4 Harlan Coben Netflix shows with the best plot twists, ranked
By Bryce Olin
![Fool Me Once. Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern and Richard Armitage as Joe Burkett in Fool Me Once. Cr. Matt SquireNetflix © 2023 Fool Me Once. Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern and Richard Armitage as Joe Burkett in Fool Me Once. Cr. Matt SquireNetflix © 2023](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5000,h_2812,x_0,y_492/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImageExchange/mmsport/340/01hqbztr01sph71hx0w4.jpg)
2. Fool Me Once
Cast: Michelle Keegan, Dino Fetscher, Richard Armitage, Joanna Lumley, Adeel Akhtar, Emmett J. Scanlan, Joe Armstrong, Marcus Garvey, Jade Anouka, Dänya Griver, Anthony Howell, Laurie Kynaston, Hattie Morahan, and James Northcote
Premise: Fool Me Once is the most recently released of Coben's Netflix shows. The story revolves around Maya Stern, played by Michelle Keegan, a war veteran involved in a scandal that left civilians dead. Is she responsible? That's part of what the series explores, but while she was deployed, her sister was murdered. Later, her husband, Joe, played by Richard Armitage, is murdered. The killer remains on the loose. Even later, Maya sees Joe on a nanny cam, and she tries to get to the bottom of the mystery to find out if he's actually dead. That's the main story. There are a few side stories involving DS Sami Kierce, played by Adeel Akhtar, who has a mysterious illness, and more.
Twist: I thought we were going to get a cheap twist ending in Fool Me Once, but we don't. We get a very satisfying ending, although it's quite sad. As we learn throughout the series, Maya's sister was closing in on a few big discoveries involving Joe and his family, who owns a pharmaceutical company that has been committing fraud and making people sick with their drugs. Sami Kierce has been taking some of those drugs, which caused his blackouts and hallucinations. She was also closing in on holding Joe responsible for the death of his brother and the death and cover-up of a classmate at their private school when they were kids. It's revealed that Joe killed Maya's sister to keep his name clear. Maya finds out, and she kills Joe. That's the big twist.
She hasn't been looking for Joe. She's been actually looking for information about why Joe kills her sister. Maya uses this information that she uncovers and secretly records herself while live on social media presenting this information to Joe's family. She leaves her gun next to Joe's brother on purpose, and he picks it up and kills Maya for all to see. She sacrifices herself to hold Joe's family accountable.
It's a rather devastating ending, especially considering Maya leaves her daughter behind.