Scan barcode
A review by jacki_f
Play Dead by Harlan Coben
2.0
This is Harlan Coben's first book, which has been out of print for several years but was recently re-released. The author has written an introduction in which he essentially admits that it isn't up to the standard of his other books - and he's quite right. Play Dead is a convoluted, poorly written mess. The early chapters of this book were so bad that I almost gave up, but it does improve (slightly) and I was sufficiently curious about how the plot would resolve itself to stick it out until the end.
The story kicks off with Laura and David celebrating their honeymoon in Australia. She is a former supermodel who is now a highly successful businesswoman and he is an NBA superstar. David goes for a swim and doesn't return. A few days later a body is found and identified as David by his best friend. Laura is devastated, but as time passes she starts to suspect that his death wasn't a simple accident. From the outset it's clear that several friends and family members are keeping secrets and that at least some of them know more about David's disappearance than they are letting on.
It's pretty obvious to the reader from the word go that David's death is a cover up, but the why isn't revealed until quite late in the piece. Perhaps a better writer - an older Harlan Coben - could have held it all together, but the end result is far too drawn out, riddled with implausibilities and loose ends and just way too silly. I would advise you to avoid this one and to quote from Harlan's introduction: "Return it. Grab another (of his books). It's okay."
The story kicks off with Laura and David celebrating their honeymoon in Australia. She is a former supermodel who is now a highly successful businesswoman and he is an NBA superstar. David goes for a swim and doesn't return. A few days later a body is found and identified as David by his best friend. Laura is devastated, but as time passes she starts to suspect that his death wasn't a simple accident. From the outset it's clear that several friends and family members are keeping secrets and that at least some of them know more about David's disappearance than they are letting on.
It's pretty obvious to the reader from the word go that David's death is a cover up, but the why isn't revealed until quite late in the piece. Perhaps a better writer - an older Harlan Coben - could have held it all together, but the end result is far too drawn out, riddled with implausibilities and loose ends and just way too silly. I would advise you to avoid this one and to quote from Harlan's introduction: "Return it. Grab another (of his books). It's okay."