The Dark Game is similar to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Combining psychological horror with supernatural horror, it is hard not to be drawn into the story. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy And Then There Were None inspired novels.

Thank you Flame Tree Press for my advanced copy of this lovely horror novel by Jonathan Janz.
Let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire ride of this book. My only issue with it was the amount of authors in the contest was hard to keep up with. But honestly, it wasn't so confusing that it hurt the story at all.
My favorite parts of the story included the letters/journal entries written by some of the authors during their stay. I loved the section about the preacher and his wife. And also Will's horrible deeds. Very very dark and I wanted more of their stories!
The humor in this book makes me feel like right at home.
Also, I have to say, the ending was a cherry on top of this beautiful cresendo. I LOVED how it ended!
I want to read more of his books, and I hope to do so very soon. I am most certainly now a huge fan of Mr. Janz work. Horror at its finest!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press and the author, Jonathan Janz for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Dark Game in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
What a gripping read. I love this authors style of writing. The storylines are imaginative and gripping as well as being unpredictable.
This story was well written. I was hooked from the get-go. Definitely worth staying up into the early hours to finish.

10 aspiring writers are invited to a writing retreat at the remote mansion of reclusive author and literary giant Roderick Wells, an invitation that will transform one of them into a bestselling author in their own right.
But this bargain turns out to be more Faustian than benevolent......and failing to impress the great Roderick Wells carries a price far darker than any of them can imagine.

Janz spins a nasty little tale of psychological and supernatural horror, with touches of BURNT OFFERINGS that makes one wonder what he has agreed to on his path to becoming one of the powerhouses of contemporary horror.
Someone really needs to keep an eye on this man.

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Highly recommended.

4.5 stars.

THE DARK GAME, by Jonathan Janz, is a novel that takes ten struggling writers--each aspiring to be the next to land a bestseller--on what they think is their chance of a lifetime. Each of them will meet and stay for a time with the extraordinarily successful, yet eccentric, Roderic Wells. The last time Wells extended an invitation to a group of authors, one of them became successful beyond her wildest dreams!

The catch? Only one of them can win the prize money and contract.

"MR. RODERICK WELLS requests the honor of your presence at his estate on May 26th for a six-week writing retreat . . . "

The concept of an author writing about writers going on a "writing retreat" isn't a new one, but Janz is able to take virtually any idea and turn it into something captivating and completely his own.

". . . Everything begins with horror."

The atmosphere is set right from the start. The dynamics between each "contestant" has been carefully studied and applied to make their arrival as unsettling as possible. They are not there to forge friendships, but rather set out to one-up arch other in every manner possible. This tactic serves to help keep them mentally isolated as much as possible--even as they are physically separated from the rest of the world by the infinite expanse of Well's hidden, foreboding estate.

". . . Well's mansion looked like every ghost story he'd ever read . . . "

Even beginning with this rather large cast of characters, I felt that Janz did a good job in giving them some distinguishing traits and characteristics. Admittedly, there were a couple that were merely "throw-away" characters, in my opinion, but even those had a backstory we were privy to, and completely necessary to further the plot.

"Just what the hell did happen to the other nine writers in the first contest?"

One thing I especially loved was how TRUE so many of the statements in this novel were. Things that were simply stated, could often be so profoundly accurate.

". . . stories have incredible power. They can teach. They can transport . . . Some stories can kill."

While being introduced little by little to the . . . differences . . . in Well's homestead, we get a chance to know the majority of the characters very well. These individuals--like so many of my favorites in literature--are all flawed. This serves to make them even more realistic to the reader. Their fears, their desires, their shortcomings . . . these are all things that some of us will be able to sympathize and identify with. While we are learning the inner feelings of the contestants and others on this estate, another, larger part of the novel is moving inexorably forward.

". . . There was no doubt Well's estate was . . . different. Mysterious things happened here, things he had trouble explaining . . . "

Another enjoyable feature here that may be noted by those that have read some of Janz' other novels, is some "internal referencing" to his works that the contestants
". . . No one is more honest than the storyteller . . . They have the ability to create life . . . Or to bring death."

