'The Stranger' and other TV mysteries based on Harlan Coben's novels

Not many novelists can boast as many TV adaptations of their stories as the American Harlan Coben. To date, a total of eleven mystery and suspense novels were turned into (limited) series, many of which can currently be seen on Netflix.

Harlan Coben's novels usually focus on disappearances, accidents, or homicides about which there are great unknowns. The people trying to solve them, are usually the very people involved in the crime as the (friends or relatives of the) victims. The stories tend to have unexpected turns that surprised the reader then and will surprise the viewer now.

Harlan Coben published his first book at the age of 26 and, two years later, in 1990 he would do the same with his first mystery novel: 'Play Dead'. It was the beginning of an important career as a writer that has given rise to 32 novels of the same genre, 14 of them in two series with the same characters and the rest with completely independent stories.

The success of his novels would lead Harlan Coben to take a step further in his career. Starting in 2006, his work was adapted into films and series - starting with the French 'Don't tell anyone' (Ne le dis à personne). It would be the first of a long list in which the writer has always participated in one way or another.

This British production was directed by Harlan Coben and Daniel O'Hara, as well as Julia Ford and Daniel Nettheim. It stars the famous Michael C. Hall ('Dexter') along with Amanda Abbington, Hannah Arterton, Louis Greatorex, and Raj Paul. In a quiet, gated community, surgeon Tom Delaney begins to discover the dark side of the people around him after his teenage daughter disappears.

Image: Netflix

The most recent adaptation of a Harlan Coben novel is 'Hold Tight', a Polish production directed by Michal Gazda and Bartosz Konopka and starring Magdalena Boczarska, Leszek Lichota, and Krzysztof Oleksyn. It narrates how the quiet life of a wealthy Warsaw neighborhood changes when an 18-year-old boy named Adam goes missing.

Image: Netflix

'Stay Close' is another miniseries based on the homonymous novel by Harlan Coben. In his case, it is a British production. The story shows how lies and secrets from the past resurface among a group of seemingly impeccable citizens.

Image: Netflix

The same year that 'Stay Close' was released, there was 'Gone for Good' as a Coben adaptation. It tells the story of Guillaume, a boy who relives the tragedy that killed two of the people he loved the most; his first love and his brother. It stars Finnegan Oldfield, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Guillaume Gourix, Nailia Harzoune, and Garance Marillier.

Image: Netflix

2021 was quite profitable for Harlan Coben. A third production based on a book of his was the Spanish production 'The Innocent'. It stars Mario Casas and Aura Garrido, among others, and describes a couple that is about to buy a house and consolidate a dream life together when a phone call brings them back to a horrible past. 

Image: Netflix

'Hold Tight' was not the first Polish adaptation of a Coben novel. Two years earlier there was 'The Woods', which tells the story of a Warsaw prosecutor who lost his sister in a mysterious disappearance 25 years ago during a camp. When a lifeless body appears, he has new hope of finding her.

Image: Netflix

In 2020, there was also a British adaptation of a novel by Harlan Coben. It was 'The Stranger' about a man who searches for answers after an unknown woman appears in his life with a strange statement about his wife. The film was directed by Coben himself along with Daniel O'Hara and Hannah Quinn.

Image: Netflix

Produced by TF1 and directed by Harlan Coben, Sydney Gallonde, and Ludovic Colbeau-Justin, this French film tells the story of Eva Beaufils, a woman whose life changes after she sees an old picture and her husband goes missing. Starring Virginie Ledoyen, Thierry Neuvic and Thierry Frémont.

Image: TF1

A British production of a year earlier is 'The Five', directed by Harlan Coben and Mark Tonderai. It tells the story of the disappearance of a 5-year-old boy whose DNA turns up 20 years later at a crime scene.

Image: Sky

Another adaptation on French television was the 6-episode miniseries 'Une chance de trop' ('One Chance Too Many') which delves into the story of Dr. Alice Lambert who, after waking up from a coma after being shot, discovers that her husband has been murdered and her baby has died.

In 2006, the first of the adaptations of Harlan Coben's novels was released: 'Tell No One'. This time, it did not reach viewers in the form of a miniseries, but as a movie. It was a French production directed by Guillaume Canet and tells how a man sees his wife again in a video, eight years after her murder.

Despite the fact that there have already been eleven adaptations of Coben's novels, there are still many titles that could reach our screens at any time. Take note: 'Without a goodbye', 'Six years', 'Missing You', 'Fool Me Once', 'The Magical Fantastical Fridge', 'Don't Let Go', and 'Run Away'.

But there is more. Harlan Coben also has a good collection of novels for two series focused on particular characters. This is the case of Myron Bolitar, a former basketball player and owner of MB SportsReps. His agency represents sports stars and celebrities and Coben has written no fewer than eleven novels about him. A series was based on the character and his adventures.

For those who have not seen them, there are a few hours of entertainment ahead with the stories of Harlan Coben - most of them available on Netflix.