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Play Dead
When Newport Beach heiress Hayley Fordham heads to Costa Rica on an art commission, she has no idea she's narrowly escaped an assassin's car bomb. But before the paint's even dry on her mural, her stepsiblings have arranged her funeral and redivided the family trust. The fact that Hayley is still very much alive remains a secret to everyone but FBI investigator Ryan Hollister, who intercepts the "victim" returning home in the flesh.
Ryan has zero tolerance for the pampered elite. But there's something about the complex Hayley that sets his blood racing. With evidence pointing to a Fordham family associate, Ryan needs her cooperation—and her closeness—more than he dares admit. Because now, especially now, he's prepared to risk anything to stop Hayley from being killed...again.
Ryan has zero tolerance for the pampered elite. But there's something about the complex Hayley that sets his blood racing. With evidence pointing to a Fordham family associate, Ryan needs her cooperation—and her closeness—more than he dares admit. Because now, especially now, he's prepared to risk anything to stop Hayley from being killed...again.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 15, 2010
This book was okay. The hero and heroine seemed fairly realistic and the writing was fine. It did drag in the middle when the author was a bit heavy handed with explanations of surfing and surfing as a business. This seemed to drag on and I did have to force myself through that part. It was a fairly large info dump disguised as conversation.
The romance part was a little under developed. Here was another hero struggling to get over his dead wife and a heroine who thought she coudn't compete with the dead woman. This is how it was set up but not a whole lot was made of this. It was like the author would occasionally think "oh I've got to throw in a tidbit about the romance. I'll toss in a line about the dead wife." The heroine made a few assumptions about the hero's feelings for the dead wife that didn't have a lot of basis in what had actually been written. More attention was paid to the suspense plot and the romance at times seemed clunky.
The suspense part was okay. The premise of a supposedly dead heroine was interesting but didn't play out much into the actual story. It wasn't obvious who done it but the end was a bit overblown. I won't say more so as not to spoil it.
Not a bad book but I'm glad it wasn't something I paid money for and I won't necessarily pick up the next one, but I'm not totally agin it.
The romance part was a little under developed. Here was another hero struggling to get over his dead wife and a heroine who thought she coudn't compete with the dead woman. This is how it was set up but not a whole lot was made of this. It was like the author would occasionally think "oh I've got to throw in a tidbit about the romance. I'll toss in a line about the dead wife." The heroine made a few assumptions about the hero's feelings for the dead wife that didn't have a lot of basis in what had actually been written. More attention was paid to the suspense plot and the romance at times seemed clunky.
The suspense part was okay. The premise of a supposedly dead heroine was interesting but didn't play out much into the actual story. It wasn't obvious who done it but the end was a bit overblown. I won't say more so as not to spoil it.
Not a bad book but I'm glad it wasn't something I paid money for and I won't necessarily pick up the next one, but I'm not totally agin it.
July 4, 2025
I found it rather dull and the heroine was thicker than pig shit.
There is a huge amount of repetition in this book, I swear we have like 4 scenes in which somebody explains in excruciating detail the history of the rise and fall of surfer fashion, and the increasing popularity of MMA merchandise. We are told endlessly about how the heroine's mother and the heroine make designs for board shorts and t-shirts, and we have the rules of MMA explained to us about 3 times as well, and in a way that assumes the reader is a space alien who has never heard of MMA. There is so much 'business chat' about founding surf shops, how the dad made his own custom boards, how him and his wife publicized their business, who did the books, who went to surf contests - does anybody really give a shit about all this surf shop bollocks?
The heroine was irritating in the extreme. There isn't a lie that this woman won't believe, and there isn't a single piece of good advice she won't ignore. A highlight for me was when she decided she *needed* to offer comfort and support to the man who her now dead best friend had told her had been violently abusing her for years. You know what, if my best friend told me her husband hit her, I would relegate him to the position of 'irredeemable piece of shit who needs to burn in hell'. I sure as hell wouldn't be cooing and patting his hand and trying to make him feel better in the wake of his abused wife's death.
Sex scene was rancid, the dog was watching the whole time and as the hero was literally going in and out of the heroine he's talking to the dog and telling it to 'sit and watch' so it can learn a few new tricks. Fucking BARF. Shut the dog out of the bedroom like normal human beings you weirdos.
I skipped the climax because I honestly didn't care who the killer was.