Overall, I feel that Janz is growing stronger as an author with each new book he produces. He's able to layer an idea with complex characters, multiple, intersecting storylines, and yet in such a way that serves to pull the reader into the worlds he creates--almost making them feel a "part" of the tale. In THE DARK GAME Janz showcases this ability to virtually bring his characters to life, endowing them with full pasts, and future goals. They all have regrets from earlier mistakes which makes them easier to identify with as individuals. He can take what could be a magical, fairy tale setting and turn it into something twisted and malevolent with only a few words.

". . . a place of magic . . . But the magic was of the darkest, most demented sort . . . "

Janz is an author whose voice is now being heard above so many others. With his dramatic storylines and three-dimensional characters, his novels are among those that I will be seeking out in the future.

"Do you believe in monsters?"

Highly recommended.

*I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All ideas are uniquely my own.*

When a famous author sends invitations to ten contestants in a secluded writing competition that promises the winner untold fame and fortune how can they resisit. At an alarming rate many of the guests get the impression that things are not as kosher as first lead to believe. What happened to the other contestants? Why does the famous author seem to be getting younger as if he is tapping into the fountain of youth each evening? Will anyone make it out alive? This seemed a cross between the Twilight Zone or a Alfred Hitchcocks movie...very intense.

This book is a tribute to horror writers and horror stories, delightfully meta in its approach and even makes references to some of this author’s previous works.

The premise is a competition for authors, the winner having a powerful platform to publish their new work. This is a wonderful way for the author to explore the power of storytelling (always something I enjoy) and the power authors wield through their words.
The writing style is tense and compelling, which is something I now expect whenever I pick up a book written by Janz. This story spans between the present, the backstories of each character and also snippets of their writings, seamlessly pulling the reader into the story and bringing all of the characters to life. The characters are all very well developed and have their own distinctive personalities very early on, which is why I think this book is my favourite that I’ve read so far by this author, it’s going to take a lot to topple this from its pedestal!

As well as fast-paced, gory and psychologically horrifying, I found this story to be quite thought provoking. It considers a variety of ways that horror can be expressed, from violence, mental abuse, gore, paranormal forces – so the horror begins building from the very beginning and growing right up until what I found to be a very satisfying conclusion.

That synopsis had me instantly intrigued and from the first pages I was hooked! While there were certainly a lot of characters to keep up with, the story itself reminded me of a cross between The Haunting of Hill House and Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Haunted’ – which I LOVED.

While the excitement and intrigue continued to build from page to page, the number of characters did eventually become a bit of a problem. While they were all so different and well fleshed out, and I was SO into their individual stories, I found myself having to go back and remind myself which story belonged to whom (which is a giant pain on a kindle, btw). It was actually a bit of a relief when they started to die off.

Let’s talk about those individual stories though! Janz had these authors facing so much at once. Creating and bringing their own villains to life (such a cool concept and I was living for the excerpts of each character’s story), hiding their secrets and having to keep up certain facades around other guests, battling inner demons and then discovering shared horrors. All this while pit against each other! The intertwining of these things gives the reader the perfect amount of suspense, tension and spookiness. This book had me questioning what was real and what was simply being written by the characters, who could be trusted and what the actual hell was going on with Roderick and his staff, all while on the edge of my seat!

Janz does not shy away from gore but it is not overdone, his nods to other authors and books throughout were great little touches and the ‘Beauty and the Beast meets your worst nightmare’ vibes were just fantastic!

This was my first Janz read and I absolutely cannot wait to read more! Published April 11th so go get your hands on a copy.

When 10 authors are invited to a writing retreat/contest at reclusive writer Roderick Wells's secluded estate, they can't believe their luck at getting the chance to be mentored by a literary genius. Not to mention, one winner chosen by Wells will get $3 million and a publishing contract. But the writers soon come to realize maybe they weren't so lucky after all when they start disappearing one by one.

I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Janz and his latest book, The Dark Game, did not disappoint. I love books about writers, especially when those books contain excepts from the characters' works in progress. Several chapters in The Dark Game are excerpts from the novels the writers in the book are working on at the retreat. I especially liked how one of the characters was writing a book called The Siren and the Specter, which is another Janz novel.

Even though there are a lot of characters in the book, I found it easy to tell each of them apart because they were all well-developed and each writer had a distinct voice and writing style. I also really enjoyed the slow reveal of each character's dark past.

