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The Suicide Game
There is 'noir', and there is 'noir' that is so slick and sly that even Elmore Leonard might be tempted to leap out of bed and look to his laurels.
When five bored rich kids bet each other as to who will be the first to drive an innocent victim of their choice to death, little do they realise that one of those they randomly select in a shopping mall is the Mafia's top West Coast hitman.
How would they know? He is black and without a single fluid ounce of Italian blood in his veins, albeit with gallons of the stuff on his hands.
This hitman may be sad, he may even be ready to die, but he isn't exactly suicidal – more homicidal, definitely more homicidal, you might say.
And he moves at the center of a plot containing a cast of characters which includes Mafia bosses, murderous priests, seedy movie directors, a gay sex-line operator and credulous starlets that brings a wry smile to your face every time a new twist is revealed.
Which is a lot of smiling, and a lot of dying.
When five bored rich kids bet each other as to who will be the first to drive an innocent victim of their choice to death, little do they realise that one of those they randomly select in a shopping mall is the Mafia's top West Coast hitman.
How would they know? He is black and without a single fluid ounce of Italian blood in his veins, albeit with gallons of the stuff on his hands.
This hitman may be sad, he may even be ready to die, but he isn't exactly suicidal – more homicidal, definitely more homicidal, you might say.
And he moves at the center of a plot containing a cast of characters which includes Mafia bosses, murderous priests, seedy movie directors, a gay sex-line operator and credulous starlets that brings a wry smile to your face every time a new twist is revealed.
Which is a lot of smiling, and a lot of dying.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 17, 2011
12 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Andy Rausch
93 books52 followersAndy Rausch is the author or editor of more than fifty books. His nonfiction (as Andrew J. Rausch) includes My Best Friend's Birthday: The Making of a Quentin Tarantino Film, The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood (w/ Charles E, Pratt Jr.), and Perspectives on Stephen King.
His fiction includes Layla's Score, American Trash, and Bloody Sheets. Several of his books have been optioned for film and his work has been translated into French, Spanish, Portugese, and Chinese. He is a web editor at Diabolique magazine and the screenwriter of the film Dahmer vs. Gacy.
He has edited numerous anthologies that have featured the work of such writers as Joe R. Lansdale, Max Allan Collins, Stewart O'Nan, John A. Russo, Richard Chizmar, Peter Leonard, Wrath James White, Stephen Spignesi, Richard Christian Matheson, etc.
His fiction includes Layla's Score, American Trash, and Bloody Sheets. Several of his books have been optioned for film and his work has been translated into French, Spanish, Portugese, and Chinese. He is a web editor at Diabolique magazine and the screenwriter of the film Dahmer vs. Gacy.
He has edited numerous anthologies that have featured the work of such writers as Joe R. Lansdale, Max Allan Collins, Stewart O'Nan, John A. Russo, Richard Chizmar, Peter Leonard, Wrath James White, Stephen Spignesi, Richard Christian Matheson, etc.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 16, 2011
I have never left a review for an book without reviews before. So this is really weird.
I picked up "The Suicide Game" because it was featured as an inexpensive book for my kindle. I read thrillers fairly regularly, but they aren't my main diet.
I think "The Suicide Game" suffers from an unfortunate title. Yes, there is a Suicide Game proposed and I guess it was started. However, it is barely a blip in the plotline in my opinion. It's kind of like worrying about a hang nail while being wheeled in for open heart surgery.
Rausch's book is about a group of desperate people moving in clearly different worlds--many of them in what might be considered the underbelly of society--who all reach a breaking point. Through murder, phone sex, drugs, religion and the mob, these worlds start to collide.
The pace is fast and I found myself unable to put the book down. Mainly, I think it was to figure out how and when the suicide game was going to come in and what in the world would happen next on this crazy train. I think I read that the author is s screenwriter? If so, I can see that. Each scene sort of unfolded as on a movie screen.
I wish I could have given this 3.5 stars. The cast of characters nearly reaches Dickensian proportions. And there are odd and unexpected spider webs of relationships. But I don't think the author used these to the fullest. And the big payoff at the end, seemed a bit anti-climatic to me. That sounds like I don't recommend the book. I do. While, it didn't quite reach the potential I think the author set up, it still kept me engrossed. And this will be one that I'll keep thinking about for a while.
I picked up "The Suicide Game" because it was featured as an inexpensive book for my kindle. I read thrillers fairly regularly, but they aren't my main diet.
I think "The Suicide Game" suffers from an unfortunate title. Yes, there is a Suicide Game proposed and I guess it was started. However, it is barely a blip in the plotline in my opinion. It's kind of like worrying about a hang nail while being wheeled in for open heart surgery.
Rausch's book is about a group of desperate people moving in clearly different worlds--many of them in what might be considered the underbelly of society--who all reach a breaking point. Through murder, phone sex, drugs, religion and the mob, these worlds start to collide.
