Kill or be killed - the Host will pick the Players for a game and this will be their choice to make - no other outcome is possible. Karen Holt - a DI - enters the book when she is visiting her therapist after being suspended pending an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Because she is suspended she cannot work on this case but it very quickly gets to her. Can she really avoid getting involved and what will the outcome of that be?

The book follows Karen and her police partner, Howard, in their attempts to catch and stop the Host from playing future games. With Karen suspended this is not easy on a professional basis. Equally Karen's wife is not too happy about the risks either. There are twists and turns here and few things are easy. The town's citizens have growing concerns too.

From the start I found this a tense and edgy read. And it got darker as time went by! I'm not sure that the characters - Karen excepted - were the strongest part of this story. However they played their parts well enough for the tale. I guess the writing really made up for any other shortcomings there though for me. The start was promising and the more I read the harder it was to put this down. There was a feel of the early Arlidge/DI Grace books and I was drawn in completely. There was a growing sense of dread and discomfort about what was happening and what might happen. The ending... I guess it was a bit obvious in some senses but definitely not in others - certainly it wasn't bad.

I could argue that this is slightly cliched. There is a trouble cop who is suspended who is the key to solving these attacks. That is true and some may see it like that. However most crime stories have some elements in that rationally would not be easy to believe. This one actually works on more than one level as the underlying story is about people's morality. If anything that made this tale even more disconcerting for me. In the end though I simply found this a well paced, tense and troubling read - very good indeed and my 4.5/5 is happily rounded up.

This was a very fast paced cat and mouse game of kill or be killed. I loved it. The characters were all very real and I had to keep reading to see what would happen next.

A great read and I will certainly look out for more books by Darren O"Sullivan

I would like to thank. NetGalley and HQStories for my ARC for which I have given my unbiased review

The Players an utterly dark and twisted but compelling read which has you frantically turning the pages as you just have to know what happens next. A complete page turner that you won't put down until you've turned the last page.

An absolutely brilliant read that is fast paced and well written. I’ve read all of Darren’s books and think this is the best so far. A real moral tester this one asks whether you would be prepared to kill or be killed, whether a stranger or a loved one, even if you are the mildest person there is.

The characters are great, especially DI Karen Holt who I hope we see again in the future. There are some really nice touches in the book, and I especially enjoyed the social media forum group discussions. There are a few twists and surprises in the story too which are refreshing as I found they weren’t too obvious. Living close to where the book is based seemed to add an extra bit of excitement for me but obviously matters not to the enjoyment of the book.

This is a dark story that really did have me engrossed and page turning to find out what happened next and ultimately how the finale played out.

An excellent read which I thoroughly recommend and thank NetGalley foe an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review. Im a huge fan of Darren’s books so was excited to read.

What a fantastic book that is guaranteed to not only have you racing through but also have your thoughts whirring.

As a psychology student im fascinated by human behaviour and Darren has expertly explored this in the premise and concept of his storyline.

Why do good people do bad things. Nature v nurture?

What makes people tick?

This book excited me and i highly reccomend. Unpredictable, clever ,twisty and menacing . Thought provoking and addictive.

Published 21st January and i wish him every success .

Love, love LOVED this sick, twisted, heart-in-your-mouth thriller!! This could definitely be made into an episode of Luther! Thought provoking, a little bit different and actually made me want to sob at the heartbreak ☹️ Loved Karen and Sam, loved that nobody was safe. I’ll definitely be reading more from Darren O’Sullivan!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc to read. (Many corrections time be made from this copy!)

This is my third Darren O’Sullivan book and I genuinely think they keep getting better and better. This one is perfectly thrilling and full of suspense.

Kill or be killed? What choice would you make?

An absolutely fantastic book that certainly will not disappoint! Darren O’Sullivan brings us a very dark cat and mouse chase between DI Karen Holt and The Host of the “games“. At one point my partner actually asked me if I was ok - I think I may have looked shocked. Had me gripped and needing to know who the Host was and how people would react when it was their turn to play.

I loved the police/detective element of the book and adored DI Karen Holt I hope she makes a reappearance in further books. This brought out many emotions - shock, admiration, sadness, hope amongst others.

Quickly has become one of my top reads of the year and there has been quite a few!

I absolutely loved this fast-faced and compelling thriller! This was my first Darren O’Sullivan book and would love to read more.

The book starts off with several experiments to see what motivates human behaviour and their moral compass. When ‘the host’ finds the perfect answer, he designs a game that nobody can win. Once he has chosen his next players, they are given a choice. Its kill or be killed.

The Host wants to prove the hypothesis that there is no such thing as inherent human goodness and that in some circumstance’s humans are capable of crossing the thin line between good and evil. He does this by videoing each game and posting it online for everyone to see and threats that anyone can be the next player, that there is no way of catching him and that he is watching you. It’s a race against time to try and stop the host initiating new players and you just hope that the detectives manage to work it out.