There is a huge amount of repetition in this book, I swear we have like 4 scenes in which somebody explains in excruciating detail the history of the rise and fall of surfer fashion, and the increasing popularity of MMA merchandise. We are told endlessly about how the heroine's mother and the heroine make designs for board shorts and t-shirts, and we have the rules of MMA explained to us about 3 times as well, and in a way that assumes the reader is a space alien who has never heard of MMA. There is so much 'business chat' about founding surf shops, how the dad made his own custom boards, how him and his wife publicized their business, who did the books, who went to surf contests - does anybody really give a shit about all this surf shop bollocks?
The heroine was irritating in the extreme. There isn't a lie that this woman won't believe, and there isn't a single piece of good advice she won't ignore. A highlight for me was when she decided she *needed* to offer comfort and support to the man who her now dead best friend had told her had been violently abusing her for years. You know what, if my best friend told me her husband hit her, I would relegate him to the position of 'irredeemable piece of shit who needs to burn in hell'. I sure as hell wouldn't be cooing and patting his hand and trying to make him feel better in the wake of his abused wife's death.
Sex scene was rancid, the dog was watching the whole time and as the hero was literally going in and out of the heroine he's talking to the dog and telling it to 'sit and watch' so it can learn a few new tricks. Fucking BARF. Shut the dog out of the bedroom like normal human beings you weirdos.
I skipped the climax because I honestly didn't care who the killer was.
September 5, 2021
Character building! The obvious question of "how much can one person endure?" that can easily overtake a good book and make me lose interest was WAY overshadowed by the way Sawyer worked the character building in this book. It wasn't in-your-face all at once. It was gradual throughout the entire book - even until the last paragraph! It was on point, for sure!
March 27, 2018
For the genre (Harlequin Romance), the story is surprisingly entertaining and the characters are fleshed out. The plot is interesting and, as the reader, you keep turning the pages even if you know how it is gonna turn out (happy ending😉).
April 3, 2024
It's OK. I just couldn't get into the game here. Maybe it didn't age too well.
December 2, 2010
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
Coming back from the dead can be… well, it can be the death of you if you aren’t careful…
Surfing entrepreneur heiress Hayley Fordham is on her way to Costa Rica on a project when, unbeknownst to her, someone tries to kill her with a car bomb. Presumed dead by her family, her stepbrother and stepsister already have designs on her inheritance. Hayley’s aunt wants to know who’s behind the bombing so she asks FBI Agent, Ryan Hollister to investigate.
Little did Ryan expect that when searching Hayley’s home for clues, he’d find “intruder” Hayley in the flesh, and very much alive. Now they need to keep secret the fact Hayley didn’t die if they want to find out who did it. Hayley is not one to sit idly by and Play Dead while others are hard at work so she insists on becoming Ryan’s partner in his investigation. Neither one expected this strange turn of events would result in the greatest risk being to their hearts.
I tried to like Play Dead, I really did, because I have enjoyed other Meryl Sawyer books I have read in the past. Unfortunately, this particular story did not engage my attention at all. It dragged on forever, with not a whole lot happening for much of the book. I kept reading, hoping things would pick up and get my pulse pounding, but that hope never really came to fruition.
I actually found myself more fascinated by Hayley’s elderly Aunt Meg and her own love story with Ryan’s father, than I was by Hayley and Ryan. I never really got behind Hayley as a heroine. She makes herself a martyr for her family’s legacy, bemoaning the fact she has to give up her own dreams to take care of them. While she is meant to be presented as an independent woman throughout the novel, she came across more as stubborn for the sake of being stubborn to me. I liked Ryan as a character, though I wanted to smack him for caving to Hayley’s demands a time or two.
The mystery of who is behind the car bombing in Play Dead is well done, as is the story of who really died in the explosion, but events just took too long to unfold to satisfy my desire for a romantic suspense. In short, this novel is far from Meryl Sawyer’s best and I hope future novels are up to par with what I expect when I see her name on the book cover.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, June 2010. All rights reserved.
Coming back from the dead can be… well, it can be the death of you if you aren’t careful…
Surfing entrepreneur heiress Hayley Fordham is on her way to Costa Rica on a project when, unbeknownst to her, someone tries to kill her with a car bomb. Presumed dead by her family, her stepbrother and stepsister already have designs on her inheritance. Hayley’s aunt wants to know who’s behind the bombing so she asks FBI Agent, Ryan Hollister to investigate.