The pace is fast and I found myself unable to put the book down. Mainly, I think it was to figure out how and when the suicide game was going to come in and what in the world would happen next on this crazy train. I think I read that the author is s screenwriter? If so, I can see that. Each scene sort of unfolded as on a movie screen.
I wish I could have given this 3.5 stars. The cast of characters nearly reaches Dickensian proportions. And there are odd and unexpected spider webs of relationships. But I don't think the author used these to the fullest. And the big payoff at the end, seemed a bit anti-climatic to me. That sounds like I don't recommend the book. I do. While, it didn't quite reach the potential I think the author set up, it still kept me engrossed. And this will be one that I'll keep thinking about for a while.
August 27, 2020
Really enjoyed this crime novel. Some other reviews mention a disjointed feel to the story, and I get why, but that was the nature of the story—even when nothing seems related, it all ties together, all overlaps, and the bulk of the characters have no idea about the other players, but all of them were necessary for things to play out. I really enjoyed that, sort of a feel like the movie Brooklyn’s Finest (which I adore), so for me, it worked.
Each character gets full development, even the minor players.
Well-written, engaging, and most importantly, a lot of fun. Highly recommended!
Each character gets full development, even the minor players.
Well-written, engaging, and most importantly, a lot of fun. Highly recommended!
April 27, 2023
Got 3 books in the mail Psychosomatic by Anthony Neil Smith(signed woot!), an original '57 of The Kill-Off by Jim Thompson (the only one I have never read so a real gem) and this The Suicide Game. I gently tossed aside the Thompson, dug the cover of Psychosomatic and settled on the one with the worst cover and made the right choice 5/5 with this guy another brilliant, lol funny tirade of morals or lack of, a great job of weaving a bunch of expendable characters into a single it's a small world plot. Already ordered Laylas Score....
IF you're out there write faster and stay away from digital its evil like light beer and vegan food.
IF you're out there write faster and stay away from digital its evil like light beer and vegan food.
July 23, 2012
The book wasnnt at as about a suicide game. it was pretty stupid.
November 15, 2016
Pretty good book.. kinda got long towards the end, had to skim instead of read but all in all.. pretty good
July 20, 2021
Riveting Thriller
A riveting thriller about the circles in life, connections between people even if they are unaware. Action packed full of mischief, murder, and more.
A riveting thriller about the circles in life, connections between people even if they are unaware. Action packed full of mischief, murder, and more.
March 13, 2014
3.5 stars
this book has me conflicted. I want to love this book, but all in all i hate when there are chapters upon chapters of different characters and stories that eventually roll into one... HATE IT!!!!
this book is totally that. this book follows a drug addict. he works for a gay phone sex line. he hates his job. he is dating a great girl who is also a drug addict, but she cheats on him all the time with the supplier. well, when bills get really tight he will meet up with men and do some sexually favors for money. he went to the hotel to do his nightly duties when he turns the light on and sees his dad. He doesn't know what to do. This man also has another job on the side. he works for a hit man. he is the go in between guy.
this book will also follow this man's father, and how ashamed he is about what he has done. he will call a suicide hot line where you will meet another main character. this guy is rich and spoiled. his parents are making him get a job because he needs to learn about how money is made. his friends are tying to get him to have people kill themselves like game.
my favorite part of this book is that it follows the hit man. he works for the mob, and also freelances. it tell his whole story about how he was married to a great woman and had children, and how he needed up alone and mad all the time.
i have to say if it stayed and followed a couple people this would be a total 5 star book..
this book has me conflicted. I want to love this book, but all in all i hate when there are chapters upon chapters of different characters and stories that eventually roll into one... HATE IT!!!!
this book is totally that. this book follows a drug addict. he works for a gay phone sex line. he hates his job. he is dating a great girl who is also a drug addict, but she cheats on him all the time with the supplier. well, when bills get really tight he will meet up with men and do some sexually favors for money. he went to the hotel to do his nightly duties when he turns the light on and sees his dad. He doesn't know what to do. This man also has another job on the side. he works for a hit man. he is the go in between guy.
this book will also follow this man's father, and how ashamed he is about what he has done. he will call a suicide hot line where you will meet another main character. this guy is rich and spoiled. his parents are making him get a job because he needs to learn about how money is made. his friends are tying to get him to have people kill themselves like game.
my favorite part of this book is that it follows the hit man. he works for the mob, and also freelances. it tell his whole story about how he was married to a great woman and had children, and how he needed up alone and mad all the time.
i have to say if it stayed and followed a couple people this would be a total 5 star book..
March 10, 2013
There were four or five concurrent stories that did eventually all touch on each other, but for the most part they were disjoint. The book was overall, disjoint. The other thing was that the ending was incomplete and unsatisfying! The fact that there were more pointless murders in it was a hindrance to my enjoyment of the book, but that it itself does not make it a "bad book". Overall, the character development was spotty, and they really seemed more like the author was just throwing things together that he COULD find a way to connect, regardless of how unnatural it was. The different stories REALLY didn't go well. The title and overall description was intriguing, but the "suicide game" had little to do with the overall story! Furthermore, we really don't know what happened with it; only one "player" was followed at all!
