The Game by Scott Kershaw #TheGame @MrScottKershaw @HQStories @Alliyabouyis #BookReview

 

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.

The Game by Scott Kershaw was published in hardback by HQ on 12 May last year. The paperback is published on 2 March 2023. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I don't think I will be the first person who had the voice of the character Jigsaw from the Saw movies in my head every time I looked at the front of this book. 'Wanna play a game?.....'

Just like the Saw movie franchise, this novel centres on a sick and twisted competition involving players who didn't sign up for this. Scott Kershaw has taken entirely different characters, from across the world and thrown them together in what becomes a compulsive, action packed thriller that I enjoyed very much. 

The reader is introduced to each player, one by one. We meet them as their part of the game begins and we don't really know much about them. The one thing that they have in common is that somebody that they love very much has disappeared, and they have instructions, via text message, what to do to save them. I must admit that I did find the initial introductions a little bit disjointed, especially as we know so little about each character, but as the story progresses, the reader learns more about each one of them, and it becomes much easier to follow. 

I can't say that I actually liked many of the players, all of them had their flaws and their weaknesses, but again, as we learn more about them, we do come to understand what they've been through in life. 

A race against the clock to the isolation of the Yorkshire Moors is done incredibly well, with one particular player having a particularly difficult journey. It can be difficult to read about Noah's time in transit, bringing home just what is happening to thousands of ordinary people across the world every day. 

Back to the Game though ...... no, I didn't guess what it was all about, and yes, I was incredibly shocked by the reveal at the end.  Getting to those chapters can be a violent ride at time, and there's blood and there's double crossing galore along the way. 

A gripping thriller, with an unusual premise and a cast of characters who are well crafted yet not always well behaved. Recommended by me. 

Scott Kershaw lives in Lincolnshire, in a Victorian cottage that was formerly ruled by mice. 

He likes the crackle of vinyl, the smell of paperbacks, the taste of a stiff drink and the view from a front row barrier. 

He’s getting too old and heavy for crowd-surfing, but that rarely stops him from trying. 

His first real love was cinema. 

His beagle, Darwin, is the one true king of dogs. 

The Game is his debut thriller. 

In September 2022, he appeared on a panel at Capital Crime in London.

Twitter @MrScottKershaw