4 Harlan Coben Netflix shows with the best plot twists, ranked

So far, eight Harlan Coben Netflix shows have been released, and even more are on the way! Dark crime mysteries are always some of the most popular shows on Netflix when a new series is released. Fans have fallen in love with the familiar themes, great performances, drama, and epic plot twists.

For this ranking, we picked the four Coben's Netflix shows with the best plot twists. Because we're ranking the twists, we did reveal spoilers for those shows! If you haven't seen them, go and watch and then circle back with this ranking.

Let's get the list started with The Stranger, which features the fourth-best twists of Coben's Netflix shows.

4. The Stranger

Cast: Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, Jennifer Saunders, Shaun Dooley, Paul Kaye, Dervla Kirwan, Kadiff Kirwan, Jacob Dudman, Ella-Rae Smith, Brandon Fellows, Misha Handley, Anthony Head, Hannah John-Kamen, Stephen Rea, and more

Premise: After a man, Adam, played by Richard Armitage, is confronted by "The Stranger," played by Hannah John-Jamen, at a sports club and information about his wife's pregnancy is revealed, Adam confronts his wife, Corinne, played by Dervla Kirwan, right before she goes missing. Adam tries to find his wife, which leads him on a wild goose chase, as authorities also try to find out what happened to Corinne.

Twist: There are a few big twists and reveals in The Stranger. The main one is the connection between the Stranger, also known as Christine. It's revealed that her mother was having an affair with Adam's father, and that they are half-siblings. That's why she never sought anything in return from him. She was actually trying to help him. Her mother was, then, killed by her husband before Adam's father knew that she, Christine, existed.

But, what happened to Corinnne? Well, Tripp, Adam's friend and neighbor, had stole money and was going to blame everything on Corinne. She tries to confront him, but Tripp kills her. Adam finds out Tripp is lying and takes him to the woods out of town where Tripp admits his crimes before Adam kills him.

Up next is Safe!

3. Safe

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Amanda Abbington, Marc Warren, Audrey Fleurot, Hannah Arterton, Nigel Lindsay, Laila Rouass, Joplin Sibtain, Milo Twomey, Emmett J. Scanlan, Amy James-Kelly, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Freddie Thorp, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Louis Greatorex

Premise: Safe is my favorite of Coben's Netflix shows, and I also think it's the best of the bunch, too, in large part because of how good Michael C. Hall is in this show. In Safe, Tom, played by Hall, searches for his missing teen daughter, Jenny, played by Amy James-Kelly. Aided by law enforcement, Tom's investigation uncovers some deep, dark secrets that many in the small community wanted to stay buried.

Twist: There are a few big twists in the series. One of the twists is about Jenny's disappearance. Jenny finds some information about something that her mother, who is dead, did when she was younger. Jenny looks into it, and she finds out that her mother and several of her mother's friends were responsible for starting a fire at the school that killed several children. They didn't know there were kids inside. Jenny, then, is kidnapped, basically, by Bobby, another person who was involved and doesn't want this information to come to light.

That's one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is the death of Chris, a teenager and Jenny's boyfriend/friend, and who killed him. Tom recognizes a necklace from the crime scene and realizes that Sophie, the woman he is seeing and who is leading the investigation, is responsible for killing Chris. As it turned out, Chris knew about the fire, as well, and mentioned it to Sophie while she was picking up her kid from the party. She, then, killed Chris and deleted the evidence. She begs Tom not to turn over the evidence to the police, but he does anyway.

Overall, Safe features a good twist! I don't know how the audience was supposed to see that coming given what we see in the series, but it still works.

Up next is Fool Me Once!

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.

1. Stay Close

Cast: Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt, Richard Armitage, Sarah Parish, Jo Joyner, Daniel Francis, Youssef Kerkour, Bethany Antonia, Alibe Parsons, Poppy Gilbert, Hyoie O'Grady, Ross Boatman, Leon Annor, and Eddie Izzard

Premise: Stay Close premiered on Netflix on New Year's Eve in 2021. The series follows Megan, played by Cush Jumbo, a mom who is getting married soon. Megan has been spending years trying to put her past behind her, but it all comes back when she gets involved with the potential missing persons' case after revisiting an old club she used to dance at. There is a cold case that remains unsolved with similar characteristics as the new disappearance. As DS Broome, played by James Nesbitt, looks deeper into the circumstances of the night in question, more secrets are revealed, old wounds are opened, and seemingly innocent people are exposed and brought to justice.

Twist: There are so many good twists in Stay Close, and that's why it ranks No. 1 on this list. Overall, this show is not one of my favorite of Coben's Netflix shows, but it comes together much better than some of the other shows. So, the big twist or reveal is that Lorraine (Sarah Parish), the owner of the nightclub where Megan, also known as Cassie, used to work, is a serial killer who has been killing one man every year on the same night for decades. She killed Stewart Green, which is of particular interest to DS Broome, but it's revealed that she's not responsible for the most recent missing person, Carlton Flynn, although she takes credit for it.

Instead, it's revealed that Kayliegh, Megan's daughter, and Dave, Megan's soon-to-be husband, actually killed Carlton, but it's by accident. Carlton tried to drug Kayleigh and her friend, Bea, on the night in question. After a scuffle in the parking lot, Kayleigh pushes Carlton into the trunk of his own car. Then, the girls drive the car somewhere else, but Bea doesn't know Carlton was in the back of the car. So, Dave picks the girls up, but then, he realizes that Carlton is missing from the news. He goes back and pushes the car into a lake, not realizing that Carlton is still in the trunk.

What a disaster, but it's one of the most satisfying endings of Coben's Netflix shows. There are few loose ends to tie up.