I did enjoy this book and the plot. A very unique main character and storyline. The new Shaw character that we're introduced isn't all that he seems. The ending sets up the stage to learn more about him in the next book which I will read. I was going to give four stars, however as it's a new character, I've given five as there is much promise for an excellent series. I wasn't sure about the first Lincoln Rhyme book, and then became hooked. I hope his young lady on the bike who he met at the cafe is in it. I've been a big fan of Jeffrey Deaver for so many years and have read every book, except the Bond one, and not one have I not enjoyed

Thanks NetGalley and the Publisher for this book and I have to be honest and say I also one a pre-release copy via Jeffery Deaver so I was really happy.

I am absolutely addicted to Jeffery’s books and read a preview of the new Colter Shaw character so was really hoping this would be good and it was.

Shaw is a great character and the story line was brilliant the interactions between other characters are well done. I loved the story line and it was a well written book.

I'm not into gaming and there was something elements to the book I struggled with but my nephews helped me understand (I'm only in my 50s!).

I would definitely recommend this book and lets hope Colter Shaw's character blooms like Linoln Rhymes and I can't wait for the next book.

Review also published on Amazon stowv55

Loved this book, five stars. For the full review see it at https://joebloggshere.tumblr.com/post/186066749981/the-never-game-by-jeffery-deaver-i-loved-this

A bit of a slow burner this book. I sort of struggled to get into it and glad I persevered as it turned into a very enjoyable book.

Student Sophie is kidnapped and imprisoned in a Warehouse. She is left 5 objects which, if used wisely, will allow her to escape.
Maverick investigator Colter Shaw agrees to investigate her disappearance, he has had success in the past and works for reward. When Henry goes missing the circumstances are different but once again he is left with 5 objects to help save himself.
This is classic Jefferey Deaver, loaded with twists and turns it’s fast paced and gripping.
I raced through this, and for the most part enjoyed it. I especially liked the way Colter Shaw’s character was developed, I found him engaging and likeable and there is clearly to be a follow up to this book so watch this space!

#TheNeverGame #NetGalley I read the short story that preceded this first novel and it didn't really gel for me but I promised that I would try the first story and boy am I glad I did!! This was a cracking read! I love all the Lincoln Rhyme novels, but this was a completely different take following the life of Colter Shaw a modern day bounty hunter. Full of action and lots of twists and turns kept me reading way into the night so that I could read just one more chapter!! A nice tease at the end for the next in this series - cant wait! A brilliant 5 stars from me.

With The Never Game, it has become very apparent to me that I just don't vibe with detective style novels. I know that Colter Shaw isn't a detective but he is in all but name. It follows the same format and builds plot points that I'm sure are due to be picked up and concluded as the series progresses. However, I don't really think I'm interested enough to continue past this book.

The story is interesting enough, don't get me wrong, I'm just thinking of the bigger picture. The characters are pretty bland, excluding Detective Standish, who seems to be the only fleshed out character. The main protagonist, Colter Shaw, is less James Bond and more someone's grandfather. He just feels so out of place. He doesn't seem particularly charismatic or personable, he's basically a very plain character who is helped by a very good supporting character and a fairly well done, twist-filled plot.

3 stars for me. Nothing groundbreaking, nothing horrendous.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

I received my e-copy of this book via Netgalley.

There are some American dramas that quickly leave me disheartened because it becomes very obvious that we speak a different form of English to those in the US and I am left second guessing, but thankfully, this was not the case with The Never Game.

I found the main character Colter Shaw a very complex character but also very engaging. To my mind this was what I would call a very masculine story although there were quite a few females within it.

I did not find the plot compelling but the fact that it was so multi-layered meant it was very interesting especially, the stories of Colt's background.

I liked the way Deaver concluded the book, no hurried explanations or implausible conclusions; it came to a thoroughly satisfying juncture ensuring the reader was more than ready for the next book in the series.

Very screwed up story but so good. You will second guess and question everything then get a nice twist at the end...

People are going missing, some survive, some die, Colter Shaw finds himself wrapped up in finding out what's been going on. It would appear that an online game is the source of the kidnappings where people are left with items to survive or perhaps they'll die.
I enjoyed the concept of the book and love Deaver as an author, but I found there was a lot going on in the book and it was a little long winded in places which was a shame.

These psychological thrillers get me everytime, I convince myself I know what's going to happen and then I'm proven wrong, not complaining I actually love it. That's how these type of books should be and this one is a masterpiece. It's so current,very gripping and a real page turner I could not put it down

Another Jeffrey Deaver masterpiece! A chilling, psychological read. The story takes you on a fast paced ride through the world of gaming and shows the sinister, dark side of what happens in murderous games.
I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough - convinced I knew what was coming; I should have known better when reading at the hands of the psychological thrill master.
The only thing I was left wanting, when I’d turned the last page....was more.

Packed with action and suspense. A true page turner. This will keep you gripped until the very last page.

I really liked the sound of this book; I have never read any of Deaver's books before. I still haven't read one of his books. Having plodded through nearly 20% I still couldn't connect with the story or the character of Shaw. Unfortunately, it's a DNF, only the second one in over 150 books with NetGalley. Maybe the plot speeds up later and I am being unfair as lots of other reviewers enjoyed it. It's all down to personal taste.

