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    Playing Dead: A Novel
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    Playing Dead: A Novel
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    Playing Dead: A Novel
    Ebook395 pages5 hours

    Playing Dead: A Novel

    By Julia Heaberlin

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A compelling family mystery that kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended.”—Margaret Maron, New York Times bestselling author of Three Day Town
     
    “Dear Tommie: Have you ever wondered about who you are?”
     
    The letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter—and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago.
     
    Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself  linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana. Tommie races along a twisting, nightmarish path while an unseen stalker is determined to keep old secrets locked inside the dementia-battered brain of the woman who Tommie always thought was her real mother. With everything she has ever believed in question, and no one she can trust, Tommie must discover the truth about the girl who vanished—and the very real threats that still remain. 
     
    “[Julia Heaberlin’s] voice is pitch perfect, and her story of one woman’s fierce struggle to reconcile her past with her present is gripping and powerful. An outstanding debut.”—Carla Buckley, author of Invisible

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateMay 29, 2012
    ISBN9780345527028
    Unavailable
    Playing Dead: A Novel
    Author

    Julia Heaberlin

    Julia Heaberlin is the internationally bestselling author of Night Will Find You, We Are All the Same in the Dark, Paper Ghosts, Black-Eyed Susans, Playing Dead, and Lie Still. Her books have sold in more than twenty countries. We Are All the Same in the Dark won the 2020 Writers’ League of Texas award for fiction, and Paper Ghosts was a finalist for Best Hardcover Novel at the International Thriller Awards. Before writing novels, Heaberlin was a journalist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, and The Detroit News, which fed her interest in true crime and the forgotten stories of victims, a theme she carries into her fiction. She currently lives in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with her family, where she’s working on her next psychological thriller.

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    Reviews for Playing Dead

