I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Game but that has in no way influenced my review.

I have to admit that when I saw the tagline of this book, before I'd even read the blurb, I knew it was a book I needed in my life. And when I say 'needed' what I actually meant was NEEDED in big, shouty capitals. There was not a squeak of a chance that I would let this novel pass me by. And I'm so glad I became hooked so early on because it's an absolute corker of a novel, a non-stop thrill ride for the reader.

Five strangers across the globe receive a text message from an unknown number. Play the game or your loved one dies. There can only be one winner. The rules are simple. Five lives are immediately turned upside down. They know in their heart of hearts that they will do whatever it takes to win. The clock is ticking. The game has begun...

The Game is a gripping, propulsive thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the concept from the get-go. I loved the way the story is set out so you meet each 'player' one by one, get to know what makes them tick, before they're thrust into the worst situation of their life. And I loved how engrossingly urgent the novel is. It's such an accomplished, high concept story that I was able to lose myself within the pages of the book with ease. It was a thrill to read.

The author gives enough of each character's backstory to get a good feel for them and their motivations but not too much to slow the story down. All five characters are clearly defined and very different, which I appreciated. Once we've met the 'players' we get to hear from each of them, sharing in their terror at the situation they've found themselves in. There are also sections in the book labelled 'Pre Game' which I found very intriguing. I couldn't work out how the 'Pre Game' sections linked to the main story. But it all becomes crystal clear in the end, uncomfortably so. The reveal towards the end of the book, for me, was completely unexpected. I was both shocked and stunned to discover what had been going on all this time. It's incredibly well written.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Game is a high energy, non-stop, modern day thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. The concept, coupled with the engrossing writing, made for a compelling read. I had to find out who was pulling the strings here. I had to discover if there was something which linked these five complete strangers to each other. Full of menace, overflowing with tension and a growing sense of unease throughout. A very readable, very rewarding thrill ride which I recommend.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Game. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

5 strangers around the world discover that the person they love the most has been taken from them, then they receive a text message with a set of instructions and The Game has begun.

This book follows the stories of the 5 'players' in their race to save their loved ones by winning The Game. The story flits between past and present events without confusion and the reader can gradually piece the story together.

The story was OK and I did enjoy it, although it certainly stretches the boundaries of reality. I think the bit I liked most was the final 'post game' chapter. It was interesting to catch up with the characters and listen to their reflections on the book's events. It talks about how everything we do has a knock on effect and shares some fascinating thoughts on justice and retribution.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

"The Game" by Scott Kershaw could easily be bundled into the "Squid Games" category were it not for it's outcome and motives behind playing The Game. The way the story is formatted is excellent - you see each character being allocated a player number so it is easy to keep tabs on them and it is only when they meet that you wonder why they haven't tried to find out why they have been selected to play together, what commonalities do they have? Good thriller!

It took a while for me to get into the book which is why it is 4 stars instead 5. But once I did I really enjoyed the book.

Oh wow what a book.
I’ve just finished it in 2 days. I literally couldn’t put it down.
Fantastic from the beginning I enjoyed getting to know the characters and finding out their stories.
The book kept me thinking all the way to the end.
The ending was fantastic and not what I expected at all.
This book was my choice to get me out of a reading slump and I’m so glad I picked this one!!

I found this hard to get into at the beginning, too many characters to remember, but then it started to gel with me and I quite enjoyed it. I had no idea who, or why ‘dunnit’, which kept me glued to the pages. Interesting concept and certainly food for thought.

Very interesting book , totally different type of book from the usual thriller I read. I loved the start and couldn’t wait to hear what the players had in common. I got slightly bored in the middle , as I didn’t gel with the characters . When they finally got together the book started to get interesting again . Very much enjoyed this book , just looses a star for me with the uninteresting characters. Would definitely recommend though

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.

A story told from 5 people which I found a bit confusing. It was a book that I needed to finish to find out how everything ended but at places I felt it dragged too much. Having said that the twist at the end was so unexpected and it tied everything up neatly.
The characters were well described and the scenery and situations felt real. A good debut novel.

A race against time for players to save there loved ones. There are a few plot holes and you might need to expand your imagination in parts but the story was fast paced and thought provoking, I surprised myself and really enjoyed it

Five strangers are brought together after receiving a horrifying message from an unknown number that the person they love most has been taken from them. To save them, they must play The Game. If they lose or refuse to play, their loved one will die.

This book had such an excellent premise, and it started off really strong. The intrigue levels were through the roof for the first quarter or so, then did unfortunately peter out a bit in the second half. However it did manage to pull things back towards then end and had a very strong finish.

The Game is exciting, thrilling and very, very dark. It does contain aspects of sexual abuse and exploitation and is quite graphically violent in parts, so not one for the faint-hearted. That being said, the unpleasant aspects were all entirely relevant to the story and not gratuitous or unbearable to get through.

The only area that I didn’t think was executed perfectly was that the narration is told in chapters alternating between the five players of the game, and five separate narratives is quite ambitious. Fortunately, it became easier to follow and to distinguish who was who once the characters had been bought together to the directed location and the game began in earnest.

