The premise of this book really grabbed my attention. A group of strangers are each brought together by anonymous messages, telling them that they are part of a mysterious Game.

Each person is in the midst of difficult personal circumstances and is now faced with reaching the rendezvous point in time, without alerting the police. The "players" have no idea who has summoned them or why.

After a promising start, the individual journeys to the meeting point took a rather large chunk of the book, stalling the build-up of tension. Things pick up a bit towards the end, but I would have enjoyed a bit more of the actual Game, rather than the travel arrangements.

Having said that, the story had enough points of difference to hold my interest and I enjoyed it overall.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley.co.uk for the eARC of this book.

Five strangers have received a text saying that they have been entered into a game. Failure to play and adhere to the rules will result in the death of someone they love.
The story is told by each player looking at their predicament and a little of their history.
A frightening tale that left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for me e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good and twisty! 5 strangers from around the world and completely unrelated in any way have someone they love kidnapped and are forced to play ‘The game’ in order to get them back. I loved the multiple povs, (although at times I did get confused who was who) which kept it feeling fast paced and drew me in to try and work out what was going on. Layer by layer the plot thickens and I didn’t see the ending coming! Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

"To save their life, you have to play" unbelievable debut by Scott Kershaw!! Highly recommend this book

Scott Kershaw’s debut has made him an author to watch out for.

An intricate plot line for a debut novel, and albeit a little clumsily written at times, it did end with a great twist that I didn’t see coming.

Fast paced, multiple points of view and enough edge to keep you reading until the end.

My one constructive criticism is that I would have liked to have read a final word from each character that was still alive. (No Spoilers here but yes there are deaths!!) When the twist is revealed at the end, it is not clear how Noah was linked to “The Game” and what his reason for having to participate was. Nor do we get to find out what truly happens to Sofia or Craig, like we do with Hannah, Jackson, and Alyssa.

A solid read with an ending I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come.

I am looking forward to reading more from Kershaw as he hones his talent for edge of your seat thriller style writing.

Trigger Warnings: Animal Abuse, Child Abduction, Rape, Trafficking, Substance Abuse, Miscarriages & Suicide.

4 Stars – A DEBUT MUST READ!

Publication Date: 12th May 2022

Thank you to #NetGalley, #HQ, #HarperCollinsUK and #ScottKershaw for an ARC of #TheGame in exchange for an honest review.

5 strangers from 3 different locations. Each receive a text message. Play the game. Do not call the police and don't tell anyone or your loved one dies. All are assigned a player number.
This had me gripped from the get go. It's pacy and nail biting.
Some of the characters I liked and a couple I didn't.
I thought the twist towards the end was good but did wonder how it had been executed.
A really good concept for a debut novel but I was left a tiny bit disappointed with the ending. We didn't get to find out how one of the players was tied into the game.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The Game, the debut novel by Scott Kershaw, has such an interesting premise – five strangers pitted against each other in a game of life and death.

What is ‘The Game’? What does the perpetrator want? Why have they been chosen? Who can they trust?

The story jumps between the five players: Maggie a recovering addict trying to build a relationship with the son she gave up for adoption, Brett an American software developer, Sarah a mother of two with an abusive husband, Noah a drug dealer planning a wedding with his beautiful fiancée and Linda an ex-police officer.

The author certainly built up plenty of tension and suspense as the story progressed, but I just didn’t feel that I could connect with any of the characters.

The women were fairly limited personality-wise….all mothers and all abused/damaged in some way and Brett was just wholly unlikeable from the start. The only one of interest was Noah…a traditional ‘bad guy’ (drug dealer involved with shady people) turned into somewhat of a hero as he fights to save the love of his life.

I also found the ending a little preachy at one point and lacking closure for some of the characters

wow what a book, It seemed to take so long to get to the big finale and expose the reason why the characters were invited to play the game and I have to say that when it came it was a surprise and the timing was spot on.
This is a really intense book and in some way manages to encompass Squid Game and Taken together, Definitely a must read of 2022.

