.

Crimstein is portrayed as your typical media-hungry lawyer that dresses vibrantly and is even on multiple TV shows. She is a famous lawyer and seems to know it as she is super confident in everything she does. I would describe her character similar to Harvey Specter in Suits. It would be fun to see the facial expressions and responses from all the people she makes look silly in the book. A charismatic and cocky lawyer seems to always work well in television.

Tell No One is another one of Coben's best books and could surely make an outstanding TV series. With eight shows currently streaming and another two on the way, hopefully we'll hear that Tell No One is on the horizon eventually!