I killed off Jennifer Saunders… despite her pleas for mercy
Harlan Coben published nine novels before finally penning a chart-topper and going on to further success with streaming giant Netflix. The megaselling writer tells JOHN EARLS how he manages to stay grounded, revels in his public anonymity and enjoys a friendly rivalry with best pal Richard Osman
AS A MAJOR novelist whose thrillers have been turned into some of the biggest dramas on Netflix, Harlan Coben is used to killing off beloved characters. But the most audacious of the wealthy author’s murders happened away from the printed page – when Harlan wrote to his comedy heroine Jennifer Saunders, asking if he could kill her.
In a scene straight from one of his novels, which have sold more than 75 million copies, Absolutely Fabulous fan Harlan thought telling Jennifer he intended brutally killing her on screen would persuade the comedy star to make her drama debut in The Stranger, just one of 14 books Netflix bought the rights to in a multi-million-pound deal. Harlan’s plea worked… only for Jennifer to have so much fun filming she begged the author to let her character live.
Recalling how he was desperate for Jennifer to star as heroine Corinne Price’s eccentric mother Heidi in the 2020 drama, Harlan said: “I wanted Heidi to be instantly likeable. I’m a big Ab Fab fan and I just knew Jennifer would be great in the part.
“I wrote Jennifer a letter saying, ‘This character is made for you, filming will be fun, you’ll get to do drama at last – and you won’t have to work for that long, because I’m going to kill you’.
“I loved that I was going to kill Jennifer Saunders, because I knew the audience was going to be brokenhearted when they saw Heidi’s murder.”
Jennifer replied saying she loved how fun Heidi’s character was. But New Jersey-based Harlan reveals: “Once Jennifer got on set, she and Siobhan Finneran, who played the lead police officer, went gaga over each other.
They were such big fans of each other’s work that Jennifer asked me, ‘Is there any way you can keep me alive? I’m having such fun.’ I had to tell Jennifer that, no, she was going to have to die.”
Harlan also persuaded Eddie Izzard to appear as a troubled lawyer in his most recent show Stay Close, explaining: “I think comedians are underrated actors. They never get Oscars, but it’s much harder to do comedy well. If you can do comedy, you can usually do drama. But if you can do drama, you can’t necessarily do comedy.”
Despite his comedy insight, Harlan is usually happy to let TV bosses do what they want to his books. He says: “Netflix have been great to me, but TV and film can be a real danger for novelists.
“When I sold my first adaptation in 2000, I went to all the meetings with the film execs. My publisher warned me, ‘I’ve seen too many novelists get destroyed this way. They get lost in this world and forget to write the actual novels.’ That was great advice.” Harlan even stayed hands-off when Julia Roberts phoned him, asking to buy the rights to his
2016 novel Fool Me Once. Harlan reveals: “Like most things in Hollywood, that idea fell apart. I love Julia and had a great talk with her, but the project didn’t work out. There are very few actors whose names haven’t been linked to my books at some point.” Harlan’s new novel The Match investigates the reality of fame, centred around a TV star who has been cancelled for cheating on his wife.
It is a twisty rollercoaster ride from a writer who excels at keeping readers guessing.and it also has an important message of not trusting the public depiction of famous people.
Yet although he is worth an estimated £20million and is distinctively bald and tall at 6ft 4ins, Harlan insists he is rarely recognised, laughing: “A musician friend who really is famous jokes that I have ‘the good fame’. I get the financial benefits, but I don’t have to be recognised everywhere. I can still sit in bars and coffee shops and no one will trouble me. I can stare at people as much as I want and listen in on their conversations for potential ideas.”
NOW AGED 60, Harlan was 39 before his tenth novel Tell No One became his first bestseller in 2001. He recalls: “I was very lucky that my success has grown slowly. I sometimes get emails asking, ‘I’ve written two novels I’ve self-published on Amazon. How come I’m not selling like you and James Patterson?’ That just makes me laugh.
“Nobody bought my first books and that’s helped keep me grounded.”
Harlan was already married to wife Anne, a paediatrician, and had four children – now aged 21 to 30 – when his career took off. He says: “My four kids were way bigger concerns than fame and they’ll always knock me down a peg now.
“At the same time, even though I was nearly 40 and had a stable family when success happened, it still messed with my head.
“If you’re 21 and suddenly a star, I can totally see why you’re going to have issues.”
One of Harlan’s closest British friends is Richard Osman, creator and co-host of BBC1 gameshow
Pointless, who recently became a best-selling thriller writer himself with The Thursday Murder Club.
Harlan initially knew Richard through Harlan’s brother Craig, a banker who lived near Richard. Harlan enthuses: “I’ve been there from the beginning with Richard, since he first said he was thinking of writing a book.
“He really works on his novels, so he deserves his success and I’m so happy for him. He’s such a great guy. But I have told him, ‘You’re writing thrillers? Get off my lawn, or I’ll be hosting a gameshow.’”
It’s clear Harlan is joking about his threat. He also mocks Richard’s height, noting: “I’m glad I’m finally not the tallest author when I go to book events.”
And like Richard, Harlan is a benign presence on social media, who mainly sticks to telling dad jokes and praising other authors, instead of getting involved in heated debates.
The Match does look at social media trolling, but Harlan explains: “I don’t last long with trolls. Trolls are all attention whores. I always want to put up a meme of somebody crying, with the caption, ‘Notice me!’ The one thing trolls want is for you to respond, so I simply block or mute them and move on.
“The fact I don’t express my political views on social media is deliberate. I don’t want people to read my books thinking I’m a Right-wing whacko or a Left-wing lunatic. I just want you to disappear into my story. I can get my views across more subtly in a book than I can on social media.”
Although Harlan is not political in his novels, one of his regular characters, fearsome lawyer Hester Crimstein, was created in honour of Harlan’s campaigning late mother Barbara, who worked in the family’s travel business. He explains: “My mom was an early feminist – so were a lot of the women I grew up with. They were tough, smart women who were often caught in a frustrating place where society wasn’t yet willing to give them a seat at the table.
“I took a combination of them, made a few tweaks, and that’s Hester.”
Although Harlan’s 35 novels have made him rich, they are still full of relatable characters.
Even the hero of The Match, modern-day Tarzanstyle investigator Wilde, was inspired by the most mundane activity imaginable: a boring walk with Harlan’s family. He smiles: “I was hiking in the Appalachian Mountains in New Jersey with my family.
“I find hiking in the woods really boring: there’s a tree, another tree and OK, I get it, there’s trees. Then I saw a boy aged about six walking by himself and I thought, ‘Suppose a boy comes out of these woods, saying he’s always lived here.
“And what if 35 years pass and he still has no answers about his past? Hmm… Anything can stimulate an idea.”
● The Match by Harlan Coben (Century, £20) is out now. For free UK P&P, call Express Bookshop on 0203 176 3832 or visit express bookshop.com