Harlan Coben Netflix Shows (And The Books That Inspired Them)

Harlan Coben is a literary inspiration. With over 75 million of his books sold worldwide, he is the best-selling author of a whopping 35 page-turning thrillers. So it should be no surprise that back in 2018, Netflix signed a lucrative deal with the author to adapt 14 of his English-language books into original movies or TV series.

Today, you can currently find seven of these projects on Netflix in the US, though just three of them are English-language series.

The films and shows based on Coben’s books include limited series The Stranger and The Woods and the newest addition, Fool Me Once, which premiered on January 1, 2024.

In addition, the 2018 thriller Safe is also available to stream on Netflix, though this limited series was created by Coben but not based on one of his books. Come for Michael C. Hall with an English accent, stay for the twisty turns in the upscale suburban community.

In 2023, Coben also expanded the cinematic universes inspired by his books to Prime Video, where Harlan Coben’s Shelter aired.

Want to get a more prominent glimpse into the books that inspired these mystery crime thrillers on Netflix and Prime Video? Here’s everything you need to know about the books which spurred a literary streaming powerhouse.

• The Stranger (2020)

  This creepy drama follows Adam Price, a happily married family man as his life is uprooted by a mysterious stranger who spills some unwanted secrets about his wife. The Netflix show takes place in the UK though the book is rooted in the US.

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• The Woods (2020)

  The novel takes place in New Jersey, unlike the Poland-based series on Netflix. Both follow an attorney who lost his sister in the woods 20 years ago and is given hope when a homicide victim is linked to her disappearance.

  amazon $9.99 $6.72

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• The Innocent (2021)

  The Spanish language thriller is based on this book which asks a simple question, “Who is innocent?” After fatefully trying to stop a fight nearly a decade ago, but killing someone instead, Matt Hunter is now an ex-con trying to live a straight life. That is, until he gets a video call from his wife’s phone that changes everything.

  amazon $9.99 $7.49

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• Gone for Good (2021)

  Another New Jersey murder mystery adapted to take place in France for the French-language Netflix series, this heartbreaking story follows Will Klein as he delves into the clues to search for his missing brother—after he was accused of killing the woman Will loved. This book has everything, murder, love, betrayal, and a search for the truth.

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• Stay Close (2021)

  This 2013 thriller turned 2021 Netflix series is about a trio of characters — a detective, a photographer, and a suburban soccer mom — whose present lives become threatened when secrets from each of their respective pasts emerge.

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• Hold Tight (2022)

  The Polish-language adaptation of Hold Tight is set in Warsaw instead of the novel’s New Jersey setting, and follows the unraveling of a tight-knit community when a young man goes missing after the death of his friend.

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• Fool Me Once (2024)

  The newest Netflix series based on a Harlan Coben novel premiered on January 1, 2024, and asks the question: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? Maya believes she’s seeing her husband, who had recently been brutally murdered, back in their home as an intruder. At the same time, Maya’s niece and nephew are trying to find the truth about their mother’s murder.

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• Shelter (2023)

  The only one of Coben’s books to get the Prime Video treatment, rather than a series on Netflix, Shelter is one of the author’s young adult books. It follows a teen, Mickey, who is investigating both the disappearance of his girlfriend and a mysterious woman’s claims that his father, who Mickey saw die, is still alive.

  amazon $11.99 $10.26

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