Fantastic book with great core characters. Recommend to friends for anyone who loves this genre of book!

A good read and fast paced although I did not enjoy the ending twist and it left me a little confused. Still a good read though.

Lots of twists and turns that keep you turning the pages, horrifyingly brilliant.
Great for fans of "The Chain" and similar

If I had picked up this book about three years ago, I suspect I would have had quite a different experience with it. My reading tastes have somewhat shifted over the last couple of years and although I do still very much enjoy a thriller like this, they don't grip me quite as much as they used to. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, I had a really good time with it. I just think that I would have had a better time if I'd had it in my hands years ago.

The concept of The Game was super interesting and intriguing to me. It oozed mystery and the nature of it was very engaging and kept me as a reader guessing throughout. I really liked the short and snappy chapters and that each one was from the perspective of a different player. The addition of the odd chapter from one of the victim's perspectives was also a nice touch. There were some very dark themes and moments explored in this book which I suspected was coming from chapter one. They didn't make me feel too uncomfortable, but they did add to the overall feeling of dread that I experienced throughout.

None of the characters were particularly likeable (apart from maybe Sarah and not just because her name was Sarah). The story was setup to lead us to believe that all of the players had been chosen for a reason; none of which good, and that meant that I didn't have a tonne of sympathy for them. I found Brett particularly irritating. I understood the high stakes and goodness knows what I would do in the same situation, but the guy was ruthless and showed little to no empathy or compassion for his fellow players.

As soon as the reveal happened in the story, I kicked myself. I really should have seen it coming, the breadcrumbs were all there. But I was so engrossed in The Game and focused on how it was going to conclude, my brain skimmed over the finer details. This was a fast paced, engaging read with twists upon twists upon twist. I had a great time reading it and really liked the writing style.

Wow, what a twist. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it kept me gripped throughout. The concept of 'The Game' is awful and something I hope will never happen. The telling of the individual players' stories was good and showed several different dynamics within society.

The twist towards the end was brilliant, there was a Saw vibe to the whole book, and it kept me intrigued throughout.

Ultimately, at the end of the book, I was a little deflated at the sickness in humanity but acknowledge that sometimes entertainment has to bring you back to reality. This book seems to be trying to get the reader to consider what parts they play in the pain inflicted to others.

Very good read and would recommend.

It was fine. It kept me reading but I didn’t really engage with it or find myself loving the story or the characters. I wouldn’t recommend it to friends but I’m sure some people would like it.

The Game has a promising premise:

Across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number.
THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IS IN DANGER.
To save them, each must play The Game – a sinister unknown entity that has a single rule: there can only be one winner.
IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.
Cue them all racing along, forced to buy burner phones, doing what they’re told in messages, etc.

All very exciting. All very gripping.

But as the pages turn, the narrative becomes increasingly marred by glaring issues that strain credibility.

The biggest flaw is how utterly credulous every character is. With one exception, they all totally believe these messages. But chain messages have been around since the dawn of the internet, and ok, these are very threatening.

But not one of them seriously considers disobeying and calling the police.

Ok, one of them does, but only reluctantly and after ages. And while they’re stopped from doing so (and more of that in a moment) they give up remarkably easily.

This baffling gullibility makes it challenging to connect with the characters, as their actions defy logic and common sense.

Since mobile phones became ubiquitous, writers have struggled to explain why a character in danger doesn’t just call the police. The clichéd, albeit realistic answer, is their battery ran out, or they're in an area with no service. This can’t happen with The Game, because they have to get orders via a mobile phone (albeit a burner) and unfortunately the author’s only recourse has been to make his characters lack any sense of scepticism or common sense.

Some who’ve read this book will object to this and say that they’ve been given reason to believe their loved ones are in danger and are scared. And this is true, and could well explain one character’s reactions (people do comply when scared). But all five? And not one seriously rebels? Not one calls the police? Instead, some of them travel great distances, across continents in fact, to get to where they’re told to go. It just makes zero sense.

Their unquestioning acceptance of the mysterious Game and their willingness to participate without seeking help or questioning the rules, strain the bounds of believability. It's as if a collective lack of critical thinking has befallen each protagonist, and rendered them mere pawns in a contrived plot, rather than relatable individuals who face a genuine threat.

The denouement of "The Game" further unravels the whole thing, as the antagonist's grand plan is revealed.

At risk of giving spoilers, the logistics of how they could orchestrate the intricate details of The Game and put it into motion strain credulity further. And how they were able to stop the one character who did at one point try to call the police 9however half-heartedly) which presumably means we're meant to believe they could have stopped the others, yet it's clear there's no way they could have all those resources.