The setting—an old mansion in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by spooky woods—was made even creepier by the fact that the writers had to wear blindfolds while they were chauffeured there, so they had no clue where they were. There are lots of scenes with the characters exploring the mysterious grounds that add to the eerie mood.

If you're a horror fan and you haven't read Jonathan Janz yet, you should definitely check out his work. The Dark Game is a creepy and fast-paced read with excellent characterization. I also highly recommend Janz's other novels, Children of the Dark, The Sorrows, and The Siren and the Specter.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Dark Game tells the story of 10 writers, in different stages of their careers, that join a competition held by a well-known author. The winner gets a full book deal, three million dollars and a bunch of other appealing stuff. However, from the start, no one understands precisely what the rules are. Because there are no rules and one of them have to be the last one standing.

From the very first line, you are immediately dropped into the action. It starts with the contestants arriving at this isolated mansion where the competition is held. There are immediate discussions, fights and you know something is going to go wrong. There’s no questioning that.

Sometimes, this book even feels like a thriller. There’s always something going on, there’s a new mystery at the turn of every page. Be it the backstory of a particular character or a weird light that appears out of nowhere, the story never stops surprising you.

The pacing is so masterfully done that you can pinpoint the moment the author wants you to understand there’s something weird going on. And, generally, the answer won’t take long to come. It’s not one of those books where everything is revealed at the end. It’s more like you’re getting small crumbs that compose the story at the exact time you need it to not lose interest.

However, beware that a lot of the mysteries will be left unsolved. There’s a dash of urban fantasy that is never fully explained but, personally, I don’t mind it. I would like to have some answers to the whole setting around the mansion and Roderick Wells, but I’d rather get a prequel of the previous challenge (because yes, not the first time it happens) than have it quickly explained in this book.

What surprised me the most was Jonathan’s ability to deliver this ensemble cast story while giving you a grasp of every character. You follow around 10 characters, with switching POVs throughout the story, and at first, it is hard to follow. I kept messing up some of the names, and I wasn’t sure who had interacted with who already. But then, once you start to get the backstory, all of the contestants have such distinctive voices that it speaks volumes about Jonathan’s writing ability.

I wouldn’t mind if the ending went a little bit darker. I saw it coming almost from the start, and I was definitely pleased with it. Although I know this is unpopular, I sometimes like messy, dark ending as well.

Honestly, when I realized I would be following all 10 contestants at some point of the story, I was scared. I’m a character-driven reader, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to care about all of them, especially in a horror setting. And it’s not like I cared about what happened to most of them, but I feel like I knew them, for better or for worse.

The horror in this book is all about facing your demons (AH, look at that The 100 reference), be it your past or the ones you create. Which, in truth, is a fantastic premise to allow the readers to know your characters fully. And, oh boy, do these writers have a lot of sins on their hands.

I won’t get too deep into each character. I don’t feel like there’s a need for that and I’d rather have you if you decide to read it, uncover them by yourself. What I will say is that Lucy is a quiet fighter, Rick is a hero, Will is an unsung hero, Sherilyn is a badass, Elaine and Marek are okay, Anna is the worst kind of bitch, Tommy is disgusting, Evan is even more disgusting, Bryan is a brunt and Wells is larger than life.

This is one of those books I can easily see adapted to the big screen, and I would be front row. It’s addicting, and it lives on its characters.

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on 4/11/2019.]

"I learned that stories have incredible power. They can teach. They can transport. But they can also bring misery. They can enslave. Some stories can kill."

Friends, I have been itching for a new release from Janz since being wowed by The Siren and the Specter last year. I've been reading his backlist voraciously and I was so happy to be offered an eARC of this title. I was not disappointed: The Dark Game is deliciously macabre and unputdownable; while I struggled with the multiple perspectives at first, I settled into the narrative and was fully engrossed!

"Wells's mansion looked like every ghost story he'd ever read. And as they drew closer, Rick couldn't shake the feeling he was about to become part of one."

One of my favorite writing devices is when the ending is set up or heavily alluded to at the beginning of the book. I love the sense of foreboding behind every chapter as I try to piece together what is happening, and as a person that adamantly avoids spoilers like a cat avoids water this is one of the greatest mysteries of my psyche. From the beginning of the book we know that The Dark Game is to pit the authors against one another as they fight for their lives. The deaths aren't a surprise, we are just left wondering who will be first. The journey is following the characters as they notice all the weird things happening and trying to figure it out... and will they make it out alive?

