THE GAME SCOTT KERSHAW *****
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.
MY REVIEW *****
Upon reading the blurb for The Game, it sounded exactly like my cup of tea and I was excited to get started! I am however, always slightly wary of starting books with high expectations.
I really needn’t have worried – The Game is a fantastic, fast-paced read and was exactly what I needed after a few previous low-star reads. Five players are chosen to compete in a deadly game where the person that they love is at risk if they fail. The chapters alternate between each of our five players – game designer Brett, drug dealer Noah, stay at home mum Sarah, ex-police officer Linda and recovering addict Maggie. This is quite a lot of POVs and I’ve seen this narrative technique fail before but each character was well defined with their own narrative voice, their stories were also all interesting and engaging and used well to push the plot along so I didn’t find myself wanting to skip anyone out. As the story progressed, other perspectives were introduced to give us hints to the greater picture including ‘Pre-game’ and some chapters from the perspectives of the captives. I felt that the captive chapters didn’t really add too much to the story though and could easily have been edited out.
The plot is well paced, and I found myself finishing the book in a few sittings rushing to find out what was going on. The reveal was a great idea although it did feel a little rushed – I still don’t understand what Noah’s connection to everything was. Brett also seemed to make an extreme personality transplant by the end of the story which I don’t think worked very well and made him out to just be violent and angry. Although some extreme content is to be expected from a book with this type of plot, there are some trigger warnings including miscarriage, death of animals and rape.
Overall, The Game is a fantastic and fast-paced read which had me up all night wanting to finish it. This is also Scott Kershaw's debut and I can't wait to read whatever he writes next! Thank you to NetGalley & HQ Stories for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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