I'm a huge fan of Jeffery Deaver's books - no one does twists quite like him. Well, other books maybe. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy this one, it was more that is was a little "meh" in comparison. Maybe I was missing Lincoln Rhyme?

I’ve read a few Jeffery Deaver books and I’ve enjoyed them so I was looking forward to reading The Never Game, especially as it introduces a new character for this series. The Never Game is fast paced and lovers of thrills and possibly video games will enjoy this one. For me though, I found it only ok. I didn’t connect to it easily and I found it a little drawn out in places. On the whole it’s a good start to a new series, I just found it a bit slow for me.

Received ARC from Harper Collins for honest read and review.

I have been an avid reader of Mr Deavers books for years now and this first in a new series did not disappoint. An entertaining and enjoyable read centering around Colter Shaw in Silicon Valley.It follows him as he tries to find a kidnapper who is using a video game as a plot to kill people.

A railroading read that I could not put down.

The Never Game is the first book I've read by Jeffery Deaver. It pulled me in from the first page and kept me on the edge of my seat for the rest of the book.

A girl has gone missing and Colter Shaw is seeking the reward offered by the missing girl's father to help find her. Along the way, Colter discovered many things linking this to a sadistic game of The Whispering Man.

Who is the Whispering Man in this case? There were various suspects, and based on Colter's background, he likes to assign percentages based on how likely something is.

It was a really thrilling read, and it seems the end of the book is starting to introduce us to Colter's next adventure.

8/10

I haven’t read a Deaver for some time but I’m fond of his Lincoln Ryhme series and some of his standalone books have been excellent so when I saw this on offer I snatched at it. As predicted, it was a fun read with plenty of intrigue, twists and turns.

This series introduces a new character of Colter Shaw, a reward hunter but with scruples who picks and chooses which case to go after based on the people involved. In this one he gets dragged into a mystery in Silicon Valley where a number of seemingly unrelated kidnappings are occurring in a technical backdrop in the world of computing. Shaw and his unique tracking skills set about finding the missing people.

Shaw is an interesting character with plenty of information provided on how he’s got his skills and his family life. Some of the characters after that are less well padded out but you might not expect great characterisation in a 400 page thriller. This didn’t deter from the plot as things kept up a nice pace with chapters flying by and plenty of new discoveries to make you question what you thought you knew.

I know for a fact I would read more from this series, it was exactly what I’d expect and want from this type of book. It might be easily forgettable by the time the next one in the series out but I have a feeling that won’t overly matter. A fun read whilst absorbed in it and Deaver has another solid story under his belt again. I also now have no desire to try and buy a house in Silicon Valley, it sounds worse than London house prices!!

Although I have never read a book by Jeffery Deaver before I was so excited to get the ARC to read The Never Game. I read the blurb out to my friends who all agreed that this book sounded perfect for me. I have been an avid gamer all of my life, I love going to escape rooms and crime thrillers are one of my preferred genres of books so on paper this book sounded absolutely ideal. This may also be why I’ve held it to very high standards and ultimately come away disappointed though!

To start with I don’t think Deaver is a gamer, and it was a little obvious that some of the gaming aspects of the book were under researched or that liberties had been taken to suit the plot. There is no way for example, that a game released in the 80s would have a whole level that no-one had ever been able to complete, nor that only 9 people in the world had completed the one before it. I also found it incredible unlikely that gamers would be ok with watching a current news broadcast every time they started up a game – ads are one thing but it would be a massive undertaking to do in every state, let alone international releases. I liked that a female gamer who was a grinder and used twitch was a character but as all the other gamers we meet are men living in smelly basements little is done to break stereotypes – the police of course all laugh at how stupid these people must be to waste their time on video games. I did like the introduction to the excitement and pitfalls of VR gaming though.

I thought the prospect of the murders based on a video game was really interesting but actually the crimes themselves aren’t well developed or explained. The 5 items the victims are given are completely side-lined and the perpetrator just leaves an easy escape route available for most of them so the items didn’t actually correlate to anything. I would have preferred to have seen the crime from the victim’s perspective and been introduced to more of the puzzle element of the crimes rather than the police just mentioning that 5 items had been randomly dumped with them.

I was a little confused that this is the first plotline that the author chooses to introduce his new protagonist – Colter Shaw (yes, it’s an unusual first name and we are hit around the head with that fact repeatedly). Colter is a reward hunter, a man brought up on a remote compound by survivalist parents – the flashbacks are mostly about hunting and trapping which is so completely at odds with the plot of this book. I don’t really think the target audience for the plot are the target audience for the main character and this is a really odd choice for the start of a new series.

There were a lot of red herrings in the book as well, almost too many and the actual reveal was done so fast I almost missed what was going on. I found myself just wanting the book to end – not helped by the fact that after the main plot is finished the book then carries on trying to set up a main through-line for the rest of the series that I had thoroughly lost interest in.

Overall, as a gamer I really didn’t enjoy The Never Game despite a love of crime fiction and a plot that looked like it was made for me. It’s too odd a clash between plot and character, with a drawn out story and under researched topic that fails to keep interest. Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK for a copy of the ARC in exchange for a (very) honest review.