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Harlan Coben stories sure get around. This time, it's a Polish-made production, although it could just as easily have been set in America or Britain as so many have in the past.

That said, over eight episodes, here you get another tightly plotted, character-heavy series. The story goes through many convolutions not to say convulsions, as Mr Coben performs his usual trick of spinning many plates at once, allowing the assembled crockery to fall one piece at a time before there's just one remaining suspended in the air for the final reveal.

Also as usual, past events cast a long shadow over the present as we see a young Polish wife and mother's happy world turned upside down when her husband is passed an old photo, which upsets him causing him to promptly disappear without trace. Said photo is a snapshot of a mixed-sex rock band taken ten years ago just before a fire takes place at the concert venue, killing a young female band member. The father of the young woman who died is a recently retired prosecutor with whom the abandoned wife somewhat reluctantly joins forces to not only try to track down her missing husband but also learn the real explanation as to why the fire started and who was responsible for it. Part of this is wrapped up in the disputed authorship of the later hit song which gives the series its title.

All four surviving people in the old picture will see their lives affected dramatically as the past comes back to haunt them in different ways. If only the young wife could regain her own memory of that night as she was there too but in the trauma of surviving the blaze, undiscovered for days before being rescued, she's blocked it out of her memory, but you can bet she'll gradually regain it as events move quickly. All the while the body count starts to mount so much so that even the police in pursuit finally get a wriggle on with their investigation.

Even if some of the connections between the myriad characters on show seem at best tenuous and at worst absolutely fantastical, it's worth hanging on until the end when you can sit back, rest your mind and try retrospectively to join the dots. Good luck with that!

I thought the direction was superior for this type of production with a number of scenes imaginatively and dramatically rendered and would also commend the quality of the acting too, especially the actress taking the lead role who has a very expressive face.

Perhaps unnecessarily violent at times, this was definitely one of the better Coben adaptations I've seen. I'm just as sure that it won't be long before another mini-series inspired by one of his works pops up on the schedules again. Perhaps the biggest mystery then is how he is so prolific at knocking out such deviously crafted mysteries time after time.

Wanted to like this but as others have said there are a lot of plot holes and a lot of weird choices by characters. I think the actors are mostly good but the material they are given just isn't great.

Maybe Harlan Coben series are just getting churned out too fast, the books seem more believable and logical. The mystery is there and the pieces start to fall into place but they seem a little forced, like no character really seems to know what they are doing or how to react to events. It's hard to root for any of them. I'm giving it a 6 because I did finish it so I guess it was enough that I wanted to see the resolution. Slow burn.

It's pretty much exactly what I'd expect after watching two other adaptations of his books. (I find them frustrating and silly but treat them like a guilty pleasure from time to time.) He's got a formula, which makes certain plot points very predictable. Certain characters always make foolish, questionable choices. The people mentioning the fact that this one is Polish are revealing themselves. It's so similar to Fool Me Once. If you think that one was great and this was horrible, and if you complain about the Polish names and can't spell the name Jacek when we saw and heard it ad nauseam, that's a "you" issue.

As "Just One Look" (2025 release from Poland; 6 episodes ranging from 41 to 52 min.) opens, a prisoner asks to meet with a prosecutor. The prisoner confesses to killing the prosecutor's daughter in a botched hit scheme. In a parallel story, we are introduced to Greta. Greta has a recurring nightmare about a fire and an indoor concert that killed 28 people... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this TV mini-series is based on the book of the same name by prolific Polish crime novelist Harlan Coben. The story line is complex and involves quite a few characters. It took me well into Episode 2 before it finally started coming together for me. The entire series is plot-heavy, with quite a few turns and twists, so the less said about that, the better. The episodes are fairly short, and this flew by in no time. This is not bad as such but as compared to that other Polish min-series I watched the other day called "Eastern Gate", this lags behind.

