Sam Worthington as David Burroughs in 'I Will Find You' on Netflix.

Photo by Christos Kalohoridis/NETFLIX © 2025

The only predictable thing about Harlan Coben's book-to–television adaptations is their success. They routinely top Netflix's charts within days of premiering. Despite their many twists and turns, the prolific mystery writer says they all share a common theme, including his latest, I Will Find You.

This new mystery stars Sam Worthington as David Burroughs, a father serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his young son, Matthew. Everything changes when his former sister-in-law, Rachel Mills (Britt Lower), visits him in prison with evidence suggesting his child may still be alive.

When asked what it is about human nature that he taps into when putting pen to paper, Coben pointed to the secret sauce that turns his stories into addictive binge-watching.

“There are two aspects: Yes, these are thrillers. And yes, I can make your pulse race. I can make your mind race, but I think the key is making your heart race. These are stories of hope,” said Coben, who joined series creator and showrunner Robert Hull for an interview ahead of the premiere.

The pair also executive-produced the eight-episode drama, which follows a father who has lost everything and is given a chance at redemption. To seize it, he must first break out of prison and go on the run.

The ensemble cast includes Worthington, Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Logan Browning, Erin Richards, Jonathan Tucker, Madeleine Stowe, and Chi McBride.

“This is a story of hope,” Coben continued. “This is a father who has nothing left. He’s not breaking out of prison to prove his innocence, which we've seen before. He's breaking out for the chance of finding his son, whom people think he murdered, who might be alive. I can't imagine a greater hope than that.”

Coben may strip his characters of everything, but he always gives them a reason to keep going.

“It’s one thing to twist and pull you, do the sleight of hand. But if it's not moving your heart, if you don't care about these characters, if you don't care if David finds his son, it's not going to work.”

Hull, who has been a fan of Coben’s novels for 25 years, recalled a conversation a few years ago in which the author told him he was starting a new book that would later become I Will Find You.

“He pitched me the story, and I just lost my mind,” Hull reflected, adding that he asked Coben to promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone else the story. “I said, ‘Let’s call Netflix right now. I want to be a part of this!’ I mean, how often do you get on the ground floor of being able to work with one of your heroes?”

Hull said he was immediately drawn to the story’s “incredible” premise.

“It was this character…he’s not just a fugitive. It’s about more than proving his innocence. It’s about finding his son. And I think as a father, a lot of fathers would happily take a bullet or die for their child.”

What’s more terrifying, Hull added, is not having that option.

“As David says, ‘A father’s job is to protect his child, and I didn't do that.’ To have a character that can actually fix the past, fix his worst mistake, fix the worst thing that's ever happened…people don't get that opportunity in real life very often.”

The premise resonated deeply with Hull.

“When he pitched this to me, I just knew, first and foremost, I would watch it, and if that’s the barometer, I knew other people were going to, because it's such a universal idea.”

When asked how he plots his intricately woven storylines, Coben described his process.

“My secret sauce or my secret formula, which isn’t secret, I'm not the only one who does it, is that I know the ending before I start. A lot of writers do not.”

Coben’s upcoming memoir-slash-masterclass, "Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft," will be released later this year. While researching the book, he spoke with numerous authors and estimates that roughly 65% do not know the ending when they begin writing, while 35% do.

Of the 38 books he has written, Coben said only one began without him knowing how it would end.

“When I know the ending, I can make a journey that actually twists and turns more than if I don’t know the ending. I can make twists and turns with that kind of confidence as I go on.”

Netflix has adapted more than 13 of Coben’s books for the screen. Viewers have embraced titles including Run Away (UK), Fool Me Once (UK), Safe (UK), The Woods (Poland), The Innocent (Spain), Gone for Good (France), Stay Close (UK), Hold Tight (Poland), The Stranger (UK), Missing You (UK), Just One Look (Poland), Caught (Argentina), and now the highly-anticipated I Will Find You (Canada).

Netflix shows no signs of slowing down with its expansion of the Coben universe, which also includes the recently announced Myron Bolitar adaptation, Coben’s longest-running and most iconic series, which spans 12 books.

The audience’s appetite for Coben adaptations remains strong. In January 2026, Coben’s Run Away debuted on Netflix and spent four consecutive weeks in the Global Top 10. The series earned 38 million views during that period and reached the Top 10 in 84 countries.

Fool Me Once became one of Netflix’s most-viewed titles of 2024, generating more than 98 million views in its first 91 days, and earning a spot on the streamer’s all-time Most Popular TV list.

Following the series’ release, sales of Coben’s novel surged, landing it on Amazon UK’s Best Sellers of 2024 list and The New York Times Best Seller list.

Viewers continue to embrace adaptations of beloved books. Netflix has built a strong track record of turning novels into cultural phenomena, with series and films that spark new fandoms, expand fictional worlds, boost book and audiobook sales, and influence trends across music, fashion, and retail.

In 2025, book adaptations generated more than 9 billion global views and accounted for nearly 20% of total viewing hours on Netflix. A book adaptation also appeared in the the Netflix Global Top 10 every week of the year.

Based on that track record, I Will Find You appears to be poised to become another Netflix hit.