Jeffery Deaver introduced us to his new protagonist, Colter Shaw, in his short story Captivated, which certainly piqued my interest in this, his new series. This is the full blown first book and it proves to be a gripping and highly suspenseful read. We learn more about Shaw's background growing up in remote California, with his well educated and academic survivalist father, Ashton, his mother, Mary Dove, and his siblings, reclusive elder brother, Russell, and his younger sister, Dorion. Home was The Compound, where all the children were home schooled with none of the trappings of modern life and technology, which meant no TV or phones, but there was an extraordinarily well equipped library. Colter is knowledgeable about guns and the environment, acquiring the skills to become a gifted forensic tracker. Raised by his father on a number of rules and philosophy, and a particular lifestyle, Shaw is a man of few words, largely a loner, physically and emotionally resilient, but with a defining sense of wanderlust that drives his inability to settle or commit to a long term personal relationship.

There is some mystery about aspects of Shaw's life, such as the financial resources he has at his disposal. What he has settled into is a remarkably successful career in finding missing people. He is guided to potential missing people and rewards offered for locating them by his friends, Teddy and Velma in Florida, who are keeping an eye on his home there. Shaw has a number of background players who support his investigations. He ends up making his way in his Winnebago to Silicon Valley, California, where a distraught father, Frank Mulliner, is offering a reward he cannot afford to anyone who can find his missing 19 year old daughter, Sophie. The police have shown little interest in the case, so Shaw looks her into odd disappearance. Using his extensive experience and research, Shaw allocates percentages into the possible options of what could have happened that are major drivers into the decisions he makes. He has a strong interest in maps, and he maps the areas that his investigations take him to. Shaw finds himself into the unfamiliar world of gaming and murder, whilst the acquisition of stole papers take him back into his personal history and what happened to his father.

Deaver is a complete pro when it comes to writing a riveting thriller with his new protagonist, Colter Shaw, an unusual character with a unique personal history that has shaped the man he is today, a man who needs to live at the edge, who needs to take risks to feel alive. There are twists galore in the book, just when you think you know where it is all going, it moves into an entirely different direction. What really proved a highlight for me was the detailed insights and observations of the US gaming industry, both the game makers and those who live to game, people whose lives are entirely consumed by their primal need to meet the challenges that competitive gaming companies provide. The premise made in the book about where the gaming industry could end up does not feel that far fetched, given our contemporary world of fake news, dirty politics and political machinations. All in all, this was a fantastic read and I have no doubt Colter Shaw and this new series will prove to be popular with crime fiction and thriller fans. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

My thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. It has received several 5 Star reviews and I regret to differ. This galley was so peppered with typographical errors it spoiled any enjoyment. It needs saying because proof readers are going to have one hell of a job correcting the text.

Beyond that, the protagonist Colter Shaw, is an interesting character. Different. He generates an income by following up rewards offered by individuals to help find missing persons. He is good at it. An individual schooled in survival and tracking techniques by his father. When a student is kidnapped from a park in CA her disconsolate father offers a $10,000 reward for her safe return. The nub of the story that is composed around the lucrative video gaming industry. I have never played a video game and could not develop any interest in the plot. It's a pity. It just wasn't for me.

I really enjoyed this book, great story line, great character development and an engaging read. Shaw as a character is quite different from Mr Deaver’s past writing and a welcome addition, he is presented to us full developed and the story is very well crafted and engages with interesting scenarios both action and intellectually, again a good read from a master writer. Highly recommend, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

This is classic Deaver - twisty turny plot, fun new character with a mysterious past, clever tricks to trap the baddie. An excellent start for a new crime thriller series!

Colter Shaw finds himself involved in the case of a missing girl. Her father and ex-boyfriend are desperate to find her and offer a reward that they can barely afford. The case predictably becomes quite involved and appears to be linked to a video game. Without spoilers Colter finds himself in many dangerous situations in his quest to find answers. After hearing of Jeffrey Deaver and his excellent reputation I felt it was time I sampled on of his books. However, I was disappointed in that the story dragged in places. I also expected more clever detail in intelligence and tracking than there was. It promised much but seemed a little disjointed and convenient in places. The ending left a lot to be desired and while I understand this is to encourage reading the next in the series, it left me feeling flat and not interested enough to bother.

When you pick up a Jeffrey Deaver you know you are in for a cracking read

This one introduces Colter Shaw a man who makes his living tracking missing people for the reward money.

The plot revolves around the gaming industry and I found it quite hard to get into not being a gamer.

That said there was enough going on to keep me interested

I look forward to the next one as Colter seems a fascinating character.

So the copy of this book I received was horribly edited - more like a first draft written by someone who has a broken space bar on their keyboard.
The fact that I powered through and took the time to work out what the words were supposed to say says a lot about this book. That is, that I really wanted to read it and find out what happened next! Even though it was really difficult to physically read, I still couldn't put it down as it was such a page turner.

The story is extremely modern, set in the Silicon Valley and the world of pro gamers. Deaver has clearly done his research into this world and it shows, with only a few implausible moments (e.g. a pro gamer using a Dell computer - fairly unlikely). This is a fairly classic "who-done-it" plot in a modern high tech setting.