    3.5/5

    107 ratings31 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Playing Dead by Allison Brennan is the third book in the Prison Break Trilogy but it can stand alone. It's about Tom O'Brien, an ex-cop imprisoned and sentenced to death for his wife and her lover's murders. Claire, his daughter, believes he is guilty until she meets Oliver, a law student who claims to have proof of her father's innocence. She starts questioning everything about what she knows about her father's guilt and his fifteen year imprisonment. This story grabbed me and didn't let go! I was in the dark about who done it until the very end of the book. The mystery and suspense was nail-biting and had me on the edge of my seat holding my breath! It was a thrilling ride! This mystery is well executed and very well written. I've had this book on my shelf for a few years now, but never felt the need to read it. I told myself that this year I would get some of my older books read, and I am so glad I did!
    • 3/5
      Very good story! I really enjoyed reading this book and greatly look forward to reading more by Allison Brennan! Mystery/suspense fans will greatly enjoy this book, I think!
    • 4/5
      For a while now the "Trilogy" has been gaining popularity in the world of paperbacks. It irritated me at first as I was constantly picking up a novel which I though was stand alone only to realized 20 pages in that I had no idea what the author was talking about. I've made my peace with it at this point and was only mildly surprised when the same thing happened to me in the world of Early Reviewers. So after gathering the previous installments of the series I am now ready to proclaim it highly enjoyable. The series isn't highly demanding of the reader. Instead it weaves a (sometimes predictable) story that holds up well over the three books. If your looking for a novel in three parts to hold your attention from beginning to end, this is a good choice for you.
    • 4/5
      Playing Dead by Allison BrennanRomantic Suspense Fast paced with thrills and chills. It has suspense, intrigue,murders, secrets & romance. It is a roller coaster of events. The plot is evident from the first page. It is intense and is not for the faint at heart. The characters are realistic and believable. You don't find out all the players until the every end, keeps you guessing. I would recommend this story. 4
    • 3/5
      This book is the story of Claire O'Brien, a PI who's father has escaped from prison where he has been for 15 years for murdering his wife. Obviously he was framed and this is a tale of who really murdered Claire's mother (and many other people of course). It was a very gripping tale at times and I was invested in Claire's storyline, but also quite gruesome. I was not a fan of the scenes from the killer's point of view. Having read this author in the past, I though this would also be more romantic suspense, but I was disappointed to find the romance lacking. There is a love interest, Mitch, the FBI tracking Claire's father, but I didn't feel there was enough devoted to their budding romance to qualify as a romantic suspense. Also this is the third in a trilogy, and it really shows in parts of the novel. I didn't read the other two and I would not consider this book a complete stand-alone novel. The first two should probably be read to better understand some plot points.
    • 4/5
      I have reread this book after reading her previous novels and while I did like it the first time I read it - I liked it more the second. I really like the way the author has recurring characters throughout all of her novels. Each book is a complete story but you get little updates on how the characters from previous books are progressing. This book was great the first time I read it but there were a few characters that made much more sense with the background stories given to them in earlier books.
    • 3/5
      I didn't realize at first that this was part of series, but there were enough markers and info that it worked ok to read. Claire is a fraud investigator and Mitch an FBI man. They separately, then together start to unlock the conspiracy surrounding her father's murder conviction.
    • 4/5
      I've read more than one of Allison Brennan's books in the past and really enjoyed them. "Playing Dead" is no exception. Her stories are always rich with characters and detail. This novel has all the qualities to make it a "stand alone" book. You don't have to have read the first two in this series to enjoy this one. It has a great plot line that's very fast paced and it doesn't let up until the end. Well written and highly enjoyable!
    • 1/5
      Did not finish. I find Brennan's leading ladies to be cold and unemotional, and I just can't connect with them. And while, in theory, I don't have a problem with seeing the bad guy's viewpoint, I didn't like the way it was done here. This was my second try with Brennan, and I won't bother with a third.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. I hadn't read the first two in the series previously when I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers, but before I was done I went ahead and ordered books 1 & 2: I was enjoying it that much. It was fast paced and had me wanting to know more. I really liked Claire O'Brien as a main character, she was tough, smart and independent. I definitely have a new author to add to my list of the others serial writers that I follow and I'm looking forward to getting up to speed with the first two.
    • 3/5
