'Harlan Coben's Final Twist' Review: The Mystery Mastermind's Move to True Crime Is a Missed Opportunity

The murder mystery genre is perhaps more popular now than it's ever been, thanks to the rise of both true crime tales and podcasts. With more eyes than ever on the twists and turns of murder mysteries, to be the most prolific and perhaps most famous writer in the genre is no small feat. Considered a modern-day Agatha Christie, Harlan Coben is the mastermind behind an incredible 36 novels, having won an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award, and an Anthony Award, and accumulated over 90 million copies sold worldwide.

When his novel No Second Chance was turned into a French miniseries of the same name ten years ago, Coben's foray into television began, and little could we have known just how successful it would be. It has now become a tradition for Netflix to debut a new Coben adaptation on New Year's Day each year, with the latest, Run Away, having premiered this past January 1. However, this isn't the only Coben project making its debut this first month of 2026, with the writer's inevitable move into true crime coming in the form of Harlan Coben's Final Twist, a new series that sees Coben bring shocking, stranger-than-fiction tales of murder to CBS watchers across the country.

What Is 'Harlan Coben's Final Twist' About?

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The pilot episode of Harlan Coben's Final Twist investigates the jaw-dropping case of Billy Payne and his fiancée Billie Jean Hayworth, who were tragically shot dead in their rural Tennessee home back in 2012. With their 7-month-old son, Tyler, found alive and gruesomely covered in blood in Hayworth's arms at the scene, detectives immediately knew they had a hugely time-sensitive case on their hands. But when friends and family claim the pair had no enemies, and it seems as if everyone is willing to cooperate, a seeming dead-end is averted via some telling social media posts.

Veteran documentarian Jeff Zimbalist takes showrunner duties on Final Twist, with his clear eye for true crime storytelling helping guide a hooked viewer through the many shocking twists and turns in this harrowing tale. With six one-hour episodes in this new series, it was important to kick off with a story sure to keep a hopefully high viewership hungry for more. The case of Payne and Hayworth is something so unexpected it feels ripped straight from the pages of one of Coben's own novels; the only thing missing is an appearance by Richard Armitage.

Harlan Coben Is an Underused Potential in 'Final Twist'

Coben’s foray into the world of true crime is almost beat for beat exactly how you would expect it. With this harrowing tale of a double homicide told in pretty standard true crime fashion, Coben is there as host to offer fancifully lit insight into the case at hand. Or at least that’s how it should be, with Coben instead offering vague statements about crime in general, never specifically linked to the story of the episode. Because of this, there is a disconnect between the two elements of the show. If you took each of Coben’s brief interludes and placed them into almost any other episode of true crime, they would arguably feel right at home.

Understandably, Coben’s name is one so closely linked to tales of murder and mystery that this move into true crime was inevitable. However, with this opening episode, it is as if his name and his name alone were enough to involve him, and his clear knowledge of the detailed workings of criminal tales (even if fictional) was barely utilized. Of course, this is only via the pilot episode, so here’s hoping that this isn’t a problem that affects the entire series. But if Final Twist wants to put its best foot forward to prove Coben is a worthy headline name in the true crime space, then this is not a good start.

'Final Twist' Thankfully Avoids Insensitivity With True Crime

This creative choice isn’t conducive to just a negative outcome, with one clear positive about Coben’s reduced involvement in the episode. True crime is delicate and should only be handled with care due to the sensitivity surrounding the real people who are involved. With the case in hand during this first episode dating back just over ten years, almost all affected are still alive, with the mental unrest caused to others like them by such a series having been well documented before.

My fears heading into Coben’s move into true crime were that the real people involved in the episode would be treated like characters from one of his novels. Thankfully, this isn’t the case, as each name wrapped up in this stranger-than-fiction sequence of events is treated as they would normally be in this genre. I still have my issues with the general handling of the victims in true crime, as I believe far too much agency is offered to the perpetrators. Thankfully, Harlan Coben’s Final Twist is perhaps slightly fairer than its contemporaries when offering a platform to all involved and spending time allowing its audience to get to know the victims.

As a first move into true crime for Coben, this is exactly what many would expect. A fairly by-the-books entry into a busy genre with the addition of some vaguely related Coben flair, Final Twist isn't going to change how we view either the man himself or the true crime genre, but fans of either/both will surely be entertained. When it comes to this new CBS series, it's better not to expect the unexpected.

Harlan Coben's Final Twist premieres on Wednesday at 10 pm EST on January 7 on CBS.