Review The Killing Game

What’s it about?

Imagine you are having lunch at an exclusive restaurant, filled with Hollywood’s hottest stars.

And a masked gunman walks in and takes everyone hostage.

You must bargain for your life against a twisted individual who knows everything about you.
He also has a bomb set to detonate if his heart rate changes.

If he dies. You die.

You have four hours to stay alive.

What would you do?

A heart-stopping thriller with plenty of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat, for fans of Peter Swanson, Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.

You can buy a copy of this book on Amazon UK / Amazon US.

Review

Only a few chapters in and this book was brimming with suspense! Once the rollercoaster of action is started it doesn’t let up until the end!

A hostage situation at a restaurant for the Hollywood elite. The suicide bomber planned it all meticulously and found the perfect location. Alfie’s only has a few tables and to get a table at this exclusive restaurant there is a waiting list for months. For everyone but Jody (JJ) Johnsson that is. She’s a regular here and she knows the owner personally. JJ runs a PR company but is what you might call a ‘fixer’. She can put a spin on bad publicity and does damage control like the best and that’s how she knows the owner Tony. The place – windowless – is secluded and safe from the paparazzi’s lenses. In short the ideal place to keep a few of the most wealthy people in the country under gunshot.

If you think you can just sit back, relax and see how this story unfolds you are dead wrong. The situation is extremely volatile, the masked gunman obviously has a triggerhappy finger and he doesn’t show any emotion or hesitation, so it’s clear that his threat of killing is to be taken very serious. I might not have sympathized at first with these rich and famous but when all their bling bling is shed they are also just people like you and me and I couldn’t help but really want them to survive this horrible ordeal. The games the hostage taker plays with them are terrorizing and denigrating and all the while I was thinking how on earth they were going to put a stop to him with the place built like a fort.

The big question of course is his motive. Is he a terrorist, does he have political motives, or does he only want his 15 minutes of fame? These questions are investigated and answered not by the LAPD or FBI but through the voice of a media station (the station’s manager and reporter). A refreshing perspective that worked really well. I not only got to see how competitive these news stations are and how they try to get the next best scoop over each other but also how they steer the news and what’s going on behind the scenes.

The reporting that’s taking place outside is alternated with what goes on inside Alfie’s, told through the eyes of JJ Johnsson and the actor Alex King. Alex is one of her protegées and it’s thanks to her that he’s at the restaurant with a supermodel. Out of all the characters in this novel, I felt the most ambiguous about King. He’s a little bit of a wuss (I mean a lot) and all he has to do is sit tight and keep his head down but noooo instead he almost flips out. Of course that would make his side a bit boring otherwise, I know, but he got on my nerves just a bit more than that I was scared for him. Towards the end though he finally gets a grip, I understood his background better, and I was happy to see him gritting his teeth and accepting the situation as it was.

I have tried to keep my review spoiler free but it’s really hard not to give any of the twists and thrills away. JS Carol has a new fan. Highly recommended novel for anyone who wants a new adrenaline spiked read.

I received a free copy of this book from the publicist through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.