      I keep trying Allison Brennan's books because I loved her first series (The Hunt, The Prey, The Kill), but nothing since then has even come close to that level, and Playing Dead is no exception.There's simultaneously too much in this book and not enough. There's too much backstory--both on the side of the good guys and on the side of the bad guys--and the conspiracy is far too big. One reviewer noted that the story is hard to follow and I think this is what was meant. There are so many criminals in the conspiracy it's just unwieldy. The tie between the "assassin" and the protagonist is thinly explained and not believable. It stretches credulity to the breaking point.On the other hand, there's not enough of the relationship between the two main characters. We are told how they feel, but Brennan spends no time convincing us of the depth or breadth of the feelings, so the book is emotionally unconvincing and unsatisfying.Brennan is a competent writer, and it's irritating to read something so empty from her. Skip this one. If you like strong romantic suspense, stick to her first trilogy.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy Allison Brennan's romantic suspense novels. Her heroes are always very sexy and her heroines are always strong. While I was not particulary into the mystery, I did care a lot about the couple in this book. I was a bit confused as to why Claire didn't believe her dad long before she did, but I can let these things go and enjoy the story. Brennan's prose is enjoyable and clear and I love the way she brings back recurring characters throughout her books. An enjoyable afternoon's read.
    • 3/5
      Brennan is an expert at creating tough, realistic heroines. Her action sequences are taut and suspenseful, and her ability to deliver solid thrillers is rare. That said, there's nothing really new here. This is the third in the Prison Break series, and it shows. Brennan's a solid, capable author and her stories are unquestionably good, but break no new ground and are in danger of becoming repetitive.
    • 3/5
      Good story, realistic characters. Allison Brennan is a great storyteller. I loved the interaction between Claire and her father and Claire and Mitch. These interactions make Claire someone you want to have as a friend. I always enjoy reading Allison Brennan's books.
    • 5/5
      Playing Dead is the third book in Allison Brennan's Prison Break Trilogy. I could not put it down. The plot was complicated and suspenseful with twists and turns involving several mysteries. Pacing was steady throughout the book coming together for an ending that was not rushed or predictable. Reading the first two books in the trilogy would have been an advantage for understanding the underlying prison break plot, but it is not necessary for enjoying this book.
    • 5/5
      I truly enjoyed this book. This is the first book I have read by this author. I will definately getting more of her books. It kept me reading from the get go. I enjoyed the descriptions and the not knowing who the actual killer was drove me nutty and made me want to read even more and faster. I was actually suprised at who the killer was and really didn't even suspect him until close to the time I found out. Great job and thank you LT for allowing me to be an early reviewer on this book.
    • 4/5
      I received this as an Early Reviewers Copy, and realizing it was the 3rd book of a trilogy, purchased and read the first two books before starting this one.Of the three, this is probably the best. It could easily stand alone, it is well written and the previous books do not really matter in understanding the storyline.Following an earthquake, and the escape of prisoners from San Quentin's death row, one escapee remains uncaptured. That escapee is Tom O'Brien, an ex-cop, convicted 15 years earlier for the murder of his wife and her lover. In the first two books of the series, he is mentioned and it appears that he has been instrumental in the capture of his fellow escapees, and saving the life of FBI Agent Mitch Bianchi.This is the only escapee who insists that he has been wrongly convicted, and wants to clear his name before turning himself in and being executed. His daughter has always believed him guilty, and her opinion is what matters most, he wants to prove to her that he didn't kill her mother.Allison Brennan unfolds a complex plot of how the crime was committed, and the many twists and motives that led to the murders.I enjoyed the book, and will look for her next series.
    • 3/5
      I just could not get into 'Playing Dead'. I liked the premise, and like a previous reviewer, I do think the book is well written, but I just couldn't get myself emotionally invested in the characters. This may be one of those books that I go back and reread months from now and enjoy, and it has gotten me curious in Allison Brennan's other books.
    • 5/5
      I finally finished the book and have to say that this book is filled with suspense, mystery and romance.You are introduced to the characters and given the back ground information needed to know the basis of the book. Fifteen years ago, Claire O'Brien, then 14 decides to go home from school for lunch. She walks in on her mom and her mom's lover, an assistant district attorney. Claire calls her father because she is upset about finding her mom in that situation. Tom O'Brien decides to confront his wife and lover so that he can end this charade of a marriage. When he arrives at his house he finds his wife and her lover shot dead in bed. Claire is the one that sees her father in the room and assumes he killed her mother and the other man. She is the prime witness in her father's trial. Claire goes through years of believing her father is guilty, and starting a new life without him. An aspiring young attorney does research and discovers things that can prove her father's innocence. Claire does not believe the guy and ignores everything he tells her, until her father, who had escaped from prison during an earthquake, leaves Claire a note telling her everything she needs to know to try and clear his name. She is torn between wanting to believe her father is innocent and a murderer. The story is now set for a page turning, full suspense thriller that you won't be able to put down. The FBI does everything to capture the fugitive Tom O'Brien. There is one FBI agent, Mitch Bianchi, who believes Tom is innocent and befriends Claire. He wants to find Tom before the local PD does, otherwise Tom is a dead man. Mitch is falling for Claire, just as Claire starts to be able to trust someone. Once you start reading Playing Dead you will be pulled into the suspense, thrills, mystery and romance of the 3rd book of the Prison Break trilogy. If you haven't already picked up this book to read I suggest you do. I know I will be reading the first two books in this trilogy!!