Little did Ryan expect that when searching Hayley’s home for clues, he’d find “intruder” Hayley in the flesh, and very much alive. Now they need to keep secret the fact Hayley didn’t die if they want to find out who did it. Hayley is not one to sit idly by and Play Dead while others are hard at work so she insists on becoming Ryan’s partner in his investigation. Neither one expected this strange turn of events would result in the greatest risk being to their hearts.
I tried to like Play Dead, I really did, because I have enjoyed other Meryl Sawyer books I have read in the past. Unfortunately, this particular story did not engage my attention at all. It dragged on forever, with not a whole lot happening for much of the book. I kept reading, hoping things would pick up and get my pulse pounding, but that hope never really came to fruition.
I actually found myself more fascinated by Hayley’s elderly Aunt Meg and her own love story with Ryan’s father, than I was by Hayley and Ryan. I never really got behind Hayley as a heroine. She makes herself a martyr for her family’s legacy, bemoaning the fact she has to give up her own dreams to take care of them. While she is meant to be presented as an independent woman throughout the novel, she came across more as stubborn for the sake of being stubborn to me. I liked Ryan as a character, though I wanted to smack him for caving to Hayley’s demands a time or two.
The mystery of who is behind the car bombing in Play Dead is well done, as is the story of who really died in the explosion, but events just took too long to unfold to satisfy my desire for a romantic suspense. In short, this novel is far from Meryl Sawyer’s best and I hope future novels are up to par with what I expect when I see her name on the book cover.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, June 2010. All rights reserved.
October 19, 2010
Play Dead starts off with a bang. An assassin's bombs sets in a motion a series of events that sees an innocent woman killed, and the intended victim returning from the dead to find herself paired with an FBI investigator for protection of both heart and well-being. To add to this unexpected romance, the killer, or is it killers are not done with her yet.
This has all the making for quite an intensifying and satisfying thriller. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the story as much as I wanted to for a number of reasons. The plot itself was great, lots of twists, and actions to drive it. However, I did not care for the execution or the characters. Hayley Fordham is the cliche wealthy heiress who is misunderstood. She is both beauty and brains and with the territory comes enemies, and much hostility and jealousy from her step-siblings. Likewise, Ryan Hollister is an FBI investigator with a painful past. He is trying to piece together a new life for himself but unsure of the direction he wants to head in. A car bomb meant to kill Hayley brings them together and voila instant connection. Not too shabby but not completely believable either.
Hayley and Ryan have a lot of potential to develop into great characters; they have qualities to redeem and circumstances that call for sympathy, but I did not care for them. They lacked maturity and depth which distracted and barred me from connecting with them. Their mannerisms, reactions and thoughts process were immature and not appropriate to their situation. There is a killer or even killers after Hayley and yet the urgency and intensity was not there and combined with an almost laid back main characters the story became really unbalanced. I cared more about the secondary characters, Meg Ambroy (Hayley's aunt) and Conrad Hollister (Ryan's father) and wanted to know more about them.
The ending almost makes up for it, though it was good, it was not really believable. There were lots of actions and where many of the twists are fund. Many factors came into play (jealousy, hostility, revenge, money etc) for the motives and translated into actions, which were the better parts of the story.
This has all the making for quite an intensifying and satisfying thriller. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the story as much as I wanted to for a number of reasons. The plot itself was great, lots of twists, and actions to drive it. However, I did not care for the execution or the characters. Hayley Fordham is the cliche wealthy heiress who is misunderstood. She is both beauty and brains and with the territory comes enemies, and much hostility and jealousy from her step-siblings. Likewise, Ryan Hollister is an FBI investigator with a painful past. He is trying to piece together a new life for himself but unsure of the direction he wants to head in. A car bomb meant to kill Hayley brings them together and voila instant connection. Not too shabby but not completely believable either.
Hayley and Ryan have a lot of potential to develop into great characters; they have qualities to redeem and circumstances that call for sympathy, but I did not care for them. They lacked maturity and depth which distracted and barred me from connecting with them. Their mannerisms, reactions and thoughts process were immature and not appropriate to their situation. There is a killer or even killers after Hayley and yet the urgency and intensity was not there and combined with an almost laid back main characters the story became really unbalanced. I cared more about the secondary characters, Meg Ambroy (Hayley's aunt) and Conrad Hollister (Ryan's father) and wanted to know more about them.
