Play Dead

SUMMARY: Savannah police detective Elise Sandburg has enough to deal with: a house that's falling apart, a difficult teenage daughter, and an annoying yet mysterious new partner. Suddenly, young male prostitutes start turning up dead....or somewhat dead. The tradition of voodoo in the Deep South get a new slant as freshly buried serial victims claw their way out of their final resting places. To catch the killer, Elise will have to delve deep into a past she relinquished a lifetime ago. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT: Frasier has a gift for immediately involving you in a story. She writes top-notch suspense that is engrossing and addictive. Characterizations are complete; truly surprising plot twists abound. Frasier is a must-have addition to any mystery/suspense lover's personal library. WHY YOU WON'T: If prostitution and/or voodoo turn you off, get over it and read this anyway. BOTTOM LINE: Best of genre. Frasier just keeps getting better.

Once I started reading PLAY DEAD, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed HUSH and SLEEP TIGHT very much, but this is the best. Anne Frasier has a way of getting into the skin of her characters that makes every book unforgettable. Her characters are so unusual and so bent, yet by the end of the book they're part of you. I finished reading the book yesterday, but I've been thinking about it ever since.

Reading Anne Frasier's latest, Play Dead, is like taking a roller coaster ride and a carriage tour simultaneously. Unblinking, Frasier outlines the dark, mysterious side of Savannah with a bold Magic Marker and fills in the spaces with the city's innate beauty and light. The protagonists, Elise and David, may be worlds apart in personality and life experience, but they are more alike than they seem at first glance. Both are determined to solve the strange case of corpses that aren't, delving into the arcane world of root doctors and mysticism while dealing with their own inner demons. Most authors use setting merely as a backdrop for their characters. In Play Dead, setting IS a character. Good job!

I read this book in one day. Something I haven't done in quite a while. The characters were compelling. The plot fascinating. The dialogue excellent. If only all thrillers were this thrilling. I like Anne Frasier's first two books but I loved this one. Her best so far.

Savannah medical examiner John Casper is performing an autopsy when he suddenly realizes that the body is still alive, the man is still breathing albeit very slowly. When the man eventually dies, it is discovered that he had tetrodotoxin in his bloodstream, a poison that doesn't cross the blood brain barrier so victims are paralyzed and unable to speak, but totally aware of what is going on around them.Homicide detectives Elise Sandberg and David Gould head the investigation. As a baby Elise was abandoned on a grave; her father was thought to be a root doctor and a conjurer so she is aware that the public will believe they are dealing with dark magic because superstitions run soul deep in Savannah. David is running from his own demons but unlike Elise he doesn't believe in the supernatural. More victims are found as body moves out of the grave before dying. The perpetrator poisons David leaving him paralyzed and needing help, but only Elise might save him if she can put all the pieces of the puzzle together in time.Fans will find themselves reading about a different kind of Savannah one that is more like New Orleans with root doctors, conjurers and practitioners of the supernatural. The two protagonists get off to a rocky start but in time and with patience on Elise's part, they make a good team. PLAY DEAD is a compelling and memorable police procedural, made even better by the way the characters interact with one another. Anne Frasier will be appreciated by fans who like Kay Hooper, Iris Johansen and Lisa Gardner.Harriet Klausner