Play Dead - Harlan Coben (Book Review)

Better to blog this while it's still fresh from the mind.

I thought I wouldn't read any books this year because studying instead of reading feels like the right thing to do. Not that the books are starting to pile up but at least it feels right to have that mindset.

Well my friend knew my plan and he half-teasingly borrowed me this book like he knew I wasn't able to reject. Plus the last time I checked, a little book never hurt no one.

I'm not much of a Sherlock fan. Playing detectives, solving riddles and puzzles. I have this prejudice that every crime novel is gonna piece up perfectly and end like your regular episode of CSI. Boy, I was wrong.
Well to be honest, there ain't much cops involved in the plot, let alone the forensic stuff. (which is actually the interesting part of any story of this kind)
Just good ol' "handle-it-personally".

Heck of a time for me to tell you this now (a phrase I kinda picked up from the novel), the book I read was Play Dead by Harlan Coben.

Fun fact: This book, first published in 1990, is the first book written by Coben, and is reissued in 2010.

There is, without no doubt, always at least once I'd scream in frustration whenever I pick up this book. It's a compliment, really. A good relay of emotions.

The plot itself doesn't deserve the title of a "sickeningly twisted" book, it doesn't give you a hard punch but it's as close as you can get. It doesn't lose at any major aspects either.

It's got a lot of twists and surprises hiding behind each page just waiting to pounce at you and tear your assumptions into thin shreds. " " really did it, not many can twist up a story like this one.

One thing about this book is that it keeps everything and reveals almost all at once towards the end. When I've read through almost 3/4 of the book, my other friend asked me how's the mystery going and when I told her I don't know…yet, she was taken aback considering the books we read would reveal almost everything towards 3/4 of the book.

Okay enough of the blabbering, into the storyline.

Spoiler alert.

Laura Ayars, claimed to be the most beautiful and successful woman in the fashion and modelling industry, secretly eloped to Australia and marries David Baskin, basketball superstar. While on their honeymoon, David went for a swim and never came back. When the authorities claimed that David committed suicide, Laura was devastated. But things did not feel right and Laura began to think that maybe David was murdered thus she investigates the "case" on her own because she feels like she can't trust anyone.

On the other hand, David did not commit suicide nor was murdered. In fact he did not die. It was all part of a heartbreaking plan. I'll just skip to the hows and whys rather than beat around the bush. David went for plastic surgery, changed is face, his identity, and basically "kills" the David Baskin in him while he tries to morph into Mark Seidman. He still plays for the basketball team he was on as a "replacement" for David Baskin, since he plays exactly like him.

So why did he change his identity and broke Laura's heart? Let's take it back into the past.

Laura's aunt, Judy, was dating Laura's dad, James Ayars, before her mother, Mary, met him. Mary was also a "beautiful creature", you could say that the daughter inherited the looks of the mother, just to give you an idea of how beautiful she was. When James fell for Mary, Judy kind-heartedly stepped aside and wished for her sister's happiness. Then Judy met Sinclair Baskin, father of David, and they both fell in love. But Sinclair broke it off when he met Mary. He and Mary had an affair and Mary was pregnant. Sinclair then chased preggy Mary out because he already had a wife and children at home. He needn't raise another child. So Mary told Judy and when Judy learned that Mary stole Sinclair, which would be the second time she stole a man from her, Judy was furious. She wanted revenge. She then told James and James, furious too, went and killed Sinclair. Mary lied to James that the child was his.

Back to present, Mary wanted so badly for Laura and David to break it off because they were siblings. She told Laura not to see him but stubborn Laura went a married him anyway without knowing anything. Mary then had no choice but to tell David the truth, he promised to leave Laura thus faking his death and changing his identity.

Not over yet. What Mary didn't know was the fact that James knew everything from the start. So one night (in the past), while Mary was still pregnant with Sinclair's child, he and Judy drugged Mary and gave her an abortion. Then he continued to drug her day by day so she won't feel anything. James then impregnated Mary at the same time Mary was trying to "lie" to James that the baby is his without knowing that the fetus has been aborted.

So Laura finally found out everything through a lot of obstacles, and reunited with David, now Mark, again and happy ever after. The end.

Whew, that was really long so I'm not gonna write more.

Overall it's a good book, it keeps you on your toes and the twists are really sudden and unexpected. Read the book, not my synopsis.

Love, C