Play Dead

by Harlan Coben

A fast-moving, suspense-filled thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of LONG LOST.

Ex fashion model and successful business woman Laura Ayars' perfect world is shattered at a time which should have been the happiest of her life. On her honeymoon, her sports superstar husband goes for a swim - and never returns. But what has happened to David - can he really be dead?

Whilst struggling to cope with her almost overwhelming grief, Laura is plagued by questions and doubts. Was it an accident? Or suicide? Or is it some terrible, ill-judged hoax?

As events begin to unfold, Laura starts to question David's mysterious disappearance. She begins to uncover a conspiracy which reaches deep into the past, and is now slowly beginning to destroy everyone involved. Someone will do anything to keep Laura away from the awful truth - and she has no idea who she can trust . . .

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

518 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1990

About the author

Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world's leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-five languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries with seventy-five million books in print worldwide.

His books have earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and many have been developed into Netflix Original Drama series, including his adaptations of The Stranger, The Innocent, Gone for Good and The Woods. His most recent adaptation for Netflix, Stay Close, premiered on December 31, 2021 and stars Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt, and Richard Armitage.

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's official. Major crush on Mr Coben. Loved his letter at the front of his book stating please don't start with this particular book if you haven't read any of his work before, he'll happily wait for you to come back, as he was only a young lad working in advertising and he's a tad fresh.

This is his debut, and it was so cool! I think he's a legend, you could tell he was green just from simple things like lots of parenthesis and a large use of italics, but suspense, entertainment and style is there in bucket loads.

This guy is good, no sorry.. actually he's awesome. I've got my own like fan club right here, but in absolute seriousness, Harlan Coben is damn good. A fine writer and I just love him. I have just this moment chosen my next read, what are the chances that low and behold, I'm smiling again as it starts off with the same letter to his readers.

So, come on! What are you waiting for? Go get yourself a piece of this goodness!

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I give this book 10 stars?! 20? 50? 100?! Oh my gosh please pardon my language but reading this book and getting to the end was like a really good orgasm :)

This was Coben's first novel and it reads like his most recent. I've never been so entranced in a novel as I was with this one. The story was freaking fantastic. Laura and David on their honeymoon and then David dies?!

Then the spider web starts to unravel... Laura finds things out that were supposed to be hidden forever but two can't keep a secret if one is still alive threatening to reveal that secret.

Death, murder, a 30 year old secret so twisted only Coben could come up with it. Amazing freaking story.

Go freaking read this book. You won't be sorry and you won't be able to put it down. One of my top favorites! Go read this! You'll be glad you did.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was great - much better than I expected. Lots of twists, turns, mysteries, betrayals, and shocks. Almost everyone in this book seems suspicious at at least some point in time. Several times I thought I had it figured out, and then it blew my mind with a new revelation.

I will definitely be reading more Coben in the future.

[Grace Viray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let’s avoid lengthy introductions and just get down to the point. As a Coben fan (a person who tries to collect all of his novels), I will honestly tell you to please don’t buy this one. Nuh-uh. Save yourself the money and just buy Tell No One or Gone For Good or any other novel of his, EXCEPT this one. Why? This is the first book he has written which just so happens to be re-released after 20 years (the very obvious reason is to cash in on his loyal fans, like me for example) which is why it is so predictable, flawed, a damn cliche and screams chick-lit.

Let me give you the basic plot. Play Dead is the story of a supermodel named Laura Ayars who is described as the most beautiful and successful woman in the fashion industry who tried to unravel the mystery regarding the sudden death of his sexy and handsome Boston Celtics superstar of a husband while they were on their honeymoon off the coast in a secluded place in Australia. Whew, that was a mouthful. And basing from the title alone, you can probably guess what happened to the husband. He played dead because of some very soap opera-ish reason. Her so very beautiful mom used her alluring beauty to seduce men, blah bla blah blah, which made her husband and her sister blah blah blah blah. Know what? I’m really tired of hearing how beautiful the characters are in this story and I’m tired of reading novels with this kind of plot: a plot you can easily guess halfway through the book.

If it’s so mediocre or close to awful, you might ask why the hell did I even finish it? The answer is very simple. I can’t leave a story unfinished. Blame my OC tendencies or just my plain Coben fan girlishness.

In closing, let me just say this. Unless you’re a true blue Coben fan, I suggest you steer clear from this book. There are other novels of his to choose from. Pick wisely. Save your money. Save your time. He said it himself, “If this is the first book of mine you’re going to try, stop now. Return it. Grab another. It’s okay. I’ll wait.” My advice? Listen to Coben. Stop now, return the book and grab another.