"Get out while you still can."

The opening of the book felt very And Then There Were None and Clue inspired to me, with everyone making their way to a mansion after a mysterious invitation and an absent host. I almost expected Mr. Body to show up!

I just have to say that I would have definitely noped out of this whole thing when the driver said that I needed to be blindfolded! But I like that Janz calls this out in the first pages:

"It occurred to her she hadn't even asked the driver for identification. No one knew she was here, and she wasn't allowed a phone. She chewed a thumbnail, a hundred horror movies flashing through her head. Why was it always a women who got hacked to pieces?"

While Janz definitely writes this one with a male character set as the hero, I like the subversion of the typical horror trope here and that the women he writes aren't completely helpless.

We all know that I personally struggle with multiple points of view, and so it shouldn't come as a shock that it took some time for me to settle into the story (primarily until a few POVs died). This is very much a me thing, and the multiple narrative voices makes sense given the And Then There Were None setup. If Roderick Wells has his way, only one of the writers will survive and getting to know each of the characters (and their deepest secrets) really added to the horror for me in the back half of the book. My struggle with the many perspectives was well worth it as writers began dropping like flies, which is similar to my experience reading The Sorrows (interestingly enough, if you've read a number of Janz's other works you'll find some Easter eggs: Shadeland, Siren and the Specter, needing to go away to find inspiration, etc. It's like reading Vonnegut and I dig it.).

"This place... this place... is a wonderland of hideous beauty. Of dreadful passion. The water that flows on this property is laced with the elixir of madness, the trees nourished by the blood of the damned."

There is something almost comforting about Janz's writing style, which is a weird thing to say about a horror author but it's true. It's fast-paced and intricately plotted, but he doesn't forget about building his characters in all the gore. And while this is a horror novel, it is also one about the fears and struggles of being a writer. The critique process, competitiveness, and the publishing industry. I really appreciated seeing a glimpse into how the characters thought about developing their stories and characters.

Overall this is another amazing read from Janz! I found the beginning to be a little slower and denser to read as a result of having so many characters to keep track of and struggled with the multiple points of view, but as people die and the action picked up I was completely engrossed. Janz knows how to craft a horrific tale and this is yet another must-read for fans of the horror genre. As with other books in this genre, this won't be a tale for everyone so please read my list of content warnings and exercise care when reading.

CONTENT WARNINGS: abuse, bullying, domestic abuse, fat shaming, gore, murder, pedophilia (referenced), rape, suicide, voyeurism

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for sending me an eARC via NetGalley for my honest review! Quotes are taken from an unfinished ARC and may not match final publication.

4.5/5.0 Stars

THE DARK GAME is the first book that I have read by Jonathan Janz, the narrative feels like a blending of one of my favorite Stephen King and Agatha Christie novels – love it!

Full review - post pending on www.kendallreviews.com

I've fell out with horror lately. I don't know why, but nothing I've read lately has gave me that buzz that horror used to deliver.

I received an ARC of The Dark Game, courtesy of Netgalley and it sat on my kindle, unread, for almost two months. I've loved everything else I've read by Janz , so when the official release date approached - I bit the bullet and gave horror another try...

This book is the dog's bollocks! (for non British people, this means really fu***** good)

I blasted through it on my day off, something I haven't done with a horror novel in a looong time.

I don't want to go over the plot as you can read the blurb. What I will say is that the pace, atmosphere and characterisation are all perfect. No mean feat , when you have so many characters with their own unique voices.

I'm back in love with horror!
But what the hell am I going to follow this up with?

ARC kindly provided by Flame Tree Press and Netgalley

So this is a brand spanking new book for Mr Janz, not a reprint but a fresh story. This is not as scary or as gruesome as his other stories I have read but there was something a bit more clever about it and more fresh. Plus I have to say straight of the bat I LOVED LOVED LOVED all the references to his previous works and other stories. I picked up the nods to The Siren and the Spectre before they were obvious and the Sorrows. I am sure there were more, I have a feeling the Nightmare girl was alluded to.