The Game. A good read with twists, turns and suspense throughout, especially once ‘The Game’ begins.
For me the introductions (although needed) seemed to drag on for a long time and I struggled to really connect with the book until the Game had really begun. Once in the game, I really loved this book with the different stories of the characters all interlinking more and more throughout.
Personalities change and people become different beasts under pressure, but they are still people, something the Game master perhaps didn’t anticipate.

A totally unrealistic but fast moving thriller that never quite reveals all and that means that you have to keep reading to find out why the five characters have been singled out to play the 'game and save their loved one.
One winner means that you will do anything to be that winner but at what price. Fast moving between continents and locations mean that you need to be aware of where you are and who is who at all times. The end result isn't necessarily what you expect

This book did not disappoint my expectations after reading the blurb. Once the game started it was hard to put this down. I'll be looking for this author's next book, what a great debut!
Thanks for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I so wanted to enjoy this book but for me it did not deliver. It took a long time for the game to actually begin and before you know it the game was over. A great concept but this thriller turned out to be a damp squib. Saying that I am sure other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Ooh a nice and exciting debut. Each character has a chapter to themselves as this moves the story along nicely.

A popcorn read to delve into over the summer on the beach as it's fast and exciting so perfect for reading on the beach.

The Game is a cleverly written book that reels you in from page one and doesn't let go until the very last page. Written in alternating chapters each of the players are introduced individually. After receiving text messages saying their loved ones have been kidnapped it is a race against time to save them but there can only be one winner.

This is an excellent debut novel from Scott Kershaw and I really look forward to reading more from this new writer.

Highly recommended!

WOW, What a book. The book is engrossing, engaging, and kept me wanting to read it all night. There were times when it was so intense I had to stop reading and check if all my doors were locked. SHOCKING, full of TWIST and I ending you will not see coming. BRILLIANT.

This is a genuine white knuckle read! Fast paced, intriguing and I’ve whizzed through it in a couple of sittings. Take a group of five disparate strangers, give them a number and tell them they must play the game or someone close to them will die. The chapters introduce the reader to each of the characters and their background. They’re all different, very plausible but why were they selected? They’re instructed to meet and await further instructions. The pace really ratchets up as they make desperate efforts to travel, sometimes thousands of miles, to the location. A pub near Saddleworth. And then, let the real game commence!

I understand this is a debut and it’s a cracking take with an unusual premise that’s totally engaging. Full of twists and the tension at times is truly unbearable. An author to watch and I enjoyed this immensely

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Fast-paced, incredibly stressful and absolutely brilliant! My next read has a lot to live up to! A very clever thriller indeed!

If like me you like to read in bed, then be prepared to kiss your sleep goodbye, once you start reading this book. It had me hooked from page one, I was tapping my kindle like a woman possessed couldn't read it fast enough. I loved the idea of the book, the characters were good, and the pace of the book was great. I loved reading this book, and its going in my top ten books of the year, and I fully expect it to still be there at the end of the year. Cracking book.

After reading the details of this book, I immediately added it to my reading list and it did not disappoint. The book starts with individual stories about 5 people from across the globe, who all have something terrible happen to them and are forced to play The Game. The book was very fast paced from the beginning and once I’d gotten to the second half, I didn’t want to put it down. All 5 stories merge into one with many twists, demanding the reader to carry on. This was definitely one of the better thrillers I’ve read and deserves 5 stars! Thanks to Net Galley for giving me early access to this.

Oh I so wanted to love this book. But I didn't. I was really hoping it would have the edge of your seat thrill like the Saw films but it just didn't do it for me. It wasn't exciting enough and it took too long to get the game started, and then it felt like it was over almost as soon as it begun. The "gamesmaster" felt unrealistic from what we had previously read so felt quite unbelievable.
I must also stress that something I always state in my reviews is that I wish there was trigger warnings. I absolutely cannot stand to read anything where harm is done to an animal, I also struggle with things happening to children. I understand the child aspect in this particular book to dealt with subtlety, the animal was not and its something I would go out of my way to avoid.
Such a shame as a great concept which could have been an exciting read whilst characters had to play the game.
#TheGame #NetGalley