[John (JC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit out of the park for Harlan Coben. I never thought I would ever read anything other than the Myron Bolitar series ….. I was wrong. All his writings have been exceptional.
David and Laura are madly in love. Laura’s prior profession was a model until 23 and then became a successful businesswoman. David is a professional basketball player. They eloped and went on their honeymoon staying in a blissful state, that is until David disappears.
There is some very mysterious things going on during and after his disappearance. It seems people know more than they are revealing. By page 56 I have no earthly idea what is going on. All I know is there are so many secrets untold, so much history yet to be revealed.
I thought I had the ending of the story in the bag so I was going to give a 4/5 for predictability. But I was very wrong. I was bombarded with multiple twists and a slam bam ending. So here is my 5/5. Fellow GR readers … welcome to the rollercoaster of action and intrigue.

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yikes. This has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. My head is still spinning.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did David Baskin really drown on his honeymoon with Laura in Australia? What is the family secret of 1960 all about? How are Laura's mother Mary, her aunt Judy, her father James involved in the going-ons of this dark mystery? What about Mark, the new basket ball player coming out of nowhere? Harlan Coben keeps you on the edge of the seat with his first thriller from 1990. Very well written, mysterious, dark and the story is only finished when you crossed the last page. Highly recommended!

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of this book Harlan Coben apologises for it saying he wrote it when he was very young. Well maybe he did and maybe it is not perfect but it is very, very good! I read the whole thing over two days and it was actually unputdownable. I suppose it has some over the top moments and the reader has to be prepared to suspend belief occasionally but it is an excellent mystery and I was way out on the identIty of the killer. The main characters are very likeable, especially Laura who carries the whole book and is always smart and able to care for herself. There is also some very entertaining stuff set in Australia. I don't think the author has ever been here. Or if he has he saw a different Australia to the one I live in. But that is a small thing and the book was still very good.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 4 stars**
Audio 4.25 stars**
Narrator Scott Brick

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally twisted in the best way possible.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

“That’s how it is with early novels sometimes”

In a forward to a recent reprint of PLAY DEAD, which was his debut novel written (Holy Crap!!) almost 30 years ago, Harlan Coben didn’t quite go so far as to actually apologize for the novel. But he did suggest that, if you hadn’t read any of his novels, he’d prefer that you start with a more recent title and come back to this one later. He did confess that it was “flawed” but he also acknowledges (with a certain amount of pride in a lifetime of writing achievement, I dare say) that he loved the book.

So did I.

I’ll express my agreement with HC’s suggestions and even add that PLAY DEAD barely qualifies as a thriller which, as his fans know and love, has come to be his bread and butter genre. The back cover blurb begins the capsule description of the novel with, “Theirs was a marriage made in tabloid heaven”. In fact, - that word “tabloid” - that’s a BIG clue as to the actual nature of the book. It’s over-written; it’s melodramatic to the point of being a soap opera; it stretches credibility; and, the twists and turns were only barely beyond the ability of the reader to predict the outcomes and name the ultimate “bad guy”.

Recommended, provided you’ve already read and enjoyed something else by Mr Coben.

Paul Weiss

[Alisonbookreviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

Excellent book. One of HCs earlier books.
How far would you go for love?. Laura is about to find out.
Laura and her newly married husband David elope in Australia when things start to go terribly wrong.
Laura attends a meeting for her growing company while on their honeymoon, only to find out David has gone missing when she returns.
Laura is left a widow with questions. She can't understand why this happened.
Loved all the characters in this powerful, intriguing story.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly one of the worst books I've read in the past 50 years. Mostly my fault because (A) I didn't read the author's disclaimer at the front of the book, (B) I didn't look at the original copyright date until I was more than half way through, and (C) by the time I realized my mistake, I wanted to finish it for no good reason. (Even before this, it was easy to solve most of the "mysteries" ... and there were many of them.)

I have read many of Coben's more recent works and enjoyed them quite a bit. Picked this up at a yard sale and just assumed it was a relatively new one. It wasn't long before I realized that the style was bad but, relying on previous experience with him, I assumed it would improve. Although most of the plot takes place in the 1980s, with flashbacks to 1960, I thought that towards the end it would catch up to the 21st century. I then came to Goodreads, read some of the customer reviews, and discovered the copyright date, the disclaimer, and the revelation that this was Coben's first book, written when he was in his twenties.

Oh, the writing! The terrible, clichéd, painful writing! Just a random sampling:

"You are going to help me with this because once you do, our secret and our fates will be eternally sealed together. Neither one of us will be able to reveal the other's sin without condemning themselves as well."

