Stacey C. (midge0214) reviewed on 8/26/2009 + 3 more book reviews

Since Im always eager to discover new authors, especially in the romantic suspense genre, I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, based on Playing Dead I wont be adding Allison Brennan to my must read list. I feel that the book has quite a few flaws and that its positive aspects arent enough to convince me to overlook them.
Let me start with the things I did like. The technical aspects of the story, such as legal issues and forensics, were nicely done. They are precise and fully addressed so that the reader has all the relevant information without being bogged down or distracted from the storyline. I also liked the pace of both the dialog and the story itself. I hate books that have tons of extraneous information or, even worse, conversations that take up so many pages you wonder how the characters have time to do anything else. There are a lot of details and characters in this book so swiftness to take action on all points is critical in keeping track.
My first thought upon finishing this book was why is this labeled as romantic suspense? Reading Playing Dead brought to mind authors such as Patricia Cornwell and David Baldacci versus Anne Stuart or Linda Howard. While there is an established relationship between the two lead characters it is a secondary, if not tertiary, element. There is little time or attention devoted to it relative to the whole. As this is my first book by Ms. Brennan I have to wonder if her previous works have strong romantic elements. After all, authors are assigned to genres just as much as individual books are. No matter the case, the story was different than I had expected based on the description.
While it isnt difficult to follow the plot of this book I did have trouble trying to figure out the authors intentions. The way it is written made me unsure of what was intentionally revealed to the reader and what was suppose to be a surprise. For instance, I knew within the first quarter of the book who the assassin is, but I have no idea if I should have. The way his identity is revealed at the end makes me think that perhaps I was supposed to be held in suspense, but with the information provided through his point of view its impossible to stay in the dark that long.
I had problems connecting with the hero and heroine of this book because, while a lot of background is given, neither is fleshed out well. I cared about the resolution of the story but not the characters themselves, making it an intellectual rather than engaging read for me.
But my major problem with this book were the antagonists. In addition to the assassin there are three principal criminals at work. These three have been partners in crime for 30 years and how they managed to avoid arrest for that length of time is the true mystery of this story. These guys were so overzealous about not being caught at they had everyone but the FBI in their pockets. One of them even states this quite clearly to another. I find it impossible to believe that so many people had damaging information and only one of them uttered so much as a peep in three decades. I cant feel any real threat from men who leave a paper trail that practically screams Hey you, over here! Look at me! and then when, much to their surprise, someone notices they think the solution to their problem is to just kill off everyone theyve ever met. Okay, so thats an obvious exaggeration, but just about how I felt by the end.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, I had high hopes for Playing Dead, and while there are certainly things I liked about it, Im afraid I can only give it two out of five stars.

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