"Just One Look" recently started streaming on Netflix and Netflix "suggested" it to me (probably because I watched "Eastern Gate" also just recently). If you are in the mood for a TV crime mini-series set in Poland, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Generally I enjoy Harlan Coben's books. He is an American. Yet every book they turn into a mini series is generally foreign and are dubbed with English. Secondly they are pretty poorly done, this one is no exception. I don't get why an author of such renown allow his books to be portrayed in this way. This one is pretty violent and many of the actors are heavily tattooed . What is it with all the tattoos? Although I watched the complete series I found it pretty unconvincing and the plot had a lot of holes in it. This will be the last series based on one of Harlan Coben's books that I will watch.

Coben's books are all eerily alike, and sadly, this movie adaption is no exception. Boring and formulaic from the get go, it never recovers. No character development, subtlety or surprises. I tried hard to ignore my prejudice against American crime fiction (James Patterson being the worst offender). At least Coben seems to write the books himself, but at this stage I reckon I could write the next one... maybe an easy way to make those elusive millions without actually having to put in the hard work? Dreams are free...however, I'd be boring myself, I've read too many excellent - predominsnzly British - whodunnits. By all accounts, American audiences are looking for different fare.

What a frustrating watch. This show had potential, but the characters? Absolutely infuriating.

Let's start with the dumb wife-her husband goes missing under mysterious circumstances, she gets shot at, her kids are threatened... and her first instinct? Not to call her husband's colleagues or get real help, but to start making jewelry. Priorities, I guess. Then she turns down private protection-why? She's a mousy, unprepared person up against actual criminals, yet somehow thinks she can handle this alone? And to top it off, she conveniently knows nothing-nothing about a major accident in her past, nothing about her husband. How useful are you, lady?

The dumber husband isn't any better. He notices someone following him, confronts them without being armed, then turns his back like it's all good. Of course, he gets sucker punched. He escapes... and then just gets found again. Fantastic.

The police? Useless. Casual, sarcastic, wasting time on unnecessary details, and just completely unsympathetic. Then there's the prosecutor, who starts off with what seemed like an important storyline about his daughter but does absolutely nothing except stalk the dumb wife. His actual contribution? Zero.

Even the dumb wife's friend, who at least had the sense to call the police quickly, still managed to fumble her role. If you're trying to be subtle while snooping, maybe don't openly announce your sneak peeks? Just saying.

Then we have the bad guy, and honestly? Props to him for being the only competent character. He keeps winning, and at this point, I don't even mind.

The story itself? A mess. Too many pointless side characters that add nothing. The initial intrigue gets buried under ridiculous character choices, and by the end, you just don't care anymore. Hard pass.

This Polish mini-series had me hooked from the beginning, and I thought it was excellent. The bad reviews I read came from people who didn't understand the story. Everything is very well explained at the end, all the crimes and all the murders. The actors are excellent, especially the main actress. But besides her, the characters are very well defined, such as her best friend and the police chief. An extremely tense series, with evil personified by an extremely violent criminal and an elegant and perverse lawyer. A mini-series that deserves to be watched in a marathon. Forget these negative comments.

Another story with so many holes. Frustrating the viewer as they ponder through the scenes as to whether this or that would happen. Could be so much better. Whether the author or the producers I get the impression one does not get out much. Usual bring in a pretty main character a bit of sex an old prosecutor and make a mix and hope. Watch if you like murder mystery but do not expect much. So many errors. A prison inmate on the loose that the police can't catch and seem to be impotent. No reason for all the scenes. No connections between characters. A story that gets worse as you watch. Directed as in the 70's but set today.

I really enjoyed this mini series, didn't want to fall asleep to keep watching it. The actors did a really good job and overall it was a wonderful binging experience.

The scenes on the beach were a little overrated and maybe it wasn't really necessary to keep including them throughout some episodes. They were kind of cheap and cliché.

The story with the fire at the concert reminds me of the romanian tragedy at Colectiv. I think it is beneficial for everyone to acknowledge that these things might happen because even today, many concerts are held in really unproper places.

A great Harlan Coben mistery thriller ported briliantly in the Eastern European setting. It defies expectations.

I've never reviewed any movie or series before, but this was bad enough for me to warn others.