"Finding a [parking] spot near Gloria's apartment was like finding a black man at a KKK rally. Not easy."

Open to any page and you can find at least one sentence equally horrible. To add insult to injury, even had it been better written, the book was twice as long as it needed to be. It seemed interminable and I'm so relieved to be finished.

But ... I can attest to the fact that Harlan Coben got much better with practice. His newer books are more succinct, with humour and greatly improved writing style. What angers me is that his publisher decided to cash in on Coben's current fame by publishing this drivel more than 20 years after it was written. That's just greed. More of a shame is that if this is the first Coben novel a discriminating reader picks up, it's guaranteed to deter him from reading another. (Unless he finds that disclaimer that I unfortunately missed.)

[Seema · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the author himself writes a prologue asking you to please not read the book and apologizing in advance for it being completely idiotic, you know something's wrong. After that prologye, i had to read it of course. How bad could it be? Well, pretty bad and ludicrous in fact, but also fun and with a good energy to it. Harlan Coben was right to warn people away. The plot is idiotic, the characters laughable. If i have to read one more time that the heroine is breathtakingly beautiful, i'll puke. SPOILERS AHEAD.



YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.


The hero's decision to fake his own death as a better solutiom to leaving his wife so as to not break her heart - what???? How is pretending to die and assuming a new identity better than just leaving someone? And then coming back to do the same job with the same team and no one suspecing anything - c'mon really.

I have to give props to the author for having the creativity to come up with the ludicrous plot and the guts to actually publish it under his own name. The plot moves long pretty fast which made it more enjoyable and the author shows promise. I'm going to check out his later books and see how much he's improved.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Coben's first book. A very good Covid-19 read. Stuck inside - observing the rules.
While the plotting of the story was very good. And the ending predictable. It did have a lot of twists and turns. Showing the sophisticated storyline we know of Coben. The writing was not as we know of Harlen's later books.
Unputdownable

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant!

A typical Harlen Coben book that keeps you guessing until the end.

Four stars.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dood spel was een fantastisch vlot lezend boek met sterke personages en een spannend einde".
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2019...

[Shawnaci Schroeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 ⭐️

- I have never DNF’d a book and was thiiiiis close to dnf’ing this book, but I’m glad I didn’t!! I’m not sure if mysteries are for me since this was one of my first, but the ending had me SHOOK. The pacing of this book was slower to get into, but the ending really made up for it because I didn’t see it coming at all!!
- This book gave obvious vibes it was written by a man. Each time I saw a descriptor of a woman’s body, I literally couldn’t help rolling my eyes. It got a little repetitive at times.
- I did appreciate how the author let the reader know this is their first book and it should not be read if it’s one of the first books you’ve read by them. They encouraged you to pick up another book first and I did not, so that played part in my rating I’m sure. I will definitely pick up more books from this author in the future because this unique storyline and ending really had me guessing!

[Terence M [on a brief semi-hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-Stars "It was ok"
Audiobook - 17:18 Hours - Narrator: Scott Brick

From my 'Reading Activity':
Listened to: 03:44 Hours "His first novel and even if one didn't know about his future success, it is plainly obvious that this man can write! Interesting and enjoyable so far!"
Listened to: 07:47 Hours "Progressing well, but at only eight hours in, it is already evident that "Play Dead" needed a competent editor as it suffers from repetition and extended dialogue."
Listened to: 013:18 Hours "This is definitely a struggle, it is too long!! As HC acknowledges in his foreword, words to the effect: "If this is your first Harlan Coben novel, put it back! Read several other, later novels of mine before you read this, my very first published book."!
It was not easy to finish this book as I had become so disconnected from the characters, the story and the author, and it was painfully long and drawn out. I finished by "skimming", using the 2X playing speed until I finally gave up with about 30 minutes to go.

This book is not highly recommended by its author, Harlan Coben, and I support his non-recommendation. However, I have read/listened to 14 other books by Harlan Coben and I have three more loaded on my iPhone ready for an early hearing, so I remain a very positive fan of his writing!

[María Alejandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una historia demasiado peliculera para mi gusto. Todo demasiado exagerado para una situación que se podía solucionar con una simple prueba de ADN. Parece una película de esas domingueras 🙄

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Former supermodel turned entrepreneur Laura Ayers and pro-basketball player David Baskin were married in a private ceremony. They are honeymooning in Australia when David goes for a swim...and never returns. When his battered body is found days later, the local police try to determine if it was an accidental drowning or a suicide. Laura returns home, grief stricken. At the reading of David's will, Laura learns that one of his bank accounts was cleaned out the day he died. The bank officials refuse to give Laura any answers. Did David make the arrangements to transfer the money? And where is the money now?

