Suspense

Play Dead was a suspenseful, complicated mystery; however, it lacked the hard edge I'm used to in this author's current books. I felt like I was reading a Danielle Steel novel—no offense to Ms. Steel; I love her work. Only after I read it did I find out this book was one of Mr. Coben's early works, rereleased in 2010. Like Just One Look, published in 2004, it lacks sophistication. The plot was barely believable. The characters were either too gullible or downright evil. One of the main characters fakes his death, has plastic surgery, changes his name, and then reappears as the talented basketball star he originally was and thinks that will go unnoticed. What? Nobody—not even in a book—would be that dumb. The good part is that Mr. Coben plants the hook early, takes the reader on a wild rollercoaster ride, and ties everything up. Although the end wasn't the big surprise it might have been, it did entertain. ( )

As always, Corben tells a good story. It was a little too much like a soap opera to suit me, but still a good read. ( )

. From great character development to the twists and turns, it will keep you riveted and not let you put this one down. There are a few things that are unbelievable--that one could be reincarnated in the same (basketball) role as before one's suspicious death, that one would actually believe the source that caused the "suicide" in the first place. Yep, first novel...but pretty darned fun! ( )

Dreadful. His first novel and it really shows. But also fascinating to see his development as a writer. The dialogue is appalling, which is so interesting because in his later novels his dialogue is terrific. All in all a great read to see how a writer grows. ( )