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Book Review of Play Dead

Play Dead
Play Dead
Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
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Wow what a ride. So the book starts with the author presenting the main plot (Laura and David). A mystery ensues and we are 'off and running'. Then, for the next 3/4 of the book, he weaves in a whole bunch of 'side' mysteries, with shadow figures plotting this, and known characters plotting that. It's a bit overwhelming with too many details to keep track of. Then, finally, the last quarter of the book starts tying the mystery together with twist after twist seemingly contrived just to make all the prior mystery and suspense make sense. It felt very rushed and contrived. This was Coben's first book; he improves so much in his subsequent work that he's almost unrecognizable as the author of this one.