First off, I did enjoy this book but, I don't think it was as good as I expected it to be from reading the blurb.

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.

But what is The Game – and why have they been chosen?

There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…

WELCOME TO THE GAME. YOU’VE JUST STARTED PLAYING.

Chapters are short and told from the perspective of the players which made it an easier read. I don't feel as though I really "knew" any of the characters but I surprised myself by actually having a character who I actually wanted to succeed over the others.
I imagine this will be bought by a studio / streaming service and I can't blame them at all - this would look great on the screen.

I can’t believe this was the author’s debut book, it was that good. When I first read the premise, I thought the story was going to be kind of like the ‘Saw’ franchise.....”would you like to play a game!”, but it wasn’t anything like that. This was well written and a very intelligent read. Scott Kershaw immediately pulls you into the story, and all throughout, its a race against time for the ‘players’ to try to save their loved ones. This is a very clever thriller, and I’m looking forward to reading more from Scott in the future. Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this ARC.

I struggled to keep track of all the characters at first but ultimately it was worth it!

I wasn’t sure where it was going but the concept was so intriguing a couldn’t stop reading.

God psychological thriller.

5 people, 1 text message, 1 chilling set of instructions. The opening pages of this book are well paced and draw you in. Each character is given time to breathe and you begin to become invested in their welfare. On the whole, this is a well written, well paced thriller however the final third feels a little rushed and the conclusion too swift to feel satisfying. (Copy received via Netgalley in return for an honest review).

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The Game is the nnovel's title and the premise around which it is set. Five, seemingly unconnected people become, by means of a text message, players - for each a loved one has been kidnapped and they have to follow a series of instructions in the hope that they can rescue them. Two Americans, two Brits and a Frenchman - all different ages and backgrounds what could they have in common? It is an intriguing premise and Scott Kershaw manages the intricacies if the plot masterfully. Highly recommended if you enjoy a twisty storyline along the lines of Adrian McKinty's "The Chain."

A unique, fast-paced, thrilling read. It kept me gripped from the first page to the last and I read it in a day because of that. It reads as though it was written for screen and with the popularity of Squid Game I definitely think there's the audience for this to make it on screen. The book is full of twists and turns and the premise of your loved one being as risk is as terrifying as it gets. Great read.

The premise of the book was good and started well, but I couldn't engage with any of the characters so really struggled with it.

An enjoyable thriller. I did feel that once the players entered "the game" aspect, it went very quickly and would have enjoyed if there were more levels to it. Otherwise, a good book with nicely fleshed out characters

A dark, twisty paced thriller of a read. The game is on. Why and who is behind these cruel, crazy games? Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

This book started off brilliantly. Five seemingly strangers receive a text message telling them that the person they love most is in danger and that they will die if they don’t win ‘The Game’.

It reminded me of a John Marrs book and I raced through the chapters to see how they were all connected and who was going to win.

But then it all got really silly and unbelievable and I was very disappointed with the ending.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you like a good thriller, then you can not go wrong with this book. The characters are three dimensional, flawed and act irrationally, but no more than any of us would act. The story has some nice twists and turns, leaving you suspecting everyone and no one. The writing style is smooth and easy to settle into, as well as the ending being quite satisfying.

A good read indeed.

A terrifying game nobody would ever want play in real life. Five seemingly random people across the UK, USA and France are brought together in a game that needs just one winner, with the losers fearing the death of someone they love. A brilliant read from page one through to the last as these five strangers need to work together to reach each stage of the game.

** IF YOU READ ANY BOOK THIS YEAR - MAKE SURE IT'S THIS ONE! **

"THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER.
AND IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.
WELVOME TO THE GAME.
YOU'VE JUST STARTED PLAYING."

I've got to admit it, I was absolutely blown away by this one. I dont know if the fact that TV series like Squid Games are around at the moment but it definitely made it feel more prevalent.

It was completely believable and totally different to all other thrillers I have read. Unique is the only word for it.

This is a dual timeline of The Game and The Pre Game which are split throughout the book but in a clear distinct way that is easy to follow.

Five complete strangers from around the globe are thrown together to 'play' a game, all racing to save the one they love but there is only one winner! The rules aren't clear, they don't even know what the game entails or why they have been chosen but to save their loved ones, do they have a choice?

Not only are they racing against the clock, challenges are horrendous and dark with no end in sight.

