What a fast paced thriller this was! The book was well written and each character very well developed. Scott Kershaw managed to have so many different players without the chapters being confusing or creating blurred lines. I really liked the short chapters too as they made this book a very quick read. I couldn't put it down.
I was on tender hooks the whole way through and as scary as it seems it doesn't seem implausible for the events in this book to be real, which I think adds to the darkness of the book.

I think this author will be one to watch.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ books for the opportunity to read and review.

Wow what a debut book, absolutely loved it, couldn’t put it down. Its really well written, two split timeline of the game and pre game. You get drawn into the story, and throughout. It’s on the edge of your seat reading as it’s race against time for the 5 players to save their loved ones, with a great twist at the end you don’t see coming. This is a fast paced, Menacing mystery. Definitely recommend and look forward to more books from this author.

I saved this book to read on holiday and it was a perfect holiday reading choice. A fast-paced thriller, with plenty of twists, it followed the story of five strangers who are forced to join in a deadly game in order to save the lives of the individual each one of them loves the most. There is also a flashback storyline to another “game”, played out on social media by a wannabe influencer. The five strangers appear to have little in common and their selection for the game at first appears to be random. However as the story progresses, new layers are revealed, leading to a surprise ending. A very impressive first novel by Scott Kershaw - would not be surprised to see this as a Netflix series at some point.

I was really looking forward to reading the Game but unfortunately even though other reviews are good I seem to be in the minority as I didn’t enjoy it, the idea is similar to others I have read and most importantly I can’t say I liked any of the characters and what happened to them, so I did jump to the end but even when the originator of the game was revealed I wasn’t that surprised, I think with some books they would work well as film or Tv & this is probably one & I’m sure with time Scott Kershaw will be a name to look out for.

This was intense gritty and full of twists. I love a thriller that keeps me guessing and this did not disappoint. I also really enjoyed the way this flipped between the different narrators of the people playing ‘The Game’ and how they were a mixture of different kinds of people with different backgrounds that were affecting the way they were responding to their situation.

Clever. Sharp. Wicked. Gritty.

The person you love most in the world has been taken, to save them you must play the game. Except, you don’t actually know what it is you have to do. Would you play?
I thought this was such an interesting premise of a story, and it lived up to my expectations. It was fast paced and twisty.
I’d have liked to have had more of an ‘after’ story, especially Sarah. I really hoped she’d stand up for herself more.

This one will have you asking questions from the start. How? Who? Why? What?!! A gripping thriller filled with twists and turns and which manages to keep the big reveal right to the very end. Five disparate characters, with backstories you cannot link, find themselves in a horrific life-or-death situation and their true personalities are revealed, piece by piece, until the final bloody moments. Who will win? Who do you want to win? The answer will surprise you.

Five strangers receive a text saying they’ve been entered into a game. Failure to or play or abide by the rules will result in the death of a loved one. As a debut novel, this is brilliant. It’s chilling, thrilling and disturbing and it will pull you in maintaining the suspense with an ending you never expected. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This book needed multiple trigger warnings.

Not the book for me.

After getting about 30% through the books over explained scenery and unnecessary descriptions of never again mentioned characters, i fell into a reading slump. I didn’t think i’d be able to finish this book in all honesty, certain remarks made about characters appearances and lifestyles made me angry. However when I finally picked the book back up in an effort to not dnf, i found it easy to read and am glad i pushed to finish the book. The leading up to this point however felt nonsensical, scattered, and hard to follow.

Ultimately i enjoyed how everything was connected but the journey we took to get there had a lot of problematic issues.

This book needs multiple trigger / content warnings.

An original concept by this debut author that questions just how far someone would go for a person they love. As people start to go missing their loved ones are invited to join The Game. Ignore it and your loved one dies, call the police and your loved one dies, tell anyone and your loved one dies. Most of all, play The Game. A truly nightmare scenario for the five random players brought together for the sole purpose of winning and thereby saving those dearest to them. The pace is unrelenting with intense fear instilled into each character as they unwillingly obey each rule of The Game. A gripping thriller filled with horrifying tasks that beg the question of how far would YOU go?
An excellent debut from Scott Kershaw and I look forward to reading more from him in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC

1.5 stars

This was a wild ride. I was instantly gripped my the blurb - 'across the globe, five strangers receive a horrifying message from an unknown number'! And then I was instantly let down. This may be me being pedantic but two strangers from USA and three from western Europe does not constitute the globe. Again, this may only be an issue for me, but as I am trying to read a diverse variety of books this year the lack of diverse characters stood out to me (there are two characters who are POC though).