This was Harlan Coben's debut novel. On the first page there is a note from the author saying that if you are reading one of his books for the first time, do not start with this one. I have to say that is good advice. Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors, but this is not his best work. He has written an intriguing mystery with many twists and turns. But the story is bloated. There are too many points of view in the same scenes. There are enough plot points to keep the writers of a TV soap opera busy for a year. Most of these twists were obvious in my opinion. Still, I kept reading this book because I wanted to know what would happen next. My rating: 2.5 Stars.

[Zai · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5

Me ha gustado bastante esta novela me ha mantenido intrigada de principio a fin. La única pega que le pongo es al final, para mí no tiene sentido que James se suicide cuando estaba decidido a matar a Mark por "salvar" a su familiapara mí no tiene lógica.

Es una novela compleja en la que tardas mucho en darte cuenta de que va la trama, me ha gustado mucho cuando se intercala los hechos del pasado, en 1960, a través del diario. Hasta bastante avanzada la novela no me he dado cuenta por donde iban los tiros, y cómo se relacionaba todo, aunque no entendía los motivos del asesino. Al 50% he creído saber quién era el asesino y me parecía que era bastante evidente, pero hasta el 80% no he empezado ha pensar en otro, aunque había varias cosas que no me encajaban, he estado muy entretenida intentado adivinarlo todo.

La novela se lee rápido, y en mi caso, no he podido parar de leer, hacía mucho que no leía a Coben, he disfrutado mucho, así que seguiré leyéndolo.

[Marijn Woudstra]

OK, so this was a major disapointment. When I read the introduction (AFTER I had bought the book) I could have know it would be bad. This is a book Harlan Coben wrote when he was in his 20's and you sure can see it.

It is kitschy, very predictable, with un interesting caracters. And yes, it might be interesting if you are deep, deep into the person of Coben and his development. But I am not. I am into his books which I mostly enjoy a lot, but not this one.

I feel cheeted and it's is a shame the publisher didn't put "VERY EARLY WORK OF YOUTH on the cover for had I known that, I would not have bought it. And yes, Mr Coben tells us all this in his preface, but who reads those things BEFORE buying?

So unless you have a deep interest in Coben before he matured, don't buy this book. Although I have to admit, the writing is not that bad. It's just the story that stinks. And of course the publisher (and Mr Coben) wanting to make a buck out of pre-mature work better left unpublished.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Harlan Coben. I love reading his books. This particular book is his first ever novel and I can honestly say, that I have never read a book before that had a disclaimer in front written by the author himself. I laughed out loud when he gave a warning that this book contains faults and that he wrote it when he was in his twenties. I was glad that this disclaimer was in there because it saved me from excessive eye rolling and I felt less critical. So that alone is the reason this was 4 stars and not 3.

The importance of the characters in this story was in direct proportion to their physical beauty. Characters with little roles, were short and stubby. Characters with main roles were practically deity. The story went round and round. It felt longer than it actually was. But even with the flaws in the story and with the characters, I liked the story. It was typical Harlan Coben.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I keep alternating between two and three stars for this book. It's a fairly enjoyable read but definitely not as good as Coben's more current books. The real problem that I have with this book is that the story is just so incredibly implausible. A star basketball marries a woman he loves (who happens to be a top supermodel and incredible business woman), and then on their honeymoon find out that she's actually his sister. So what does he do? Fakes his own death in Australia with the help of his police officer friend from Boston, has full plastic surgery to have his face, hair and voice changed and then ends up playing for the NBA again with the same team?!? Then in the end it turns out that they aren't brother and sister and live happily ever after. It's just so ridiculous.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was Harlan Coben's first completed novel. A pretty compelling tale of a man forced to fake his death, although I feel that some of the plot twists are seriously over the top! 4 out of 12.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent novel from one of my favourite writers.
He writes such good original stories that have strong characters and believable plots.

[Vivienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our reading group selected this book a few months ago despite its opening disclaimer from Coben.

It does feel quite an immature work, with implausible characters and plot and yet it is possible to see that despite this that it did show promise.

It is my first encounter with Harlan Coben's writing and I'm not put off by it. I look forward to reading his later, more polished works and I am glad that he did include that disclaimer about its roughness.

If nothing else, it kept me entertained for a couple of days and despite cheesy bits was hard to put down.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of plots and thrills that leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. This is one wild ride and story and you don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy it. 9 of 10 stars

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning thriller. A real page turner.