"Play Dead"

To the best of my knowledge "Play Dead" is the first novel I've read by Harlan Coben.  It also happens to be the first novel he wrote and he has a one page "note" in the front of the paperback version I read hinting that this is not his best work and reminding us it was written when he was just beginning and suggesting we might not want to expect a lot out of him.  If that's the case, I can hardly wait to read his later novels because this one is good!

Laura Ayers, a beautiful former model and now a successful business owner, and David Baskin, a Celtics basketball star, have eloped to Australia and are on their honeymoon and their secret marriage is known only to a very few.  However, their happiness doesn't last long when David goes missing then is discovered to have drowned while Laura was at a business meeting. 

Laura is stricken with grief and looking for answers but any attempts to figure out what happened keep ending with stalls and, as she slowly uncovers more and more clues, she and those close to her are threatened and/or end up dead.  Nothing is as it seems and even when I think I have the plot figured out and know who the villain is, another twist pops up keeping me guessing.  I can hardly wait to read Coben's next novel!  pazt