I would not recommend this author, and I will probably read nothing else by him!
I would not recommend this author, and I will probably read nothing else by him!
July 11, 2013
Here’s a book that had me hooked with the ending of chapter one. Possible spoilers below…beware. The thing that gets me the most about this book is the title and description. I expected a story with the rich kids torturing their marks closer to suicide. However, it felt as though there is only one little chapter on the subject. Everything else is killers and how they are connected and that is it. It was interesting how all the characters are linked together in one way or another. I did notice too for this only being 200+ pages and should have read fast, it reads very slowly. It felt like after I’d been reading for an hour I should have been much farther along than say 20 pages, I usually read really fast.
August 17, 2013
Suicide Game is professional and fast-paced but it lacks heart and fully realized characters. It feels like a treatment for a Quentin Tarantino movie. I kept reading to find out how it would all play out, but it was curiosity, not investment, that drove me to read on. I'm not one of those readers who need to love the characters, but these were all loathsome. Each and every one was awful. The men were two dimensional, at best, and the women were mere outlines of people -- the kind of sketches that need actors to fill in the rest of the persona. That being said, I kept reading and wanted to know what Rausch would do with this motley crew of unhappy, unlikeable, violent paper dolls. I'm conflicted about this one.
April 5, 2014
It was a good idea, it was a nice read, but it was a very misleading title.
Yes the suicide game was mentioned once or twice but in total it got like...I don't know for sure anymore...one to three chapters. They plan it, they pick targets, and that's about it.
In general this book is about a few people and their separate stories. Some of which are interesting (I really liked Orlandos story), some of which I had to force myself through (the Bert Edmunds stuff didn't catch me at all). In the end all those stories are connected and meet. But a suicide game? There was none. Just a few rich spoiled teenage boys that had the idea to do so.
It was a nice read however, but still a bit disappointing due to the misleading title. Thus only 3 stars.
Yes the suicide game was mentioned once or twice but in total it got like...I don't know for sure anymore...one to three chapters. They plan it, they pick targets, and that's about it.
In general this book is about a few people and their separate stories. Some of which are interesting (I really liked Orlandos story), some of which I had to force myself through (the Bert Edmunds stuff didn't catch me at all). In the end all those stories are connected and meet. But a suicide game? There was none. Just a few rich spoiled teenage boys that had the idea to do so.
It was a nice read however, but still a bit disappointing due to the misleading title. Thus only 3 stars.
May 6, 2013
The best way to say what I think of this book would be "NOT AS ADVERTISED"
I think maybe 1 chapter was relevant to the description on the book.
The story was more like a bunch of short stories linked together.
It kept me interested mostly because I kept waiting for it to be what it said it was about, but that never really happened. But by then I was too far in the book to just walk away.
All in all way too many story lines for my taste, and a little to far a reach to bring them all together
I think maybe 1 chapter was relevant to the description on the book.
The story was more like a bunch of short stories linked together.
It kept me interested mostly because I kept waiting for it to be what it said it was about, but that never really happened. But by then I was too far in the book to just walk away.
All in all way too many story lines for my taste, and a little to far a reach to bring them all together
August 12, 2012
Would give it 0.5 stars if I could. The ebook was horrible - it kept messing up and you'd have to start from the homepage to get the pages loaded correctly or keeping going back and forth a few pages to load them. Many times it said I was finished with the book and should rate it when I wasn't even close. The book itself was ok. Nothing great - only got this book because it was free. Definitely don't recommend this book.
started-reading-but-didn-t-finish
February 2, 2013Ya I didn't want to read about this guy who works for a gay hotline and performs acts with men to pay for his meth addiction. One reviewer mentioned that the sex was implicit but no, it's explicit, and the book pretty much starts off that way.
October 29, 2012
It took a while for me to get into the book as there are lots of characters, but once I knew who was who, it was interesting to see how they came together. Its not a book I would want to read again but it passed the time.
January 15, 2013
An untidily plotted thriller featuring gay telephone sex, mafia hitmen and drugs. The sex scenes were apparently from the imagination of a teenage boy
December 15, 2011
Like the pace - a unique style with lots of twists. It caught me off guard - unpredictable. Funny, if you have an odd sense of humor. One I recommend.
July 10, 2012
liked this book alot...little bit of the beaten path but excellent
thank you amazon for the freebie!!
thank you amazon for the freebie!!
July 23, 2012
I liked it. It is a fast paced, violent and at times funny read. I feel it is strongly inspired in Pulp Fiction. I particularly enjoyed the end, it was unexpected.
March 24, 2013
Oh, the twists and turns! Fast-paced book. Misleading title.
June 15, 2012
Not my normal read...different but good!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews