Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an acclaimed American thriller author, known for twist-heavy plots where buried secrets resurface, having sold over 90 million books in 46 languages. He holds a unique place in crime fiction as the first author to win the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and his 2008 novel Hold Tight became his first #1 New York Times bestseller. A political science graduate of Amherst College (where he was a fraternity brother of Dan Brown), he started writing after working in his grandfather's travel company, debuting with Play Dead in 1990 before creating his beloved sports-agent sleuth Myron Bolitar. His standalone thriller Tell No One (2001) was adapted into a celebrated 2006 French film, leading to over 15 screen adaptations, including original Netflix series The Five (2016) and Safe (2018). In 2025, he published his first co-authored work, Gone Before Goodbye, written with Reese Witherspoon, continuing his prolific and successful output.