The ending almost makes up for it, though it was good, it was not really believable. There were lots of actions and where many of the twists are fund. Many factors came into play (jealousy, hostility, revenge, money etc) for the motives and translated into actions, which were the better parts of the story.
March 4, 2017
'Play Dead' by Meryl Sawyer is a book I had read before but it had been a while. It was very well written and even with having read it there was enough twists and turns that I was still guessing as I neared the end of the book. I have to say I really enough reading mystery novels. But I struggle with mystery novels due to the sheer number of characters that need to be introduced rather quickly if the book is to flow. I find myself having to look back a lot to try to remember who is who. However, that is a me issue and not a writing issue.
Haylee Fordham's family thinks she is dead. Her car was blown up in a local restaurant parking lot. However, it's not long after the memorial and Haylee shows up alive and well. But who wanted her dead? And why? Meryl Sawyer takes you through the twists and turns of figuring out just those questions while also developing strong side stories and engaging the reader into the actual lives of the characters. I didn't feel like I was slogging through the story to find out who tried to murder the main character. The story was engaging and added to the mystery instead of taking away from it.
The drawback for me was the romance. It didn't feel natural or organic. And instead of adding to the story it felt like an aside and actually took away from the story. Don't get me wrong, I have read my fair share of romance novels. But I didn't pick this up as a romance. The cover had clothed people after all :S The colliding of the characters with the romance felt forced and out of place. It smoothed over towards the end though.
I did enjoy 'Play Dead'. It was mostly well written and the story line and the characters were engaging and captivating. The mystery wasn't wide open to be completely figured out before you got to the reveals. And there were multiple reveals. It was wrapped up a tad too neatly at the end but that did not detract from the overall story.
Originally published at https://fizzypopcollection.blogspot.c....
Haylee Fordham's family thinks she is dead. Her car was blown up in a local restaurant parking lot. However, it's not long after the memorial and Haylee shows up alive and well. But who wanted her dead? And why? Meryl Sawyer takes you through the twists and turns of figuring out just those questions while also developing strong side stories and engaging the reader into the actual lives of the characters. I didn't feel like I was slogging through the story to find out who tried to murder the main character. The story was engaging and added to the mystery instead of taking away from it.
The drawback for me was the romance. It didn't feel natural or organic. And instead of adding to the story it felt like an aside and actually took away from the story. Don't get me wrong, I have read my fair share of romance novels. But I didn't pick this up as a romance. The cover had clothed people after all :S The colliding of the characters with the romance felt forced and out of place. It smoothed over towards the end though.
I did enjoy 'Play Dead'. It was mostly well written and the story line and the characters were engaging and captivating. The mystery wasn't wide open to be completely figured out before you got to the reveals. And there were multiple reveals. It was wrapped up a tad too neatly at the end but that did not detract from the overall story.
Originally published at https://fizzypopcollection.blogspot.c....
April 20, 2010
Hayley Fordham is killed in a car bombing. Maybe.
When Ryan Hollister gets involved in the investigation as a favor to his father's friend, things start looking more and more suspicious. Hayley appears to live a clean life, but her family is a different story. Any one of them could have something to do with her death.
When Hayley turns up alive, Ryan finds himself protecting her and trying to solve her attempted murder.
This is the first book by Meryl Sawyer that I have read. I really enjoyed it, too. It was a good suspense without an obvious answer to the who-done-it--it kept me guessing right up until the end. The relationship between Hayley and Ryan was blended well into the story and didn't take over too much of the story.
My only real nit is the ending. It was a little convoluted how things really worked out and I was slightly confused by what really happened. I would have liked just a bit more explanation.
Overall, a great read. I really enjoyed the book and will look for more books by Sawyer.
I received this book from netgalley.com
When Ryan Hollister gets involved in the investigation as a favor to his father's friend, things start looking more and more suspicious. Hayley appears to live a clean life, but her family is a different story. Any one of them could have something to do with her death.
When Hayley turns up alive, Ryan finds himself protecting her and trying to solve her attempted murder.
This is the first book by Meryl Sawyer that I have read. I really enjoyed it, too. It was a good suspense without an obvious answer to the who-done-it--it kept me guessing right up until the end. The relationship between Hayley and Ryan was blended well into the story and didn't take over too much of the story.
My only real nit is the ending. It was a little convoluted how things really worked out and I was slightly confused by what really happened. I would have liked just a bit more explanation.
