The worlds of celebrity and sports are brilliantly dissected and turned upside down in the debut thriller from the bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix drama The Stranger . Theirs was a marriage made in tabloid heaven, but no sooner had supermodel Laura Ayars and Celtics star David Baskin said “I do” than tragedy struck. While honeymooning on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, David went out for a swim—and never returned. Now widowed and grieving, Laura has a thousand questions and no answers. Her search for the truth will draw her into a web of lies and deception that stretches back thirty years—while on the court at Boston Garden, a rookie phenom makes his spectacular debut... Praise for Play Dead “Coben...keeps the reader off balance with innovative story lines and diabolical bad guys.”— People “Truly surprising.”— Entertaiment Weekly “Kept me riveted in suspense and eager anticipation.”— New York Daily News More Praise for Harlan Coben “Coben is one of the best authors around at writing page-turning suspense…He has a knack for hooking readers right away and holding their interest as they zoom through his plots.”— Chicago Sun-Times “Nobody writes them better than Coben.”—Associated Press   “What Coben does best is take readers into his characters’ hearts and minds.”— USA Today   “Every time you think Harlan Coben couldn’t get any better at uncoiling a whipsnake of a page-turner, he comes along with a new novel that somehow surpasses its predecessor.”— The San Francisco Chronicle   “Coben is the undisputed modern master of the suburban thriller.”— The Philadelphia Inquirer   Harlan Coben  is the #1  New York Times and international bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including  I Will Find You ,  The Match ,  Win ,  Fool Me Once ,  Stay Close , and  The Stranger , as well as the award-winning Myron Bolitar series. Coben has more than eighty million books in print in more than forty languages worldwide, and several of his novels have been made into Netflix series. The winner of Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, he lives in New Jersey. 1 June 17, 1989   Laura opened the window and felt the gentle tropical breeze refresh her naked body. She closed her eyes as the palm trees' cool wind made her skin tingle. The muscles in her legs still quaked. She turned back toward the bed and smiled at David, the man who had put her legs in this precarious position. "Good morning, Mr. Baskin." "Morning?" David repeated. He glanced at the clock on the night table, the day silent except for the crashing of the waves outside the window. "It's well into the afternoon, Mrs. Baskin. We've spent almost the entire day in bed." "Are you complaining?" "Certainly not, Mrs. B." "Then you won't mind a little more exercise." "What have you got in mind?" "How about a swim?" "I'm spent," he said, sprawling back against the pillows. "I couldn't move if the bed was on fire." Laura smiled seductively. "Good." David's eyes widened with awe as she slowly strode back toward the bed, remembering the first time he had seen that body, indeed the first time the world had seen that body. It was almost a decade ago and a full eight years before they met. Laura had debuted as a seventeen-year-old cover girl on Cosmopolitan wearing a—Ah, who the hell saw the dress? He had been a junior at the University of Michigan at the time and he could still recall the way the mouths of every member of the basketball team dropped when they saw the issue on a newsstand in Indiana before their Final Four game. He feigned panic. "Where are you going?" Her smile grew. "Back to bed." "Please, no." He held up his hand to ward her off. "You're going to put me in the hospital." She kept walking. "Vitamin E," David pleaded. "Please." She did not stop. "I'm going to scream rape." "Scream." His voice was barely audible. "Help." "Relax, Baskin. I'm not going to attack you." His face registered disappointment. "You're not?" She shook her head, turned, and began to walk away. "Wait," he called after her. "Where are you going?" "To the Jacuzzi. I'd invite you to join me but I know how tired you are." "I feel a second wind coming on." "Your powers of recuperation are truly incredible." "Thank you, Mrs. B." "But you're still out of shape." "Out of shape?" David repeated. "Playing against the Lakers isn't this exhausting." "You need to work out." "I'll try harder, Coach. Really I will. You just tell me what to do." "To the Jacuzzi," Laura commanded. She threw a silk robe over her shoulders, partially covering the gorgeous figure that had made her the world's highest-paid fashion model up until her early retirement four years ago at the tender age of twenty-three. David slid out from under the satin sheets. He was tall, a shade under six five, which was on the short side for a pro-basketball player. Laura eyed his naked physique admiringly. "No wonder they say you've revolutionized the game." "Meaning?" "Your ass, White Lightning.