It's just complete nonsense and the lack of a convincing explanation left me struggling as to why this book has attracted such stellar reviews.

What a rollercoaster this book was! Superbly set up and the twists were amazing.

It was a bit difficult at times to keep up with the 5 character timelines but as the story progressed, this got easier. Until more were thrown in!

Great ending, superbly written and well played.

Really enjoyed this - will definitely be recommending and looking forward to the next one by this author!

What a thrilling and enchanting read! This was a hard one to put down and had me afraid to turn the lights off. A fantastic thriller.

What a read that was, takes you through so many emotions! A great scary twisted story, one that was hard to put down.
A great unexpected ending!
Brilliant book!

Thank you HQ and Netgalley and sorry I took so long to read
Well that was great, totally not what I was expecting and had me guessing right until the end.
Scary, well written, great characters - more required please

Five random strangers receive a text message on their phones to say someone they love has been taken, and their lives depend on them playing the game. The rules are simple, tell no one, and follow the instructions you have been given. There can only be one winner. If you lose, your loved one dies. The timer starts NOW!!!

But what is the game and why have they been chosen?

WOW this was a rollercoaster of a ride that kept me on the edge of the sofa, desperately trying to work out how this would end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A stunning debut, not perfect, but gripping and ‘Saw’ like. Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review

Beware Spoilers Ahead!

5 People: 2 Americans, 2 British and a French Immigrant all receive the same text message 'The person you love most in in danger. To save them you must play the game. The rules are as follows. All players enter alone. Do not share this message. Do not seek help. Cheaters will be disqualified. Disqualification is permanent. Further information to follow. There can be only 1 winner. If you lose, your loved one dies. Welcome to The Game.'

Player 1: Maggie Dawson lives in Minnesota. She has an 8 year old son, Jackson, who was adopted at birth by a family who can't have children of their own. Maggie didn't mind as she was 16 when he was born and she couldn't give him the life she wanted for him. However, after years pass she decides that now she is older she would like contact with her son. The adoptive parents tentatively allow her access to Jackson and she has him over for the night from time to time. On a cold January morning just after Christmas, she wakes to find Jackson missing from his room, the bedroom window is broken and Jackson is missing without trace. In a panic she phones the police before spotting the text message on her phone. Now she is hiding from the police too and trying to follow the instructions from The Game.

Player 2: Brett lives with his girlfriend in New York. He takes his best friend, Craig, to see a ballgame for his 40th birthday. He has something he needs to say to Craig, something he has been longing to tell him for years but has never been brave enough to say...but tonight he plans on telling Craig the truth. Waking the following morning, Brett can't remember much of the previous night, but he does know that Craig's silence is suspicious...and why does he have a sore face, like he's been punched? When Craig doesn't show up for work, Brett opens the text message that he believes is Spam. Now Brett finds himself lying to his girlfriend and packing a bag heading for the UK.

Player 3: Sarah is a married mother of 2. Having suffered several miscarriages throughout her life, she finally has the miracle babies she longed for. Except life isn't quite how she thought it would be. Married to Neil who is cruel towards her, Sarah has taken to playing online Bingo as a means of getting friends of her own and saving up some money. Sarah loses track of time playing Bingo and when she returns to the kitchen to let the dog in from the yard she finds the dog dead in a pool of blood. Sarah faints at the sight of the blood and when she comes round she finds her daughter, Hannah, is missing. Opening the text message on her phone Sarah panics and runs into the street frantically looking for the car that has taken her daughter. Now Hannah is leaving her son with her mother and driving to the remote address she has been given.

Player 4: Noah is engaged to Sofia, an Estonian. He has just booked a wedding that he can't afford and a reception at a posh hotel that is way beyond his price limit. Sofia is oblivious to her fiancé's troubles. She believes that Noah works at the Hard Rock Cafe, but the reality is that he is a gun toting drug dealer, a job he has had many times in the past and has given up on numerous occasions. Out on the streets selling dope for the evening, Noah is dismayed by the text message he has received telling him that Sofia has been taken. With his mind in overdrive, imaging her being tortured, raped and killed, Noah calls on his underworld contacts to help smuggle him to the UK. Now, face down in the cargo bay of a lorry, Noah is heading for the same remote location as the other players and wondering if he will ever see Sofia again.

