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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This is Coben's first book , and it is not bad. Some parts are excessive, but over all it is interesting.
Harlan Coben and his publishers are lucky this is not my first Coben book. Had it been, I'd never read another. It was the most far-fetched, ridiculous, Lifetime-movie plot of anything I've ever seen. Even in the most diabolical of minds, none of the major events of this novel would ever, or could ever, happen in real life. So, say someone does fake their death? Do they then re-enter their EXACT life and try to start living it again as a different person, or do they stay far, far, far away. And in what world could a pregnant woman be given an involuntary abortion and NOT NOTICE and then just think her new pregnancy is her old pregnancy and just think her baby was born way late? I mean, it's beyond the belief of a non-mentally impaired person's cognitive abilities to believe. And it was waaaaay too long. It just went on and on and on. Not to mention that in it's 550 pages, I had pretty much figured a third of the way in that Aunt Judy had an affair. I gave this book 2 starts instead of just 1 ONLY because I was mildly interested enough to read to the end and know exactly what ridiculous turn of events was supposed to have occurred. Read something else. Don't waste any time on this one. Edited to lower to one star.
Meh
Way too sappy and convoluted for a good mystery. This was mods trashy romance novel than suspense. I usually love Harlen Cohen's work but this missed the mark by a mile.
Way too sappy and convoluted for a good mystery. This was mods trashy romance novel than suspense. I usually love Harlen Cohen's work but this missed the mark by a mile.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am a big fan of Harlan Coben's work and have already bought and read most of his books, which I usually end up devouring in one day and giving a 5 star rating. When it comes to his earlier works though, like his debut novel "Play dead", which was first published 26 years ago (1990), it hasn't always been easy to lay hands on them. I still miss some of his first books in my collection, but am very happy I finally got round to reading his debut "Play dead".
On the first page - Coben anno 2010 apologises for the fact that this was his very first book, that he didn't reread it and that it might not be that good. He shouldn't have. The book contains everything I praise Coben for: an original plot, unexpected twists, characters you identify with and most of all: human emotions very known to us all (jealousy, revenge,…) involved as a motive. True, one does notice this is a young Coben who wrote the book, but the quality is still remarkably high.
For those interested: the story's about a young successful couple David (famous basketball player) and Laura (model + owner of her own fashion label) elopes to Australia to get married and spend their honeymoon. During this honeymoon, David, a well-trained sportsman, goes out for a swim and drowns. What might first appear to be a tragic accident soon turns out to be a complex situation with roots in unfortunate things that happened many, many years earlier. Laura, stubborn as she is, is determined to find out the truth behind David's accident and the outcome is;… breathtaking.
Still very much in love with Coben's books!
On the first page - Coben anno 2010 apologises for the fact that this was his very first book, that he didn't reread it and that it might not be that good. He shouldn't have. The book contains everything I praise Coben for: an original plot, unexpected twists, characters you identify with and most of all: human emotions very known to us all (jealousy, revenge,…) involved as a motive. True, one does notice this is a young Coben who wrote the book, but the quality is still remarkably high.
For those interested: the story's about a young successful couple David (famous basketball player) and Laura (model + owner of her own fashion label) elopes to Australia to get married and spend their honeymoon. During this honeymoon, David, a well-trained sportsman, goes out for a swim and drowns. What might first appear to be a tragic accident soon turns out to be a complex situation with roots in unfortunate things that happened many, many years earlier. Laura, stubborn as she is, is determined to find out the truth behind David's accident and the outcome is;… breathtaking.
Still very much in love with Coben's books!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Does 2 make a streak? This is Coben's first novel and some of the mystery felt a little clunky. Things kept moving along though and I was caught a bit off guard by the resolution.
Very good story again from Mr Coben but one had to suspend belief occasionally.
Definitely a first, or at least early, book. Lots of the elements I've come to enjoy from the more seasoned Harlan Coben, including some of his trademark banter. In this case, it's a bit more rough around the edges and the characters are not as cleanly delineated as Coben has been able to do in his later books.
I think it's more of a book for the completist than one I would recommend to anyone. Not a bad book by any means but there are times where the dialog of implausibility gets in the way of enjoyment.
I think it's more of a book for the completist than one I would recommend to anyone. Not a bad book by any means but there are times where the dialog of implausibility gets in the way of enjoyment.