Published by Hampton Creek Press Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, suspense, thriller
Format: ARC, eBook
Do you want to play a game?????
Jordan Briggs is a controversial satellite radio talk show host, a female Howard Stern if you will. She is a take charge, plow ahead and confrontational host. She is all about her ratings and is not shy about speaking her mind. Although her career is strong, her marriage is practically over, and she has not spoken to her mother in years. The only light in her life is her daughter, Charlotte. While taking guest calls on a hectic day, she is asked by a caller named Bernie if she would like to play a game. Who doesn’t!?! Except this game is not as easy a picking “this” or “that”. This game has consequences – big booming explosive consequences!
Live on the air, everyone listens as Jordan makes her choice, and the past comes back to haunt her!
Actions have consequences, so do decisions.
This book will remind you of the Die Hard franchise but it also reminded me of the movie Phone Booth with its mind games and a relentless caller on the phone. I could not help but think Bernie sounded like Kiefer Sutherland when I read this. Imagine answering a phone and having everything change in an instant. What is the caller’s end game? Why is he doing what he is doing? Why is he targeting Jordan?
This was a clever cat and mouse, but I did find I needed to suspend some disbelief at times. Detective Cole stole the book for me. Demoted from homicide to traffic, he is at the heart of the investigation. I adored his character and his determination to save everyone while the bombs go off one after the other.
This was a fun book that had an explosive start, waned a little around the middle for me, but picked up soon thereafter and became tense and suspenseful in the last part of the book. There is little down time for the characters. With so much to lose and high stakes, everyone is scrambling to stay alive.
This book had a LOT of action, tension, suspense, twists, turns and reveals. Again, I did have to suspend some disbelief at times, but it was entertaining. If you love action and nonstop action, this book will be for you. J.D. Barker is a talented writer, and I will read anything he writes. He has a gift for writing characters I care about and as I becomes invested in what happens to them, he raises the stakes and puts them in harm’s way. Was this my favorite book by him? No, but it was enjoyable and had me turning the pages to see how it was going to end.
Do not forget to read the Author’s note at the end. You’re welcome.
Fans of Barker and action books be on the lookout when this book explodes on the scene on February 22, 2021.
Thank you to J.D. Barker, Hampton Creek Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
** A buddy read with Brenda.