Actress Reese Witherspoon has teamed up with bestselling thriller author and screenwriter Harlan Coben for her debut novel, set to be published in 2025, the actress announced on Wednesday.
Sharing a picture with Coben, Witherspoon wrote, “I’m beyond excited to share that I’m co-writing my very first thriller with # 1 bestselling author, @harlancoben.” Mentioning that she is a massive fan of Coben’s works, the Legally Blonde actress added, “I can’t believe he agreed to co-author a novel with me. I’m either the most persuasive person alive or the idea of this book is just TOO GOOD! Maybe both ?? I honestly can’t wait for you all to read it! Pre-order now at the link in my bio.”
A screen adaptation of the upcoming novel, to be published by Grand Central Publishing, is also in the works.
“To say I am a fan of Harlan’s body of work is a massive understatement… the fact that he found my idea for this thriller intriguing enough to want to partner with me on it as co-author is a dream becoming a reality. Scheming with Harlan on how to thrill audiences with mysterious characters and complex narrative twists and turns has already been more fun than I can describe. I can’t wait for everyone to read what we have been imagining,” Witherspoon said in a statement issued by Grand Central Publishing.
Known for the Myron Bolitar series and novels like Tell No One, Gone for Good and The Woods, Coben mentioned that he is a huge fan of Witherspoon. “Be it acting, producing, creating and even book-club selecting, Reese’s instincts about storytelling across all media are unrivalled. Once we began discussing her idea, there was no turning back. Collaborating with Reese has been a pure joy and so creatively rewarding. I could not be more excited about putting this novel out into the world,” said the writer in a statement.
Witherspoon is no stranger to the literary world. In 2016, the Oscar-winning actress launched her media company Hello Sunshine, which features stories with strong female protagonists, and in 2017, she launched her book club, Reese’s Book Club.
Over the years, Witherspoon has selected both popular and underrated titles, such as Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six, Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere and Tembi Locke’s From Scratch, all of which have gone on to become screen adaptations backed by Hello Sunshine. Reese’s Book Club recently celebrated their 100th book selection, The Comfort of Crows, written by Witherspoon’s high school English teacher Margaret Renkl.
Coben has authored 35 novels, many of which have been adapted into Netflix series, including Fool Me Once, The Stranger, Hold Tight, The Woods, Safe, The Innocent and Stay Close. However, the Prime Video adaptation of his book Shelter was cancelled after just one season.