    • 4/5
      Got this one as an Early Reviewer. This was my first book by Brennan and I won't hesitate to pick up another. Great character development and story line all the way to the end.
    • 4/5
      Playing Dead wraps up the prison break trilogy with Tom O'Brien's story. Tom is a former cop convicted of the murder of his wife & her lover fifteen years ago. During an earthquake at San Quentin, he grabs the opportunity, along with other prisoners, to escape. He would like to find proof of his innocence, but mainly, he doesn't want to die with his daughter, Claire still believing he killed her mother. Claire has never forgiven or spoken to her father since his conviction and when he makes contact with her, she is shaken, but begins to doubt his guilt. In the meantime, Mitch Bianchi, an FBI agent, has gotten close to her, hoping she will lead him to her father.This is a good suspense story with a complicated conspiracy. I found it a little hard to keep all the characters straight, but I did enjoy the book. One of the things I like about Brennan's books is the recurring characters. I enjoy being able to see the progression of their lives and learning about other characters before they get their own stories. I have been a fan of Allison Brennan's books from the beginning. She is an auto buy author for me and I'm looking forward to her next book.
    • 2/5
      As a teenage, Claire O'Brien, comes home to find her mother and her mother's lover shot dead and her father holding the gun. Tom O'Brien was was framed and now he has to prove it to live, but especially to win his daughter back. Her father is freed from San Quentin when there is an earthquake, giving him the chance to ask Claire for her help. Claire is now an investigator herself and she also wants to find the answers to what happened. She also has some other help with this, an attactive FBI agent, who is also telling her lies. I had a hard time summarizing this book because I found it very confusing. I didn't find the story fast-paced, rather, I had a really hard time finishing it. I did not connect with the characters and there were so many that I couldn't even keep them straight. The only reason I finished this book is because it was an Early Reviewers book, otherwise I would have given up a long time ago!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book but it would have been even better had I been able to read the first two books in this trilogy. The action was good, the characters believable and the suspense was great. The book was hard to put down. I would never have guessed the true bad guy ... the clues and misleads were really good. I was surprised at who the bad guy turned out to be. I've always enjoy reading this author and I will continue to get her books. She never disappoints, she can always be counted on for great reading enjoyment.
    • 4/5
      This romantic suspense had a good plot and plenty of exciting fast paced action but at the beginning I didn't care for heroine because she didn't believe in her father and the hero's secret was too big to hide. FBI agent Mitch starts dating Claire to see if she is in touch with her fugitive father.
    • 2/5
      Sentenced to death for crimes he didn’t commit, ex-cop Tom O’Brien is now a hunted fugitive. After fifteen years in prison, he’s determined to prove his innocence–but first he must convince his daughter, whose testimony helped put him behind bars, that he has damning evidence of a plot to frame him.Claire is no longer the naïve teenager who arrived home to find her mother and her mother’s lover shot dead and her father holding the murder weapon. She’s a successful fraud investigator who assumes everyone lies. Though Claire is convinced of her father’s guilt, curiosity propels her to look into the disappearance of a law student who claimed to have proof of Tom’s innocence. But seeking answers only leads to more questions, reinforcing Claire’s belief that there’s no one left to trust.Obsessed with the O’Brien case, FBI agent Mitch Bianchi befriends Claire under false pretenses, certain that Tom is not only innocent but in grave danger–and not just from the cops. As the three race toward the truth, a murderous conspiracy tightens its noose–and Claire becomes the target of an ice-cold psychopath who will kill to protect his secrets.Since I’m 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 won’t be adding Allison Brennan to my “must read” list. I feel that the book has quite a few flaws and that its positive aspects aren’t 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 isn’t difficult to follow the plot of this book I did have trouble trying to figure out the author’s 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 it’s 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 can’t 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 they’ve ever met. Okay, so that’s 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, I’m afraid I can only give it two out of five stars.
    • 3/5