The book follows the perspectives of the host, and two detectives who are following the case with interruptions of news broadcasts after each murder and a discussion in the local Facebook group. I really liked reading the Facebook discussions and people debating about whether they would be able to kill in that situation or not and whether they thought the surviving player after each game was innocent.

Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. It was exciting and intense from start to finish and I was shocked multiple times. Because you know there is only 24 hours between each game, it builds a lot of suspense making it a complete page turner and when each game starts you wonder what the outcome is going to be. I liked the twists and turns and several of the games were horrific, shocking and heart breaking at the same time.

What a great book! I flew through the pages, eager to find out The Host’s identity. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author, it won’t be the last. So many books lately have a storyline of ‘missing child’ or ‘husband/wife with a secret’ and this book has neither of those, it has a unique story with likeable characters. Totally recommend it!

A fast paced, absorbing and very clever read but I so wish the while making senior, investigating officers victims phase of writing would pass.

Whooooooa!! I have literally just finished this and my heart is still racing and the adrenaline is pumping!! This book is fabulous!!

I love Darren’s books but wow, he has definitely raised the bar with The Players and his writing has been taken to a whole new level.

This book is dark, very dark and I was instantly hooked upon starting this. It’s a proper cat and mouse read between The Host and DI Holt along with the police force as The Games unfold.

There’s a big shock that totally took me by surprise and knocked me sideways leaving me feeling bewildered, and actually stunned, so much so that I actually couldn’t believe what I was reading. I very nearly messaged Darren to just simply ask...”What the hell??” 😳

The tension as the book comes to its climax, and as the clock is ticking down on the last game went through the roof!! At one point I was physically shaking with anticipation as to how it was going to end! Brilliant, just brilliant!

Thank you so much Darren for this brilliant read! You do “dark” brilliantly!

spoiler alert ** Decent enough thriller,that has you really thinking about what you would do to save those you love.
Also very valid point at the end,that on social media,we can be anyone we want to be.
Some of the book felt a bit too familiar to me,troubled cop,breaks the rules,faithful sidekick,long suffering spouse...BUT they're the only one who can solve the crime.
Nice unexpected ending at least.
Enjoyable, I'd want to read more by same author.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a high-concept thriller ‘The Player’ really ticks all the boxes. The story is fast moving, compelling and very addictive. So, as you turn the pages don’t be surprised if you find your heart racing and your blood pressure spiking - this book is pure adrenaline. The concept will hook you from the get-go. Our killer, ‘The Host’, needs ‘Players’ for his game. Unfortunately for our players, they don’t have much choice in the matter of participation in the game. It is kill or be killed in a test that seeks to reinforce our killer’s hypothesis that there is no such a thing as inherent human goodness. Given the right circumstances we are all capable of crossing some arbitrary moral line which separates good from evil. Cue a race against time to stop a depraved psychopath from initiating more players into his sick game. Of course, before that happens there is plenty of blood, gore and suspense to keep even the most hard core thriller reader more than happy. I certainly relished the turning of each page. Our esteemed author certainly has a sick imagination - and I mean that in the nicest possible way. A great read.

If I had to write a review with one word
it would be phenomenal! But, this book’s review deserves so many more!

I knew I’d love this book immediately after reading the blurb. ‘Kill, or be killed’ books always draw me in from the start. They remind me of the Saw movies which have a touch of sadistic themes and fight or flight responses running through them.

The concept was excellent. Putting fear into the public and questioning their own moral judgement; What would you do in this situation?

I was pleasantly surprised how great this book was regardless that I’ve loved the authors previous novels. I’d definitely say this one is superior to Darren O’Sullivans previous books and I’m loving seeing the author progress with each new one he brings out adding a new element of fear and to his writing along with a touch of crime which is evident in The Players.

I hope O’Sullivan takes this course as part of his author career as I loved the police procedure element of this novel. I’d love to see DI Karen Holt’s return in future books.

Overall a top notch crime thriller with a touch of resemblance of the Chris Carter and Angela Marsons crime thriller series running through it.

This has leapt to my top read of the year so far!

I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it during one lazy day; it was an interesting concept and very well executed revealing various background details bit by bit and it kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole read.

One minor criticism is that when the “Host” was revealed I was a tad surprised and at the same time underwhelmed.

I've read this thanks to netgalley, although the watermark in every page was a bit distracting.
Now, about the book, good god, this was intense and not an easy read, full of violence but also love. I really liked it, it was riveting, the story was compelling and got me thinking about what are we capable of doing because of fear.
It's going to be with me for a long time, good job.
Also, having a lesbian detective was a breath of fresh air, usually we only have straight detectives in this type of books.

#ThePlayers #NetGalley
A good read.
Darren O Sullivan is getting better and better and with this one he's become one of the kings of psychological thrillers.
The story is about a game which you have to play correctly. I'm The Host, you're The Player. You have to play the game and in this game maybe no one is going to win.
I loved the characters and narration of the story. It's dialogues were superb and scenes are written meticulously.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

I loved it. It was my third book by this author and I'm looking forward for his next one. It was a good concept. Although I figured out the ending but I quite enjoyed it.