For a change, I was not grossed out and I wasn’t completely petrified under my cover reading this, I actually sat back and enjoyed the story of 10 writers off on a retreat to win some money and meet the mysterious Roderick Wells, a legend, who is going to help make it all happen. I mean what possibly could go wrong?

I mean I know that I was not on edge for a change but it does not mean that there were not a few game-changing scenes where I sat catching flies I mean, I did just read that didn’t I, plus when gore was needed it was there! One bit in particular….that ending! In the midst of the macabre the way the characters carried on was surprising to me, I mean they did just see what I read but you wouldn’t know, the crazy kids!

I love in the midst of the creative retreat, with the “writers” all trying to write the next big thing, channelling all the inspiration they can, whilst fighting their secrets. Secrets that haunt them, secrets that take a life of their own. Things really do go bump in the night and manifestations do really exist in this closed-off corner of the world. Who or what is causing this darkness?

Fear! That is the theme, not just with the writers on the retreat, are they good enough? Will they make it? But the fear of the unknown, where will this story takes us? What is lurking in the dark?

This is such a hard review to write because I can’t spoil anything for you. This is a dark dark thriller and it keeps you turning the pages with the short snappy chapters. You get insights to all the characters, you witness their secrets, some were just horrifying but everyone got a voice. You got everyone’s story as they all tried to prove why they deserve the prestige. It felt like you were in charge of this book because as the story unfolds I agreed with the way the events played out. Man, there is so much more I want to say!!

I love the Q&A’s at the beginning of each book as you get an insight to the author and the book, and when reading this, you could sense like Janz said, that Rick was so loosely based on him, especially with the Jack Ketchum reference. The Dark Game seems quite a personal ride for Janz and an insight into the fear of a writers journey.

As everyone knows I have a HUGE fan of Mr Janz and his storytelling. As much as this may not be knocking the Siren and the Spectre off the top spot, the magic that Janz weaves on the page still makes this an enjoyable read and one I struggled to put down. Each different take he has done on a known genre just wins for me. Janz has such a distinct voice, that I would be able to tell it was his book I was reading, even if the cover said something different. He sucks you in, leaving you on edge, completely engrossed in the world laid out in front of you, never quite letting you go even after the last page.

A good and interesting read. It kept me glued to the pages throughout. Even though the ending felt a little rushed, it was still a satisfying read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review. The Dark Game debuts April 11th.

This may have been a poor choice for a first book to read by Jonathan Janz. I didn’t know much about Janz, though the name vaguely rang a bell. (More on that later.) The premise is a bunch of writers competing for mentorship and future literary prestige at a spooky retreat. Normally I’m not huge on stories where the MC is an author; the characters always read cringy to me, like an over-the-top author-insert. But the whole writer competition thing sounded fun, so I decided to request the book.

Yet it turns out that ten writer MCs read more cringy to me than one writer MC, by a factor of about ten-fold. (Whodathunkit.) Again, this is totally a personal preference thing; I just can’t get past all the talk about agents and advances and genre dissing, since I’m forever trying to suss out Janz the author’s actual thoughts.

He narrowed his eyes, appraising her. “You look like a YA writer. Am I right?”

She considered telling him of her early success, transforming his arrogant expression into a look of awe.

Take the above quote, for example—what do you mean by that exactly, Jonathan Janz? You wanna throw down? Huh? Huh? 😀

But then. Then. We get to the above and beyond part. Because Janz inserts multiple mentions of one of his own novels into the book and talks up how great it is. Read that again. One of the writers on the retreat is writing one of Janz’s books, The Siren and the Specter, and keeps saying how it’s amazing. It’s bookception, with a marketing twist. As my husband put it, “Wow, that takes a lotta balls.”

This is when I realized why Janz’s name seemed so familiar to me; I have The Siren and the Specter on my (lengthy) Goodreads TBR. Honestly I have no idea if there are other Easter eggs in The Dark Game, but I wouldn’t be surprised. My overall sense is that this book might be great for diehard Janz fans as a sort of fan service book, but it left me kind of feeling like I was missing a bunch of inside jokes, while also being served some sneaky advertisements. I also had a difficult time connecting with the characters since there were just so damn many of them. Some had interesting back stories, but most felt fairly interchangeable, and it was hard to keep everyone straight. (Save for Sherilyn; really enjoyed her brief POV sections.)

