Just Play Dead

Sun and sand seems incompatible with the nightmare vision of noir, but as Dan Gordon shows in "Just Play Dead" that passion, lust and hate retains their full power, even in Hawaii.Running a fast 227 pages, with narrower margins and larger type than is usually seen, "Just Play Dead" speeds along with the pace of a Hawaiian vacation, and Gordon ties up the schemes a little too hurriedly and throws in some resolutions that were not properly founded. We don't know if Dani Kahane is a good cop, but he is a fascinating character, and before the last page, Gordon pulls one last joker from the deck that promises that the scheming will continue in the sequel. This is a fun read, with scheming and double-crossing in the style of "Ruthless People" and "The Grifters."

This book took a few moments to adjust to the tone and pacing but once I did, it was one of the most fun reads I've had in ages. The characters were devious, cunning and I felt lucky to be inside their sick but fascinating little world. Dani Kahane, the narrator seems as helplessly attracted to these people as I became... I walk around now feeling as though I know Nora and Jack Wolfe, Joan Chan and Danil Kahane and I miss them and their little world now that I've finished the book. If you're looking for a pleasant, quick read that's going to exercise your brain enough but not too much, this is one to pick up.