I only know Corban by name, I've never read any of his books. His name was enough for me to give it a shot nevertheless. I wasn't put off by the foreign make of the movie; the dubbing honestly wasn't bad. It starts off pretty well. It feels low budget, but has an interesting premise. It was intriguing enough to keep going through 2 episodes, but then it starts going off the rails. There are characters who make no sense, you have no idea what purpose they have or how they're relevant. Some are introduced seemingly to further a plot point with no context and never to be seen again. Even the kids ask pretentious questions, it just feels weird.

Main characters are so poorly developed that I'm still not sure why some were ever needed. The main antagonist is almost unstoppable, until he's not, in a ridiculous way. Then there's twist upon twist upon twist that feels completely contrived with a poorly executed ending.

I gave it a 4/10 because it's shot pretty well for as bad as it is, that's about the only positive. I would say it would have made a better 2 hour movie, but if they can't develop characters in 6 hours then, well...

Save those 6 hours of your life, I wish I could have them back.

Phew are we glad that's over. It seemed to last forever.

Although I can't think of any plot holes off hand, there were some.

Not to mention just trying to keep track of who was who & why. Yes, obviously part of that was to keep it a whodunnit, but really, it was just confusing.

There were some novel elements which I hadn't seen in any plot before & the killer was genuinely psychotically frightening, but the ending was such a relief.

I suppose the vast number of characters is to have a pool to draw the villain from, and plenty of people to kill off. But really, it just seems a bit of laziness to have people be secretly related with name changes all over the place to multiply the confusion of characters. It's like you havd to get a notepad & take notes

Don't get me wrong. It was watchable. But I always go into these Harlan Coben things with high hopes & come out slightly annoyed.

Mind you, I've only read his early stuff, which was epic. It could be the latter novels are all the same.

I'd suggest finding the titles of his earliest books & seeing if they've been made into films.

The second worst Harlan series. I fell asleep 2 out of the 6 episodes. The story wasn't the easiest to follow. English dubs make it seem like the acting is poor. I was delighted during 5th episode when I checked and saw there was only 1 more after this one. My wife and I were my back and forth after each episode if we wanted to continue on. We decided to tough it out. The 5 th episode was better than the rest I guess. The story all comes together in the finale but the twist was somewhat deflating. This series will soon be forgotten by us and we won't be recommending it to anyone. I will still keep looking for Harlan series as lost are decent.

It had potential, but got lost in its complicated plot, multiple characters, bad dubbing and drawn out episodes. All the Polish character names where difficult to differentiate, which made it complicated to figure out who was talking about whom. It got drowned in the plot twists that - for style - got so twisted, that it was difficult to follow. And by the time we got to the point of the story at the end & it finally started to make a little sense, it just didn't matter. It wasn't worth the wait. The bad guy was fantastic - very menacing. The lead woman was good. I just wish it was in English, because I would have liked her more without the bad dubbing. The rest of the large cast just blended together and got lost in the mix. Too bad - because it had potential. It was just too slow, boring and confusing.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be gaslit for six straight episodes by a script that thinks it's smarter than you, Just One Look is your answer. It's like ordering a gourmet mystery thriller and getting served cold leftovers from a dozen other Harlan Coben adaptations - just reheated with extra plot holes and a side of frustration.

The show kicks off with the classic "happy family, dark secret" trope, and within minutes, you just know everyone's lying, including the writers who promised a suspenseful ride. What follows is a messy casserole of WTF twists, plot contrivances, and characters making decisions so dumb they could set back human evolution.

Our protagonist, Greta, spends the entire show looking perpetually confused - which, to be fair, is the correct reaction to a script that jumps between "gripping thriller" and "am I watching a crime drama or an experimental art film about staring into the void?" The supporting cast? A mix of suspiciously shady types who either know too much or conveniently nothing at all.

Oh, and the pacing? Imagine being on a rollercoaster that only goes up at a snail's pace for five episodes before violently plummeting in the last ten minutes. Except when you finally hit the bottom, you realise the ride wasn't even worth queuing for.

And let's talk about the twist - or rather, the "Wait, that's it?" moment. If you guessed it before the final reveal, congratulations, you should probably be writing these shows yourself. If you didn't, it's not because it was clever - it's because nobody cared enough to piece together this convoluted mess properly.

In short, Just One Look should've been Just One Episode, because that's all it takes to realise this one's best left unwatched.