This was an enjoyable mystery thriller. Excellent initial set-up and I enjoyed the various first person POV's from the various characters throughout. The prose really set up the feverish pace of the book and the rising anxiety of each character.
Ending seemed a bit rushed in comparison to the amount of detail that was given in the first two-thirds of the book.
The finale was lacklustre and didn't have the 'pizzazz' of reveal that I was expecting. Motive for the chosen five to play The Game was very much washed over and more detail could have been given on this to match the tone and pace of the rest of the book.
Generally, a good and easy read. Very atmospheric and excellent character building. Ending has let it down as no where near as good as what had been anticipated from the rest of the book.

The Game is the type of thriller that sits with you long after you have finished reading it. It is incredibly thought-provoking and ethically dubious.

Kershaw’s pacing, plotting and ability to just unleash chaos is wonderful to witness, as you puzzle through this thought-provoking and ethically dubious thriller around revenge, justice and the consequences of our actions finally catching up with us. Of course, this only works if you care about your cast of characters. I loved how many different narrative voices we got, which really complicated the plot and made you realise tiny details evolving amongst them all. It adds to the scale of events and that sheer freefall feeling of everything collapsing around them. Through their perspectives, you get the sense of their three-dimensional and complex interior lives. They feel like fleshed out people and that is precisely how Kershaw makes you emotionally complicit. The subject matter is highly charged from the start, which makes some later reveals that much more devastating.

Right from that opening, Kershaw does not let you stop. The writing is so gripping and engaging that you do not want to tear yourself away. This is a book that constantly makes you evaluate your morals and how far you would go in order to seek justice. Kershaw’s pacing is relentless, making this an adrenaline fuelled, highly binegable read. Every page is like walking a tightrope, with the tension building even more. I loved how clear the motivations for actions were and the overall reveal behind it all is genuinely jaw-dropping. It is the type of reveal that makes you take a sharp breath and re-evaluate everything you thought you knew. For me, it was a gut-wrenching and unfortunately timely call out to despicable behaviours and cultures that seem impervious to justice.

The Game was a brutal, bloody and brilliant book that I ripped through in one sitting. This is such an incredibly strong debut and I'm keen to see what Kershaw does next.

The description of this book really drew me in and it started very strongly, but I’m afraid I felt the middle section left me cold and the ending felt both rushed and incomplete as it didn’t explain why 1 of the main players was even included in the game. I was a bit disappointed to be honest as there wasn’t much about the game itself just the lead up to them meeting. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to the novel.

The Game started out great. It’s told from the POV of 5 characters and as with any multi-POV story there will always be arc’s that you, as the reader, don’t click with. This was the case with this book. At least 2 of the 5 really had me engaged!

The end of the book packed a punch and the twist was great. What let the book down was the bit in between. The pace of the central developments was quite slow and at points I was confused about how the characters got to their destination.

The timeline jumps about a bit too which disrupted the flow of the main events.

Great debut, just something missing for me.

With their loved ones at stake, five random people are forced to play a game that no one want to loose. This book was like a modern version And Then There Were None, in more ways than one.

It was a gripping read, but the balance was a little off even though the pace never dragged. There was plenty of set up but the resolution and ending came really quickly. There could have been a little bit more of "the game" if anything. Otherwise, a thrilling journey where everything came together for an ending that was a surprise.

Ordinary people in extraordinary situations make for compelling thriller plots and Scott Kershaw uses this as the basis for a brilliant debut novel. Told from the perspectives of players one through five, with occasional insights into what is happening to the ones they love, the book manages to keep you guessing about who or what to trust.

I’m not entirely sure the ending paid off for the build up, but I really enjoyed the journey getting there. A fast-paced thriller that’s well worth a read.

THE GAME

WOW !! Thanks #Netgalley and #HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this before it’s publication on 12th May 2022. In exchange for my honest review.

I felt so lucky to be given an E-arc copy of #TheGame A debut novel ? You’d never believe it. This novel was so well executed and pulled me in from the start and this need to continue didn’t waver once.

Scott Kershaw really has set the bar so high I’m not sure even he can better it.

If your going to read just one book this year, and into fast paced mystery thrillers, it has to be this one.

The full five stars from me for this debut unputdownable novel.

It’s hard to believe this is Scott’s debut book, it is so accomplished, I can’t wait to see how he develops as a writer.

There is definitely a sense of “Squid Game” and “Saw” about it which means I think it’ll be rather successful - as a species we seem to enjoy and be fascinated by the idea of death and murder and risk and what we are willing to do to escape and save the ones we love.

Whilst not particularly fast paced, it is exhilarating in its simplicity, in its tentativeness. Nothing is a mistake, everything cleverly placed to add tension and keep you on the ride.

The stories of the different ‘players’ are all handled perfectly. They are all well rounded and individual, not overlapping until about half way through so you get time to invest in each one.

For me this is more a psychological thriller as opposed to a blood and guts horror; it really plays with your mind from the beginning to the end, before culminating in a shock of a finale.

My only slight complaint is that it very quickly goes from a tense, sort of journey, to action and resolution. I think I would have liked it to be a bit gradual rather than suddenly coming to an end, but that’s my personal preference.

Five people round the world have been told to play a game where there will be only one winner. This took me a little while to get into as each chapter set up the characters. It’s dark and twisty but lacked something for me.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.