How to Play Dead by Jacqueline Ward Book Review

Book Title: How to Play Dead

Author: Jacqueline Ward

My Rating: 4*

Publisher: Corvus

Publication Date: 07/11/19

Genre(s): Thriller

Pages: 352

Format Read: Ebook

Goodreads: She's watching over them. And he's watching her...

Ria Taylor is everything to everyone. Wife and mother, the centre of her family, and the manager of a refuge for women whose partners have driven them out of their own homes.

But one night, with her husband away, Ria receives a terrifyingly sinister message. Someone is watching her. Someone who seems to know everything about her. She knows what she should do - seek help, just like she tells her clients to. But Ria is the help. As events escalate, and terror takes hold, Ria must decide whether to run or hide...

I received How to Play Dead from Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review and although it’s not my usual type of book to read I did enjoy this mystery thriller.

Ria is a manager of SafeMe, a refuge for women and children that need an escape and help from domestic violence. She works incredibly hard to help all the women that pass through the doors but as her past catches up with her in the shape of a stalker she is all too familiar with the pain and terror that domestic abusers can cause.

The book counts down the days until her husband Danny is back from an international work contract and shows with each passing day Ria getting more scared for herself and her children as the messages and threats from her stalker escalate. She doesn’t know who it is but as the book delves deeper she starts to realise it’s her past finally coming to push her over the edge.

Although the book does get a bit repetitive with each day being quite a monotonous routine of everyday life, a lot of interesting twists emerge that keep you guessing until the very end.

There are also diary extracts from a woman named Tanya scattered throughout the book that highlights the severity of domestic violence and I started to figure out quite early on how she was connected to the main story although it isn’t revealed completely until late on.

The ending picks up the pace and all the loose ends are tied up neatly with a good outcome. This is a heavy read that enlightens readers on just a few examples of domestic violence and the warning signals of an abuser.