Overall, a great read. I really enjoyed the book and will look for more books by Sawyer.
I received this book from netgalley.com
August 6, 2012
Enjoyed this book, especially the thriller and mystery aspect. As I was coming off another thriller that had proved uninspiring and disappointing, I was really on the lookout for the clues and red herrings in this one - thankfully, Ms. Sawyer (of whom this was my first read) did not disappoint.
The action and the suspense kept up for much of the book. Now I know this is a romantic suspense - the romance shouldn't be the primary aspect of the story, but I kept wishing for 'more' where Hayley and Ryan were concerned. Don't get me wrong - their romance was okay, but that's just it - it was okay. Nothing spectacular or really memorable, which is a shame as there was potential for lots more tension and conflict between these two. It almost seems as if the author wrote 'around' the characters (like the surfing and surf shop parts) rather than 'about' the characters, if that makes sense.
But on the whole, it is an enjoyable romantic suspense thriller that will keep you alert as to who the villain is and why everything happened the way it did.
The action and the suspense kept up for much of the book. Now I know this is a romantic suspense - the romance shouldn't be the primary aspect of the story, but I kept wishing for 'more' where Hayley and Ryan were concerned. Don't get me wrong - their romance was okay, but that's just it - it was okay. Nothing spectacular or really memorable, which is a shame as there was potential for lots more tension and conflict between these two. It almost seems as if the author wrote 'around' the characters (like the surfing and surf shop parts) rather than 'about' the characters, if that makes sense.
But on the whole, it is an enjoyable romantic suspense thriller that will keep you alert as to who the villain is and why everything happened the way it did.
April 8, 2017
This is another book which has been languishing on my TBR pile for about two years now and turned out to be a very satisfying B read for me. I have read nearly all of Maryl Sawyer's backlist, quite enjoying her romantic suspense titles, a genre, I don't favour all that much, usually.
The book's ratings on goodreads is quite low and even though I wouldn't declare it groundbreaking I find Play Dead to be an entertaining, satisfying read with a hero and heroine I enjoyed very much and who had some serious sizzle between them.
I am by no means a specialist in the gadget department, but what I always enjoy in Sawyer's books, is, that she conveys to me a good insight on various industrial sectors such as the publishing industry or, in this case, the mixed martial arts and surfing trade. Checking online I just saw that her site has gone offline recently, I think she maybe has retired from writing.
The book's ratings on goodreads is quite low and even though I wouldn't declare it groundbreaking I find Play Dead to be an entertaining, satisfying read with a hero and heroine I enjoyed very much and who had some serious sizzle between them.
I am by no means a specialist in the gadget department, but what I always enjoy in Sawyer's books, is, that she conveys to me a good insight on various industrial sectors such as the publishing industry or, in this case, the mixed martial arts and surfing trade. Checking online I just saw that her site has gone offline recently, I think she maybe has retired from writing.
May 10, 2011
Nice, fun quick read. Haley is on her way out of the country on business when her car is blown up by a planted bomb. Human remains (more like ashes or fragments) are found and the world and Haleys family assume she is dead. By the time she returns home, her family has buried her and her deceased parents trust is aleady being re-worked by her half siblings. FBI agent and distant family friend Ryan Hollister steps in as a favor to Haleys elderly aunt to investigate. He discovers what no one else knows, Haley is alive and in danger. Chemistry ignites between Haley and Ryan as they race to discover who wants her dead and why. A typical thrilling mystery this book keeps you guessing as to who is behind the attempts at haley's life. A somewhat obvious ending, it was still a good, fast read to fill the time.
September 27, 2010
Sawyer has a decent plot without having to fill pages with a great deal
of sex which I appreciate as an older reader. She delivers a good suprise twist at the end to ramp up the suspense and a happy ending for the romance. All in all a good book if you are looking for a read to take you away from your daily grind.
of sex which I appreciate as an older reader. She delivers a good suprise twist at the end to ramp up the suspense and a happy ending for the romance. All in all a good book if you are looking for a read to take you away from your daily grind.
October 23, 2010
Very good - didn't figure it all out until the end. Kept me guessing.
February 16, 2011
had lots of twists and turns ,
December 7, 2012
I bought this book from a store going out of business for about $2. It was a decent summer read for me.
January 1, 2017
Started out to be a page turner, but tended to slump in the middle of the book. The last 30-40 pages the gist of the story had returned to make the book more readable.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews