The Deadliest Game: The Frank Doyle Reports

by H.E. Joyce

A storm is coming, to the small town of Brooksville, Maine, and also for Laura. After moving from Chicago with her young son, Laura finds a degree of the inner peace she has longed for. However, the idyllic life she has found changes when Laura meets Michael Peterson at a Halloween dance. After a brief romance they marry and, for a while, life seems perfect. That is, until she begins to receive disturbing phone calls and sees shapes lurking in dark shadows. Deep feelings of distrust take over her thoughts. Is she losing touch with reality? Or is her past catching up with her?

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2014

About the author

Although having had a variety of jobs during my life, some very interestIng, some not so interesting, I have, throughout the years, always had a burning desire to be a writer. I was a firefighter for eighteen years which was extremely rewarding, and I could, and perhaps will at some point, write about certain events I witnessed. I also worked for a newspaper, as a photographer, and later as a freelance artist.

It is a strange thing to want to do in many ways, shutting oneself away for hours and hours at at time, until finally reaching the end of your current book, months, or even years later. Yet it hardly seems like work - the hours and days go by almost unnoticed, and where would we be without books? It seems unthinkable, doesn't it?

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them. I am currently busy working on my next books, a series of psychological thrillers.

Thank you for reading this, and I really do welcome any feedback, and I'll be delighted to answer any questions you may have. Visit www.hejoyce.com and drop me a line.

If you read my book , please take a little time to leave a review - good, or bad. I would really appreciate it.

Reviews

[Geoffrey West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like Hitchcock’s film ‘Psycho’, HE Joyce’s ‘The Deadliest Game’ starts in a low-key way and the tension then steadily and inexorably builds and builds. Meet Laura, an attractive young widow who’s moved into a small coastal town in America with her small son Jody. Laura’s neighbours? Well they turn out to be an interesting bunch of busybodies and nosy parkers, but nevertheless basically nice, good-hearted people. Laura fits in well, soon making a few close friends.

There’s a secret in Laura’s past, but that stays hidden for now. All we know is that her previous marriage broke down, and she suffered a nervous breakdown, deciding upon the apparent peaceful haven of small-town America as the perfect place to regain her inner peace and get back to normal – a complete contrast to the busy city of Chicago, where she previously lived. Starting her business as a psychotherapist, sorting out her new home and making friends takes up most of her time. Then she meets handsome Michael Peterson, as a result of some well-meaning matchmaking by a female friend. This is small-town America, where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

The sinister things start happening soon after she marries Michael. To go into more details would spoil the plot, but I promise you the story hots up with every page, the climax happening in the middle of a tremendous storm, with wind-tossed seas and life-and-death struggles that leave you gasping. There’s also a nice neat twist at the end that I never saw coming.

All in all, this is a book that can brighten your journey to work, or be a welcome companion to a cup of coffee on lonely breaks – it certainly has been for me. Like every good story, you have to know what happens next. The only warning is, once you get into this tale you won’t want to put it down.

[Eric James-Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deadliest Game is a thriller/mystery that takes place in Maine. The protagonist, Laura, has just moved out to the country after an unnamed tragedy that forced her to leave the city.

This aspect of the story is hinted at mysteriously at first. As her character develops, the nature of this tragedy is revealed.

After a short time living with her child Jody, Laura meets one of the only suitable bachelors in town. They hit it off, and get married in short order.

This is where the story gets interesting. Laura begins receiving strange phone calls, her new husband Michael starts acting unaccountably, she (Laura's a psychotherapist by the way) finally gets a client who's all sorts of weird, and to top it off she starts seeing things. I thought that this was all very gripping and hard to put down.

The characters were well developed. The author used a combination of flashback and anecdote to humanize Laura and her husband Michael. There were points where I was happy for the main characters, concerned, anxious, and even angry when they did something stupid.

He also did a nice job giving the minor characters unique, memorable voices. This made it easy to keep up with who was who.

As always, Joyce does a beautiful job describing the scenery without going on and on about it. I could picture the scene, but I didn't skip over anything.

Well, I could keep going but I suppose it would be better if I just wrapped this one up. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. The Deadliest Game is a perfectly placed mystery that keeps the reader wanting more. I've read just about everything this writer has put out, and I think this one is my favorite so far.

Highly Recommended

[Judy Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good exciting and fast paced

great read,fast paced and very exciting. not all sex but a good story with a little scary. good story and interesting.

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “Deadliest game” by H.E. Joyce is a gripping psychological thriller. It’s written in the third person so we have a good understanding of most of the characters. There are some shadowy aspects though. In fact, the author hid some backstory events in the beginning which makes the novel so suspenseful. It triggered my curiosity and incited me to try to solve the mystery. And every time I was so close to do it, something new popped up and changed the story line. These great twists have made me read this eventful novel for several hours every day and as a result some short night’s sleep.
Moreover, the story begins at a slow pace that increases in crescendo towards the end, in harmony with the escalating tension. The plot was skillfully done too. I hope I could say more about it without ruining the suspense which is impossible so I will stop here.
Besides, most of the characters are lovely. You get attached to them so easily, especially Laura the protagonist. A kind sensible woman who had a difficult life. Furthermore, the characters were depicted as the persons you could come across in true life such as the gossip old women, the retired lonely cop, the helpful yet nosy neighbors, etc. Yet they were not caricatured. They seem to be genuine. However, the author didn’t detail enough the so complicated personality of the antagonist which remained mysterious until the end. Only the evil side was shown.
Otherwise, this story isn’t just a suspenseful thriller. It’s also about hope in new beginnings, in happiness after great suffering and in selfless love.
As you can see, I have really enjoyed reading this novel so I highly recommend it to the lovers of compelling psychological thrillers.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't a lot of character description; which resulted in some reactions/actions of the characters seem a bit strange/uncharacteristically abrupt or unwarranted and sometimes with a complete change of attitude - an example of this would be that at times Laura Mitchell seemed a little bit too sensitive to things. With the odd things that kept on happening and the way some people acted; I had a suspicion as to who might be at the root of it once I came to a certain place in the book - but this also resulted in the book being slightly predictable as well. Despite this, the book was a satisfactory read. I got a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[JJ Broenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has a nice story buildup revealing pieces of the puzzle in good timing. It was suspenseful in parts; making the reader want to stick with the story till the end and not put it down. The reason for the four star rating is the ending. To me it was disappointing; I was ramped up ready for more than was given (don’t want to spoil story). The story though was a good one and I did enjoy it.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who can you really trust? For Laura, the question of trusting relationships is one she has had problems with for years. Now, her third marriage may end up like her first two as mystery and suspense follow her and her son as they try to make a new life. This is an intriguing, well written story.

[Danial · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book, the author's writing style makes it a short journey to get into the book track.
Waiting for the coming books

[Lita Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deadliest Game by H. E. Joyce is a thriller about the recently remarried therapist Laura Mitchell and her deadly entanglement with a revengeful person from her past.

Laura has moved to the small seaside town of Brooksville with her eight-year-old son Jody after recovering from the tragic circumstances of her first marriage. She meets the handsome attorney Michael Peterson at a party, and ten months later, they marry. They settle in at Laura’s secluded, but lovely, property on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Laura resumes her therapy practice and Jody starts school with a teacher he likes. However, Michael has a secret that threatens to ruin everything.

The Deadliest Game teases with an idyllic restart to Laura’s life, but the early hints about something much darker from her past kept me reading. My initial disappointment with the newlywed Michael’s behavior soon changed into an unsettled awe of the despicable person who had entangled him. The connection between Michael’s problem and Laura’s past was one of many twists.

The desperate chase and elude scene during a savage rainstorm tied a dandy bow on this thriller package. A tip of the hat goes to H. E. Joyce for constructing a deliciously dangerous plot with likable characters. The bad guy’s actions were deplorable, but he was also multifaceted.

Suspense fans who love woman-in-jeopardy thrillers will enjoy The Deadliest Game. But you might want to wear a raincoat to keep from getting soaked during Laura’s frantic battle at the end.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel starts off with hints at little mysteries to keep the reader intrigued and quickly picks up pace into full thriller territory. The characters help keep you engaged as well. They are interesting people with their own backstories and motivations, particularly with the main character Laura. Her interactions with Michael are believable and unfortunately realistic. There is a lot of emotion there too, which is well handled, with sympathy and sensitivity.

It is skillfully written with just the right tempo for the twisting plot. And so atmospheric with the Maine weather and setting that really added some nice extra depth. Everything unravels in a chilling way - yet very satisfactorily for the reader who enjoys a good mystery thriller.

[Delta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not really satisfied with this book. I feel like it would have been much better if the perspective had stayed with Laura instead of switching between the characters. The switching gave away the ending and ruining the twists. The characters didn't felt very underdeveloped and only slightly concerned with the events during the storm.

I listened to the audio version and Susan Eichhorn Young did a decent job with the narration. The pace was really good, but the non-character dialogue was monotone and lacked the necessary inflections.

Not my favorite mystery novel.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

[Emma (M) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received the Audible version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Deadliest Game was a fairly standard psychological thriller that I could imagine would be perfect for making into a film.

I liked the main character Laura, a women who had suffered significant trauma in her life but will still able to stand up for herself when required.

As it's a fairly short read the pacing was good and I didn't find myself bored at any stage, however there wasn't anything overly surprising about events towards the end.

I would recommend this to someone who wanted a quick, enjoyable read on a rainy day.

[R.L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think the author is a great writer. The sentences are well-crafted, the dialogue seems believable.

Sadly, the story is not a page turner, and worse, I found I knew how it would end about half-way through the book. I kept reading hoping there would be some new twists to make this story unique. It didn't. I don't think the title matches the events in the story. There is no game.

I liked the character of the private investigator. Too bad his is such a minor character.

[Deedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast paced story about love,trust and madness.It is set during a storm.It was well written and played out.Susann Eichhorn Young was the perfect narrator for this book.She made the characters come alive.
I was gifted a copy through Audioblast for an honest review.