Play Dirty
by Sandra Brown
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sandra BrownEdition: Hardcover
Format: Large Print
Published: 2007-09-05
ISBN: 0739485407
Number of pages: 720
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Reviews of Play Dirty
Book Review: An okay book, but not Brown's best work
Summary: 3 Stars
I borrowed this book in the UK, where it was published as a paperback in 2007. If you are thinking of buying this in hardback, I'd suggest you visit the library for a copy or wait until it is published in paperback, as it isn't worth the hardback price.
It is not terrible, but is departure from Sandra Brown's usual style as there are no heroes or heroines, and the writing is not up to Sandra Brown's usual standard. Parts of the book were good to very good, but not enough to give more than a three star rating. I didn't warm to any of the characters; they are not believable, but this isn't the greatest flaw. The plot is ludicrous. Read on, if you want to know more, but be aware there are some spoilers.
A successful businessman (Foster Speakman) crippled in an auto accident 2 years previously, wants his wife (Laura) to have a baby. The wife also wants a child, and goes along with the man's plan to have the a baby using a donor "as God intended", meaning not using any of the medical breakthroughs now available to assist couples with fertility problems.
I don't believe God would condone adultery, but conceiving a child in this manner is the basis of the plot. I am not going to make moral judgments, but it started shaky and then got absolutely ridiculous with a predictable eventual outcome in order to wrap up all the loose ends.
SPOILERS FOLLOW:
The husband summons a handsome, ex-football star (Griff Burkett) on this first day out of prison and offers him a deal. Griff clearly is a man who can be bought - he was imprisoned for throwing a championship game for which he is paid $2 million from the mob. For total confidentiality involving no one other than Foster, Laura and Griff, Foster offers $100k up front to sleep with his wife, $500k on successful conception and $1 million per year for life. Griff is broke, widely reviled and has little chance of finding employment, so he accepts Foster Speakman's offer with alacrity.
The wife, acting CEO of her husband's airline, is totally insipid and the husband obviously suffering from some form of mania. In fact, in order to make him seem less of a cuckolded victim, Sandra Brown turns him from a loving husband into a manipulating maniac to make Griff and Laura seem the wronged parties. She writes Foster's OCD as a stepping stone to madness, which is both incorrect and irresponsible.
Griff, Laura and Foster all come across as seriously flawed. Throw in a detective (Stanley Rodarte) with a huge grudge against the disgraced football star, a mysterious manservant (Manuelo), a tart with a heart (Marcia) and a couple of other minor characters (coach & wife, sports' reporter, lawyers, used car dealer), but although some showed promise, they were all lacking in character development.
The husband meets a grisly end in totally ridiculous manner, and Griff is Number 1 suspect, so he goes on the run, then kidnaps/cajoles the wife to join him in order to clear his name by threatening to expose the agreement between himself and the Speakmans, which seemed very sleazy as Griff had given his word to keep the "arrangement" confidential. The detective also gets his comeuppance.
The epilogue is a bit syrupy where everything is smoothed over and Griff declares his love for Laura, but at least they didn't walk off into the sunset together, although there is the potential for a new beginning for them. Griff appeared to redeem himself over both the money and caring for people, but it didn't really ring true.
This book felt as if the author had to rush it to meet a deadline, and did not have time to strengthen the characterizations. The editor should have ensured whole passages were rewritten before publication, so I attribute some the weaknesses to the editing.
If you like Sandra Brown's later work as I do, "White Hot" is a much better book. If you like her romances, you will be very disappointed, so try Linda Lael Miller's novels instead.
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