Blurb: Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.
It’s a game more twisted than any Detective Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them.
Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense....
Review: Detective Helen Grace is a no nonsense cop that has the respect and admiration of her colleagues. When a strange case of murder comes across her desk, she is eager to catch this serial killer with a love of playing games. Yet will she figure out who it is or end up the final victim of the killer?
I forgot my Kindle when I went to the library one day, and I randomly picked up this book. The cover and blurb drew me in. This was a fun and fast read. It's a crime thriller told from multiple points of view, but Helen is the main character, and she's a tough cookie. She's not completely likable, but her characterization is great. Far from perfect, Helen throws herself into her work and is determined not to let this killer beat her. Yet the killer is smart and seems to have inside information on the victims and Helen. Everyone becomes suspect and it's wonderful how it all unravels. I particularly like Charlie Brooks, and I think she could have done well as the main character. She's much more the every day cop compared to Helen. The murders are set up like the game of life or death in the Saw film series, so not terribly original in that, but I liked seeing the survivors and how they change after they are free. The writing is tight with short chapters, and while it is exploring the dark parts of human nature, it doesn't delve too deeply to slow the momentum of the story. I have the second book already and I'm halfway through!