While I enjoyed the story and the setting, I found it hard to really like or connect to any of the characters. I felt like they weren't terribly well developed or consistent. The only character I actually enjoyed really was probably Officer Standish. Perhaps because this is set to be a series following Colter Shaw we are meant to slowly warm up to him and get to know him over the course of several books.

So for me, the big conclusion and really the last third of the book didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Like, I just didn't feel the motive was strong enough or made enough sense. (view spoiler) So for me, I found the last section of the book to be a bit of a let down.

Overall, It is an enjoyable thriller and a good page turner but I doubt I will be following Colter Shaw any further in his adventures.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

A new lead character for Deaver and a great introductory novel, I'm really excited to see where this new series takes us.
A twisty thriller with lots of switches and red herrings, I always end up tied in knots but absolutely love this author.

A typical Jeffrey Deaver story, well researched, well planned with plenty of twists to the plot. Introducing a new hero and obviously the first of many featuring Mr Shaw.
Being the first of many I hope the story was a little jerky in places and some plot twists slightly predictable but still very enjoyable. A book to put on your shopping list.

This looks like the start of another excellent series fromJeffery Deaver. The story was exciting and Colter is a very promising character. I not only enjoyed the main storyline but also the back story which is very promising. Strongly recommended

Colter Shaw, not a Private Investigator, not a bounty hunter, but a restless man that has money and connections from who knows where and he uses those to his advantage to go after rewards offered for finding missing persons or wanted criminals etc...
I really enjoyed this book, the style of writing is easy to read, offering the reader a good balance between details and background narrative.
The characters, and in particular the main character are believable and encourages the reader to become invested in them and what happens to them.
The way the story uses modern concerns of online presence and privacy is very good and the links to the online gaming world makes the story feel very current.
In short, I was hooked from the beginning, and my only frustration is that I was left wanting more at the end! I’m looking forward to the next book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this one

well not being a gamer i did struggle with this one quite a bit...but colter being the man that he is, interested me enough to keep reading...his backstory of living off the land and a father that made him aware of things happening around the world and keeping off the grid..is interesting, survival skills and no internet made for learning some very interesting skills

and thats what keep colter busy by being a finder of people,he never claims the reward if the person ends up dead

but its the backstory that i find interesting and the hints at the end make you want to read the next in this series...

so this could be another winning series by jeffrey deaver but will it overtake his other series we will have to wait and see

As a first time reader of this author I did not know what to expect. The story was well written but didn't catch my attention like I thought it would.

I've been a fan of Jeffery Deaver's novels for many years and this novel with a new MC does not disappoint. Colter Shaw has an interesting back story which is woven through the novel so readers can get to know him. The plot line for this first in the series is based on gaming and is very cleverly worked through, with a few red herrings to keep readers guessing. I'm hooked and very much looking forward to the next in the series.

My first book by this author and I enjoyed it. A likeable main character and an interesting plot although it’s not what you expect in the end and I found it a little disappointing.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for this copy.

Thank you for supplying a preview copy of this book. Unfortunately the number of spelling mistakes/ words joined together/ grammatical errors made it too difficult to read and I could not get very far into the story.

Promising first book in a new series. Interesting characters & plenty twists I look forward to reading more in this series

Introducing Colter Shaw, a new character from the pen of Jeffrey Deaver in an eminently readable thriller. Colter is a ‘reward seeker’; he finds missing persons in exchange for a reward offered. This may sound a little mercenary but Colter is actually an honourable person.

The plot centres on the world of video gaming, Silicon Valley and an initial kidnapping. It soon becomes clear that someone is acting out the escape challenges of a particular video game, The Whispering Man, where the player is left with a set of items that should enable him or her to ‘escape the room’. More kidnappings follow and it is up to Colter, with the assistance of female cop, Detective Standish, to work out the kidnapper’s next move.

Colter is an engaging character with his own interesting backstory, more of which, I suspect, we will uncover in book two. The plot is clever and the narrative is well-written and pacy enough to keep the pages turning. If you enjoyed the Lincoln Rhyme novels by the same author, this will probably be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book before publication. I love Jeffrey Deaver novels.....this one has a new main character Colter Shaw who I am sure will be featuring in a whole new series of adventures in the future. A bit of a slow burner but it got there in the end and this is left open for the next novel.
As a small aside Colter writes with a fountain pen.....this reminder has meant that I have had to dig out my old pens and press them into use again !!!

The first in the new Colter Shaw series. Great read , interesting character and a great premise. Colter is a reward collector so not your normal lead character. Usual Jeffery Deaver clever plot, when you think it’s all over it’s not and you’ve been led down a blind alley to the culprit who is of course not who you thought they were. I felt myself making comparisons to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher character as Colter is a bit of a loner but there’s a huge backstory there just waiting come out
Suffice to say I’ve opened a new collection in my Kindle library for this, as one does with all good series that you just know you will be downloading on publication day. I read Captivated the novella introducing Colter prior to reading this and knew I was in for a treat