      Like several reviewers, Playing Dead is the first Allison Brennan book I have read. Unlike some of those reviewers, hers is a genre I enjoy. But, I too have mixed emotions about this book. I enjoyed the story line; the complexity of the plot, the many characters, and the story was resolved to my satisfaction. Despite being a good read, I did not make an emotional connection with the primary characters. Claire O’Brien believes her father murdered her mother and now questions her belief. She comes to this point in a perfectly logical manner, but it feels rather cold. I picture Claire being overcome with the emotions of what she has lost, of what her father must have experienced due to her rejection, of how she is going to move forward, but the reader has no insight to her inner thoughts and struggles. FBI agent Mitch Bianchi struggles with lying to Claire and the ethics of becoming emotionally involved with her. Again, these are heart wrenching internal struggles, debates, and questions of ethics. The reader learns Mitch is aware of these issues and is willing to accept them. It doesn’t happen that easy in real life and the author misses the opportunity to explore some difficult issues in more depth. I suspect that is not the author’s intention and that is her prerogative. For myself, it makes the read less compelling and less satisfying.
    • 4/5
      Playing Dead is the final book in the Prison Break Trilogy but in my opinion it is a stand alone book. There are quite a few references to things that occurred in the previous books but not so much that I was lost since I hadn’t read the previous books. Fifteen years ago, Claire O’Brien’s mother and her lover were brutally murdered. Claire’s father Tom, a police officer, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. During a recent earthquake Tom, along with other fugitives, escaped from San Quentin and now in addition to hunting down and turning in his fellow escapees Tom has to prove his innocence to the one person that matters…his daughter, Claire. Claire never believed his claim of innocence and she did her best to shut him out of her life. She sees the world as right and wrong and doesn’t have any interest in listening to her father’s pleas until she learns that the one person who believed Tom was murdered as he got too close to the truth behind the murders. FBI agent Mitch Bianchi also has a stake in finding out the truth. He’s befriended Claire under false pretenses and has fallen in love with her. As Claire starts investigating the crime, Mitch can’t share with her who he really is and all he can do is hope to keep her safe while finding out what really happened fifteen years ago.This was a fast paced read with a lot of twists and turns. I loved the way the truth slowly weaves together all the side characters in the story. The killer’s identity was a complete surprise to me which rarely happens with most suspense books I read. I loved the writing style and I definitely want to go back and read books one and two. I highly recommend this to all romantic suspense lovers.
    • 3/5
      Early Reviewers This is the second novel by Allison Brennan that I have read. I read the first novel in this ‘Prison Break’ series, skipped over the second, and read this review copy which is the third book in the series. I could go either way on her books. First off, I must say, this is not my genre of choice. But, that doesn’t mean I have zero appreciation for it either. Secondly, I seem to be in a very serious reading slump lately. Nothing is really exciting me. Nothing seems especially good. Therefore, my review may be…..contaminated. Okay. The book is VERY well written. Brennan is a good writer. The storyline and plot was very well thought out and planned. But, I can not seem to connect with her characters. As I stated in my review of her book ‘Killing Fear”, Brennan seems to have an excess of characters in her novels. While that makes for a thicker storyline, it seems to really detract from “bonding” with the main characters. I can’t really put my finger on the problem, but it feels like they are not important. The main characters are merely instruments to carry out the author’s current novel and plot. So, I do like her work (even though it can be morbid and disturbing), but I am always feel relieved to finish her books . However, all these feelings could be due to my ‘reading slump’. Also, as with ‘Killing Fear’, there was a minor side character that I took interest in. J.T. Caruso. If there is not a novel devoted to him already, it would be nice to see one.
    • 4/5
      Private Investigator Claire O’Brien has finally found her soulmate, but isunaware that he is in fact an FBI agent searching for her father, anescaped criminal due to be executed for the murder of Claire’s mother.When her father approaches pleading his innocence, Claire remainsconvinced that he is guilty and is reluctant to reopen the case or herheart. Thus develops a fast paced and well constructed investigation intothe 12 year old double murder. Politics, cover-ups, love, betrayal and anobsessed serial killer combine to keep you turning the pages!
    • 4/5
      Claire O’Brien knows all about liars. Her father, Tom is still lying even after being convicted fifteen years ago of murdering her mom and her mom’s lover. Claire is now all grown up. Claire has only one regret and that is testifying against her father. Maybe that’s why Claire wants so bad to believe her father is innocent, especially when Claire learns her father has escaped prison but is Claire setting herself up for a big heartache putting faith in her father. FBI agent, Mitch Bianchi has been following the O’Brien case for a long time, so when he sees his chance to get close to Claire he seizes the opportunity.Unfortunately the more time Mitch spends with Claire, the harder it is for him to keep his secrets from her. All of Claire’s digging makes her the prime target for a serial psychopath that will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden. Playing Dead is the third and final book in Allison Brennan’s Prison Break trilogy. I have enjoyed reading this trilogy, though I have to say not as much as Ms. Brennan’s No Evil series. This book started out good and ended on a high note. I was glad to see that Claire was no wall flower, just because she was surrounded by lots of male testosterone. The mystery that FBI agents bring to the table I think really makes them sexy as well as attractive. Mitch definitely had both qualities, which made him a great male lead character in this story. I have been hooked on Ms. Brennan’s book since I read her No Evil series and still remain a fan. I can’t wait for her next series.