So I’m not ruling out reading another book by this author, but suffice it to say that The Dark Game was unfortunately a miss for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Dark Game is a complex paranormal thriller that at times pays homage to classics like Stoker's Dracula and at others invents completely novel and unique characters. It is a feast of backstories, books within books, and whodunit themes. A wealthy author holds a secret contest for aspiring writers at his estate. The catch: nothing is as it seems. We encounter imaginary foes, real-life killers, and ruthless competitors. We read developing drafts of various stories interwoven into the main plot line. We get to know each contestant's dark past as it unfolds in the present.

Jonathan Janz shows great creativity and ambition in this novel. Sadly, the execution falls a bit flat. It was strenuous to follow the present plotline while sorting through the past side stories. It was difficult to remember who is who. But most importantly, it was too hard to care about any of the characters. This led to me slugging my way through the book as it dredged on. This should've been a suspenseful and fast-paced horror mystery but I was rarely scared or uncomfortable and I never felt my heart beat quicken. This book just felt perfectly average. It was a decent read. It just didn't have the little something extra that makes a novel super special or great.

Wow! What a story!! I found this story entertaining, original, and bloody...just the way I like them. The characters were great and I really enjoyed reading the stories within the story. Whoever would have thought about writing a story about a Siren with the Rappahannock River as the setting, lol? Keep 'em coming Mr. Janz.

I was really excited by the premise of ‘The Dark Game’ – horror mixed with my favourite subject – books! Ironically however, I found the writing to be a let down! My first problem was how predictable it all was – the reader and the characters can easily guess what is going on by chapter 3 and there is no big twist or reveal which deviates from that in any way throughout the book. I feel like the whole thing needed more setup – we needed the illusion of a normal, if slightly odd competition to start with which would have then added an element of tension, mystery and suspense as the book went forward.

There are also way too many characters – some of which are not developed at all. Trying to sort out 10 competitors, their backstories and the characters in their stories as well as Wells and his staff was confusing and difficult to do without writing it all down as you went. The fact that occasionally they were referred to by their surnames also didn’t help! Perhaps with a competition pool of 5 or 6 characters we would have gotten to know them a little more and their fates would have actually meant something to us as a reader. Wells himself was underdeveloped as well, we didn’t really get much of an introduction to him or the books he had written to make him a famous author so the references to his books near the end didn’t have half the impact it should have done.

The stories themselves were interesting but again felt underdeveloped, we only got a little hint of them in text form and then they were fully referenced to later on which made me feel like I’d missed a few chapters. I felt like we knew more about the characters backstories than the books they had written about. I did enjoy the backstories though and thought they were interesting and a nice way to bring the horror into the story.

My next problem was actually outlined as a bad writing technique a few times throughout the book -to quote: ‘This is titillation… you hoped the subject matter would conceal your lack of skill.’ It seems everything in the book links back to sex in some way and it actually makes for some really cringey scenes. I found myself crying with laughter at the phrase ‘he diddled himself expertly’ – not really what you want from a horror! Although sometimes it is needed for the story it is telling, I can’t help but feel that if most of the terrible sex references were edited down the words could be used to better tell the horror story most of the readers were expecting to read.

Overall The Dark Game is a missed potential, and it’s ironic that a story that features a competition on good writing could make so many writing mistakes. Thank you to NetGalley & Flame Tree Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a (very!) honest review.

The Dark Game had a really interesting premise. Struggling writers are invited to a sort of competition disguised as a retreat hosted by a prolific author, Roderick Wells. The last writer standing gets an invaluable amount help - deals with publishing houses, agents, and of course, the advice of Wells himself. Little do they know that they've been very carefully selected, not necessarily based on their talents as writers, but based on their past. On the secrets they might be hiding.

So we meet the writers. There are quite a few. In fact in the beginning, I had a hard time keeping track of them. After a few are "asked to leave" it became easier to remember who was who. Janz did a great job crafting these characters, their histories. They felt very well rounded.

Another thing I've come to love about Jonathan Janz's work is that his scenes with a lot of action and physical movement are so cinematic. It's like he choreographs his characters' movements or something. In my head, it's so easy to picture exactly what's going on.

This was fast paced and easy to get sucked into and fly through. I'd recommend it for those who don't shy away from dark, ambiguous characters - good people who might have done bad things.