We don't get to know the players intricately but what we do find out is more than enough and makes you relate to what they are fighting for and makes you care for the ones they might lose.

The way that the author so expertly weaves the two parts together was masterful. The twists and turns actually shocked me and the ending was nothing other but perfectly constructed.

It's fast paced, menacing, dark and full of intrigue and mystery - everything you need, want and more.

This is one of those books that makes you want to go to bed early just so you can pick it up again! I can easily see this as a TV series or movie, it would make one hell of a blockbuster!

I can't believe this is the writers debut novel, I cannot recommend it highly enough and now wait in anticipation to see what he throws at us next.

The biggest thanks to netgalley and HQ for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and was no let down by the promise, I was surprised and shocked and could never have guessed the many twists and turns. Brilliant 5 stars xx

Five strangers receive a text message:

"The person you love most is in danger. If you lose your loved one will die. Welcome to The Game."

There can only be one winner.

If this premise doesn't grab you, I don't know what will.

Wow, what a fun and page-turning thriller. The format of this book reminds me a lot of John Marrs', The One. The chapters are short and alternate between the five characters. So naturally, I read it within a day.

When you've read a lot of thrillers in your lifetime, you end up becoming less and less impressed by the reveals. By now I should be an expert at guessing, but I've maybe figured it out only once or twice before. Whilst the reveals in The Game weren't perfect, they were still engaging and had some semblance of believability.

If you love the whole game/competition trope, this one is definitely for you.

Five strangers across the world must play the Game to survive...

This was an enjoyable enough read. It was a chilling, Terrifying, over the top thriller. A fast paced page turner with good characters full of action and suspense. However it was a bit too violent and chilling for me at times. It definitely would make a great film more so than a book in my opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HQ for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

This review is going to be in two parts. The first one without spoilers, the second one with spoilers.

I wish I could give two different ratings, in this part I give 4 stars because the book was intense and kept me reading it, full of suspense and action. I really liked the characters and the fast pace. I could not wait to see how it was going to end.

This part contains SPOILERS:



This is where I would like to give only 2 stars to the book.

I'm really glad that Noah survived, but I don't get what he did to get in the game, sold the drugs to the party? How on earth did Linda know it was him??
Another thing, good God, bury the gay much? Brett was not my favourite character, but the only one gay and black and he dies? That could have been different and not full of cliches.
Also, almost all of the women were sexually or emotionally assaulted, thanks so much for another cliche, it shows the book was written by a man.

Welcome to The Game.

They don't know the rules yet, where it came from or what exactly is even is. But they're going to play anyway, and they're going to do whatever it takes to win - because if they don't win, the people they love is going to die a horrible death.

For the five complete strangers dotted around the world, The Game begins when a terrifying text arrives from an unknown number. Now time is running out for them, and there's only two options - play the game, or lose.

The Game is a practically a Hollywood blockbuster on paper - it's bloody, violence and explosive in a wonderfully over-the-top way that will keep the pages turning until they run out. Despite the madness, I still found time to worry about our poor players and the people they were fighting to protect even if we didn't get to know them too well.

Menacing and horrifying dark, this fast-paced story is full of intrigue and mystery, with twists being thrown out all over the place every time you think you've pieced together the complex and convoluted clues left behind. There were a few loose ends that did feel unresolved and left a few holes in the story but most of the story had me waiting with bated breath.

A compellingly cinematic thriller that will chill any reader down to their bones and make them question just how far they'd be willing to go for the ones they love.

Five seeming strangers each receive a message on their phone telling them they must play the game or the person they love most in the world will be killed. So it is that Noah, Maggie, Brett, Linda and Sarah find themselves in a desolate hotel near Manchester. The twist? Only one of them can win and save their loved one.

This is an enjoyable enough read, although too violent for me at times. I found that I didn't really care what happened to the characters or their loved ones. Perhaps it was all too unlikely for me. There were so many things left unexplained, so many huge plot holes that I just couldn't suspend disbelief enough to buy into the story.

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! Can absolutely see this book being made into a film.

A great original storyline, the whole book pulled me in straight away and I couldn't put it down. Full of twists from start to finish, twists that I never saw coming!

This is one of the most original stories I've read for a while and a refreshing change. Apologies if I don't go into the plot, but what's the point! Just read it! You won't regret it.