“I live with insecurity and self-doubt”: Harlan Coben on what drives him – and the TV thriller he’s working on next

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Pip CowleyHarlan Coben has spent his career keeping readers guessing and when it comes to his feelings about his own writing, certainty is in short supply, too. Although one of the most successful crime writers ever, with over 100 million books sold worldwide, he readily admits to self-doubt.

‘Only bad writers think they’re good,’ he says, laughing. ‘Every good writer I know has some form of imposter syndrome. Stephen King once asked if he could use me as a character in one of his books, which was one of the most flattering things I’d ever heard. He sent me the book and I realised he was genuinely nervous about my reaction. I live with insecurity and self-doubt, and I kick my own ass a lot. I think if that disappeared completely, I’d lose my edge.’

Harlan published his first thriller Play Dead in 1990, when he was 28. It wasn’t the red-hot hit he’d dreamed it might be, but he kept plugging away, book by book, until 2001’s Tell No One became an international bestseller. Even now, 25 years later and a huge star, he still writes a book a year, sometimes two.

He puts his drive down to his upbringing. ‘I was extraordinarily lucky to have great parents,’ he tells me from the home in New Jersey he shares with his wife of nearly 40 years, Anne, and Havanese dogs, Laszlo and Winslow. ‘My parents were both extraordinarily intelligent,’ he continues, ‘but they weren’t what you would conventionally call “successful” and I suspect there was some frustration there. My mother, in particular, pushed us to achieve from a very young age. I have photographs of myself at three years old wearing a Harvard sweatshirt.’

One sadness is that his parents died before they could see his success – although he has no doubt they were proud of him. ‘They always made us feel that they were proud of us, long before we’d achieved anything. That was the magic trick of their parenting: they pushed us without ever making achievement feel like a precondition of love.’

He writes affectionately about his childhood, and how he came to writing by accident, in Plot Twist, a non-fiction book that mixes memoir with writing advice. ‘I started writing fiction when I was working on the Costa del Sol in Spain as a kind of tour escort for American travellers after graduating,’ he recounts. ‘Part of what led me to it was straight-up boredom. We didn’t have phones, the television was all in Spanish and I didn’t really have many friends.’ He started jotting down ideas and, to his own surprise, ended up with a complete novel. ‘I felt I’d found my thing and I just kept doing it.’

Unlike lots of writers who are superstitious about their craft, Harlan is happy to analyse how he works. ‘For me, the key to good writing is suspense and narrative drive. My biggest fear as a storyteller is boring the reader.’

Even the plot twists he’s known for – the secret sauce of his writing – are examined forensically. ‘With twists, it’s a bit of both planning and instinct. I know the ending before I start, so I know the final twist. I use what I call the GPS theory: if I put the ending into the GPS before I begin, I can turn down all sorts of roads and wander wherever I like because there will always be a gentle voice leading me back towards the destination. Along the way, I’ll invent new twists and turns. For every twist I use, there are probably 10 I throw away.’

In 2024, Harlan announced that he and Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon were collaborating on a thriller called Gone Before Goodbye, much to his fans’ excitement. ‘I’d always said I would never do it,’ he says, laughing. ‘When Reese first called me, I remember thinking, “Okay, how do I politely tell her I’m not somebody who does this?” Reese, unsurprisingly, is very persuasive. She started telling me about the idea and I thought it sounded interesting. The next thing I knew, I had my yellow legal pad out and was scribbling ideas, saying, “Well, what if this happens instead?” I love doing new things and it ended up being an absolute joy. Reese is an incredible creator; she’s smart, hardworking and industrious. It became a wonderful working relationship and, I think, a lifelong friendship.’ Would he co-write with anyone else? A very certain ‘no’ follows.

In 2018, he struck a multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix for 14 of his books to be adapted for the screen, with him as executive producer. The shows, which include Fool Me Once (starring Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley), Run Away (with Ruth Jones and James Nesbitt) and, most recently, I Will Find You (one of the streamer’s all-time top 10 shows), have been so popular with viewers that more will follow, including adaptations of his Myron Bolitar books. Which books would he like to see on the screen next? ‘Six years is one of my books I’d like to see adaptated and that is in the process of happening,’ he says.

One of the best things to come from his partnership with Netflix is the chance to work with eldest daughter, Charlotte, an up-and coming screenwriter and producer (he has three other children, Ben, Eve and Will). ‘At first, I didn’t have much interest in working with my daughter,’ he confesses. ‘I think parents should be parents. But Nicola Shindler, a producer I’ve worked with often, had read some of Charlotte’s work and thought she was very good. And it’s been such a pleasure.’

More adaptations, working with Charlotte, are coming and he’s started a new standalone novel, although he won’t reveal anything about it yet. The long-term plan? To keep telling stories – and to make sure his readers never get bored.

Plot Twist: A Memoir Of A Writing Life (Century) by Harlan Coben is out now

12 recommended reads for October – they’re all 99p

The book Nigella Lawson is gifting to her friends

12 best book advent calendars to buy for readers

Best Christmas book gifts, chosen by GH readers

The 7 best new fiction books of October 2026

Nigella recommends an “utterly compelling“ novel

10 best cosy crime books to escape into in autumn

An exclusive short story from Bella Mackie

99p books: Elizabeth Strout, Emily Henry and more

The best Matt Haig books – where to start reading

8 best crime fiction thrillers to read right now