Player 5: Linda is a retired police officer who now works security at Luton airport. Coming home from work one night, she finds her daughter, Alyssa, missing. Packing her former police officer kit of flashlight, night stick and stab proof vest, Linda also heads for the remote location, vowing that she will get her daughter back.

As the players arrive in the UK and head to the location they have been given, each worries about their loved one and wonders who each of the other players are. As their trail takes them across the UK, ending in the remote Scottish highlands, they realise that they have to rely on each other to have any hope of finishing the game....and just who is the mysterious Player 6 that they have been told to find?

Review:

For me, this was a breathe taking, exhilarating read....right up the last few chapters after they find Player 6 when the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. One of the players isn't who they say they are, in fact they have manipulated this whole game and have arranged the whole thing. You see, all of the Players have something in common and that is they know all know Player 6. Player 6 is Paul, a 44 year old American who was responsible for one of the players being abused as a teen. Paul ran an online pornography site that has links to all of the players in the game....though the link to Noah is never fully explained.

Once Player 6 is found the story becomes really violent and blood thirsty and the ending felt a little rushed and forced. Don't get me wrong, it was a great twist that I didn't see coming, but the violence felt like it came from nowhere and was wrapped up really fast. I am reluctant to give it less than 4 stars because the lead up to the end is great, and I loved how the chapters flipped back and forth between the different players so we only ever see one persons take at any one time. However, I felt the ending could have been better or at least played out over a longer time period than the tiny handful of chapters given to it.

Still a great read though!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a good read. I thought the author was skilful in telling multiple character stories, but maybe the introductions were a little long...the main part of the action didn't occur until 75% into the book! That said, the remaining quarter was excellent. Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Brilliantly gripping and twisty thriller, in which five random people find themselves forced to play a game to rescue their loved ones.

I was hooked straight away and couldn't put this book down. The scenarios are all to believable, with heartbreaking twists.

This was another of those books where I went in with my eyes closed and I’m so pleased that I did!

5 players from all walks of life have a loved one taken and to get them back they have to play ‘the game’

Tense from the start, each part is told from the POV of each player, gradually piecing together their stories and how they all fit together.

There are snippets of the pregame where it all started - and the ending really blew my socks off! I didn’t predict that at all!

Great for fans of The Chain. This is one to really get stuck into and not for the faint of heart

Five random people across the world all receive a text message drawing them into a punishing game to save their most loved one and if they deviate from the instructions they are given their loved one will be harmed.

I thought it was fast paced and a good thriller but the ending felt too rushed

Oh boy. What happened there… I have to say that until 80% in I found The Game a compelling slow burn thriller and I couldn’t wait to get to the end to get all the answers! Unfortunately, this is a case of when a “twist” or ending makes or breaks a book and this one completely crumbled down. The action is almost nonexistent. So you’re left with a lot of background story about the characters for 2/3 of the book before the story really starts, which as it got me into the story from the very first chapter, I didn’t mind too much but I kept waiting for something to happen and it didn’t until the last 40 pages where it all spiralled down into nonsense. The ending was very convoluted and made no sense. I don’t even think this book should be called The Game. It seems like the title is all a marketing ploy and was added into the story as an afterthought rather than a comprehensive part of the story… Why is it the game? Unclear. What about the characters’ motivation? Flimsy at best but mostly nonsensical. Which brings me to the odd feeling that it gave me when reading from a POV of so many women, clearly written by a man. The thoughts and feelings felt very much like those of someone who never had to experience a period or childbirth. I’m sorry to say but at times it felt borderline misogynistic and the whole theme of the book revealed at the end left a sour taste in my mouth. I’m not sure that it is the place for a man to discuss women’s experience of sexual abuse and rape in so much detail and with such gruesomeness, just to fit a plot and a twist. There were a few too many violent and truly visceral moments that made me sick and deeply disturbed.

If there is one thing that I was really impressed by, it is the ability of the author to write characters that have a very distinct voice. Considering that we get 5 main POVs plus additional chapters from minor characters, I was fully expecting to start mixing them up and being unsure of which storyline belonged to which person. However, their very distinct narration made it really easy to follow and switch between perspectives, and I have to say that this is a very hard thing to do so I’m really impressed.
Another thing that really made me surprised was the ease with which it was written and how easy it was to get into and not wanting to put it down.

Overall, I don’t think that this is bad and I did enjoy it until the 80% mark but the ending really ruined it for me. It felt rushed as if the author realised there was a deadline and scribbled some ending just to finish the book which made no sense after following the whole story. Pieces were not matching, and the puzzle seemed to have mixed a few different boxes making it impossible to put it all together in one comprehensive picture…