It took over a third of the book for all of the characters, their backstories and 'the game' to be introduced, and then a a good while longer until the action kicked.

The Good:
- I liked how chapters were written from the points of view of different characters, even the characters whose relation to the story were ambiguous. We got to see their struggles and their motivations and so you did try and root for all of them.
- When the action picked up, it was exciting and gripped me - I had to keep reading to find the answers to all of my questions.
- The story did quite a good job of answering all (or most) questions

The Bad:
- It just took way too long to get to the action. I feel like there should have been a way for the author to tell the characters' backstories while they were playing the game.
- The lack of diversity irked me - when I read the blurb, I thought that the characters would be racing against time in different continents.
- The plot fell through for me - some of the reasons for picking these specific characters for the game felt forced and a bit lazy. The ending wasn't that fulfilling for me as there was no epilogue for the one character who intrigued me.

I wouldn't recommend this book.

Starts off at speed and doesn't let up, A well plotted thriller, couldn't put it down. Good characters with plenty of thrills.
I received this book from HQ via Netgalley for a review

I was first attracted to this book by the description, which was lived up to. The chapters alternate from Player One through to Player Five and you soon get to know these five very different people from three different countries.

They are playing the game to save a loved one's life. At first they have to travel to a meeting place by a tight deadline, which makes it difficult for them. There is plenty of action as you learn each of their back stories.

But why have they been selected? What links them? Who will live and who will die?

All is revealed in this cleverly plotted thriller with some great twists and reveals.

Thanks to NetGalley UK and HarperCollins UK and HQ for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc of The Game a debut novel by Scott Kershaw.
This is a fast paced really well written thriller about five strangers all receiving a text to play The Game… do not involve the police or tell anyone or their most loved one dies… With each chapter you really get to know each player and their back stories, this kept me totally engrossed right till the end with an ending you wont see coming, this is a brilliant debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Scott Kershaw writes next.

I was really looking forward to reading this book due to the promise of a dark and twisted storyline. Overall I have to say that I was slightly disappointed as I felt too much of the book was given to background and travel arrangements of the players before the game even started.. Once the game began and the players came together, I found that the book picked up pace although the game was over very quickly.
The ending left me with unanswered questions which was disappointing.

The Game by Scott Kershaw
I give this book 4 stars

5 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.
IF YOU LOSE, YOUR LOVED ONE WILL DIE.
There’s only one thing each of them knows for sure: they’ll do anything to win…..

A fantastic debut thriller with just the right amount of suspense and twists along the way. 5 players and 5 points of view,each chapter focuses on 1 of the players.l was intrigued by this engaging premise and carried along with the pressure of a race against the clock game and 5 loved ones in danger.l was completely in the dark to who was behind it and intrigued by why they’d been chosen.
With thanks to Netgalley,Scott Kershaw and HQ for my chance to read and review this book

The premise of this book really grabbed my attention. A group of strangers are each brought together by anonymous messages, telling them that they are part of a mysterious Game.

Each person is in the midst of difficult personal circumstances and is now faced with reaching the rendezvous point in time, without alerting the police. The "players" have no idea who has summoned them or why.

After a promising start, the individual journeys to the meeting point took a rather large chunk of the book, stalling the build-up of tension. Things pick up a bit towards the end, but I would have enjoyed a bit more of the actual Game, rather than the travel arrangements.

Having said that, the story had enough points of difference to hold my interest and I enjoyed it overall.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley.co.uk for the eARC of this book.

Five strangers have received a text saying that they have been entered into a game. Failure to play and adhere to the rules will result in the death of someone they love.
The story is told by each player looking at their predicament and a little of their history.
A frightening tale that left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for me e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good and twisty! 5 strangers from around the world and completely unrelated in any way have someone they love kidnapped and are forced to play ‘The game’ in order to get them back. I loved the multiple povs, (although at times I did get confused who was who) which kept it feeling fast paced and drew me in to try and work out what was going on. Layer by layer the plot thickens and I didn’t see the ending coming! Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

"To save their life, you have to play" unbelievable debut by Scott Kershaw!! Highly recommend this book