Lazarus is the latest Harlan Coben project to take TV by storm. The fact that, by now, fans know what to expect from a Coben TV show doesn’t stop it from being just as captivating. The show follows Joel Lazarus (Sam Claflin), who has to drag himself back to his hometown after his dad, Dr. Jonathan Lazarus (Bill Nighy), kicks the bucket. What seems like a straightforward, sad family reunion quickly nose-dives into a decades-long mystery that involves his sister Sutton Lazarus’ (Eloise Little) murder. Essentially, it’s the kind of plot that starts with a funeral and ends with viewers questioning if there’s anyone in that town who doesn’t have a secret they’re hiding.
The show stands on the foundation of a great cast, an intriguing plot, and a cocktail of tension and suspense. Coben projects have a solid track record on TV with Safe, The Innocent, Shelter, and Fool Me Once all striking a chord with fans who love his brand of domestic drama wrapped in mystery. So it’s no surprise Lazarus came with high expectations. While it doesn’t quite stick the landing the way its predecessors did, it delivers enough of Coben’s familiar hooks to keep you watching.
What Makes ‘Lazarus’ So Hard to Turn Off?
Many critics agree that Lazarus has addictive elements that would make most viewers binge all six episodes of Lazarus in one sitting, even though it doesn’t really compare to other Coben adaptations in terms of quality. For starters, the show sets a tempo that basically makes it impossible for viewers to look away. It does so by making every conversation feel like it has a hidden meaning. This inevitably keeps viewers glued to the screen, trying to catch every subtle glance and loaded pause. Joel’s quest to uncover what really happened to his sister especially pulls him and audiences into a tangled web of lies, half-truths, and shocking revelations that have been festering under the town’s friendly surface.
One aspect of this show that also makes it hard to look away from is how it keeps viewers on their toes with high expectations. Case in point is how viewers get emotional about a heartfelt family moment between siblings in one moment, and in the next moment, they’re watching someone drop a revelation so shocking it feels unreal. Essentially, it features the kind of rollercoaster moments that drive Reddit detectives into trying to connect the dots between every episode.
Also, the characters feel messy and real. They make the kind of bad decisions that come back to haunt them, trust the wrong people, and ultimately allow old grievances to control how they live their lives in the present. That’s why when the big twists eventually strike, they hit hard because viewers have actually come to care for these beautifully flawed characters.
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Why Harlan Coben’s Mystery Style Still Works in ‘Lazarus’
Coben’s secret sauce has always been that he understands the best mysteries are not necessarily about dead bodies and scare tactics, but more about exploring the morally complex characters and broken human relationships. Lazarus continues that tradition by giving viewers characters like Joel Lazarus, who is simultaneously solving crimes and sorting through his own emotional baggage. He’s less a traditional hero and more a man unraveling in real time, understandably so, He’s been thrust into an inexplicable, high-stakes situation where finding the truth feels like his only way out. His search goes beyond uncovering what happened to his sister or getting to the bottom of his father’s death. Some parts of his story drag or even strain belief, but there’s something about Joel that keeps you invested. You want to see where he lands, even when the road there doesn’t always make sense.
Moreover, another key difference between Lazarus and all his other TV projects that this is an original story he cooked up with Danny Brocklehurst, and not based on any book. Essentially providing a clean sate for where the story can go. Coben has mastered the art of keeping his readers complicit in the mystery, and that same template is present here. It’s not always flawless, sometimes it even feels a little clunky, but that’s part of the charm, particularly with Lazarus, you’ll find yourself glued to the screen, even when you roll your eyes at certain points in the story. Ultimately, viewers are not just watching Joel uncover secrets; they’re right there with him every step of the way, and when the pieces finally fall into place, they feel earned because the audience has been emotionally invested from the get-go.
So, if you’re looking for a mystery with real emotional depth, then you can stream Lazarus on Prime Video.
