The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 38 books · 1990 to 2025 · Often set in New York

Harlan Coben

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspenseAmateur sleuthPsychological suspenseAction and adventure

Myron Bolitar and his friend Win Lockwood anchor Coben’s New Jersey, and characters from the standalones keep turning up in each other’s books. Lawyer Hester Crimstein links Tell No One to the Wilde novels, and Myron’s nephew Mickey has a series of his own.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Gone Before Goodbye is written with Reese Witherspoon.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Harlan Coben books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Myron Bolitar

12 books · Set in New YorkAmateur sleuth
  1. 1Deal Breaker1995With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Drop Shot1996With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Fade Away1996With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Back Spin1997With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  5. 5One False Move1998With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Final Detail1999With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Darkest Fear2000With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Promise Me2006With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Long Lost2009With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Live Wire2011With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Home2016With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Think Twice2024With Myron BolitarBuy on Amazon

Mickey Bolitar

3 books · Set in the fictional Kasselton, New JerseyAmateur sleuth
  1. 1Shelter2011With Mickey BolitarBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Seconds Away2012With Mickey BolitarBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Found2014With Mickey BolitarBuy on Amazon

Win

1 book · Set in New YorkAction and adventure
  1. 1Win2021With Win LockwoodBuy on Amazon

Wilde

2 books · Set in the fictional Westville, New JerseyPsychological suspense
  1. 1The Boy from the Woods2020With WildeBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Match2022With WildeBuy on Amazon

Sami Kierce

2 books · Set in New YorkPsychological suspense
  1. 1Fool Me Once2016With Maya SternBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Nobody’s Fool2025With Sami KierceBuy on Amazon

Standalone

18 books · Mostly set in the New Jersey suburbsPsychological suspense
  1. 1Play Dead1990With Laura Ayars · Set in BostonBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Miracle Cure1991With Sara Lowell · Set in New YorkBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Tell No One2001With David BeckBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Gone for Good2002With Will KleinBuy on Amazon
  5. 5No Second Chance2003With Marc SeidmanBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Just One Look2004With Grace LawsonBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Innocent2005With Matt HunterBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Woods2007With Paul Copeland · Set in NewarkBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Hold Tight2008With Mike BayeBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Caught2010With Wendy TynesBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Stay Close2012With Megan PierceBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Six Years2013With Jake FisherBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Missing You2014With Kat Donovan · Set in New YorkBuy on Amazon
  14. 14The Stranger2015With Adam PriceBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Don’t Let Go2017With Nap DumasBuy on Amazon
  16. 16Run Away2019With Simon Greene · Set in New YorkBuy on Amazon
  17. 17I Will Find You2023With David BurroughsBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Gone Before Goodbye2025With Maggie McCabe · Set in various placesBuy on Amazon

Characters

41 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Myron Bolitar circle

Mickey Bolitar circle

Recurring across the standalones

Standalone leads