The Game by Scott Kershaw

 

Five ordinary people receive a strange text message informing them that the person they love the most has been kidnapped, the only way they can ensure their safe release is to play the game. Unfortunately there is no explanation as to what the game is and there can only be one winner. Contacting the police or telling anyone will result in the death of their loved one.

The story begins very quickly, introducing the five characters who are selected to play "The Game". The people are total strangers, spread across America and Europe. Initially only the first character is threatened but as the story progresses and we learn more about each person, their threats are gradually unveiled.

The idea of having to do whatever a stranger says to save a loved one really taps into your primal fear, you can almost feel the panic each character must feel. Technology and social media are heavily featured, making you realise how easy it must be to track people and find out about their background. Since technology is used within the story to spy on the characters it makes the reader feel like a voyeur.

I did expect more action as "The Game" developed, however the lack of action meant that we could see the tensions that arose when the five characters were forced to work together, knowing that they had all been told that there could only be one winner. Could they trust each other?

The timeline isn't linear so the reader is kept in suspense until the very end, there are no clues to what "The Game" is and what the outcome will be. 

The Game by Scott Kershaw will be published on 12th May 2022 in hardback and ebook format. My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for a review copy.