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The Wicked Game of a Serial Killer #1
The Wicked Game of a Serial Killer: Hide and Seek
Lucas Izod is young, brilliant, and obscenely wealthy. He doesn’t grieve. He doesn’t regret. When something precious slips through his fingers, he begins a cold and calculated spree, mutilating and murdering innocent women. Each kill is methodical. Each victim a symbol. The Imperious Killer is born, and Lucas wears the name like a badge of honor.
Ray spent years hunting monsters like Lucas. He knows how they think. But this one moves differently—too precise, too theatrical, too clean. When the daughter of Ray’s closest friend is found brutalized, he returns to the hunt and teams up with Arthur, a high-functioning psychopath whose mind mirrors the killer’s.
Arthur doesn’t feel. He doesn’t flinch. He understands. Ray and Arthur form an alliance that shouldn't work, yet it might be the only way forward. One man driven by purpose. One by logic. Both drawn into Lucas’s deadly design.
He isn’t rehearsing. He’s building his legend. And he won’t stop until the world knows his name—and remembers it in blood.
Ray spent years hunting monsters like Lucas. He knows how they think. But this one moves differently—too precise, too theatrical, too clean. When the daughter of Ray’s closest friend is found brutalized, he returns to the hunt and teams up with Arthur, a high-functioning psychopath whose mind mirrors the killer’s.
Arthur doesn’t feel. He doesn’t flinch. He understands. Ray and Arthur form an alliance that shouldn't work, yet it might be the only way forward. One man driven by purpose. One by logic. Both drawn into Lucas’s deadly design.
He isn’t rehearsing. He’s building his legend. And he won’t stop until the world knows his name—and remembers it in blood.
361 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2024
About the author
Stan Hendriks
35 books6 followersStan Hendriks writes psychological thrillers that live in the spaces between control and chaos.
Based in the Netherlands, he crafts stories where every character is a study in darkness, every plot a descent into the human psyche, and every page demands something from the reader — attention, discomfort, understanding.
His work explores the psychology of evil not as spectacle, but as truth. He writes the stories that linger, that make you question, that refuse to look away.
When he's not writing, you'll find him obsessing over psychology, working out, diving into films and books, or simply thinking — because for Stan, the real work happens in the mind first.
Follow to discover what happens when darkness meets the page.
stanhendriksbooks.com
Based in the Netherlands, he crafts stories where every character is a study in darkness, every plot a descent into the human psyche, and every page demands something from the reader — attention, discomfort, understanding.
His work explores the psychology of evil not as spectacle, but as truth. He writes the stories that linger, that make you question, that refuse to look away.
When he's not writing, you'll find him obsessing over psychology, working out, diving into films and books, or simply thinking — because for Stan, the real work happens in the mind first.
Follow to discover what happens when darkness meets the page.
stanhendriksbooks.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 4, 2026
This book has the word 'simply' in it 135 times. The dialogue is very flat and monotoned. If it wasn't for the names of the characters I wouldn't be able to tell who was talking because it's all the same. I just couldn't do it anymore.
February 3, 2026
Very disappointed. Left so many things unfinished/unexplained. I get it that why psychopaths do things doesn’t make sense, but the book itself said they do still at least have a reason which was not explained. And spoiler what in the world sense did it make to bring the offspring in at the very last second? Why was the hammer on the wall in the first place? Why did he identify it as Theresa his fiancé? Was she dead or incapacitated? I think dead. What did he think he was gaining by killing people other than fame, which wasn’t his original reason? I just don’t like having so many questions at the end of a book. I feel like I wasted my time and it wasn’t that great of a plot anyway.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2025
OMG, this book was absolutely incredible! It grabbed my attention from start to finish. Lucas, the killer, is a chilling example of a remorseless psychopath, openly recounting his years of murder after being caught.
Told through multiple POVs, including Lucas and Ray, a former FBI agent turned PI, the story dives into a gripping hunt for justice after a friend’s daughter is killed. No mystery about who the killer is—just an intense, edge-of-your-seat read!
Told through multiple POVs, including Lucas and Ray, a former FBI agent turned PI, the story dives into a gripping hunt for justice after a friend’s daughter is killed. No mystery about who the killer is—just an intense, edge-of-your-seat read!
March 10, 2026
seems written by AI
I gave it a real effort, but this book badly written. Its dialogue is stiff and stilted and the characters are one dimensional. I don’t usually quit on books, but after 5 chapters, nothing is getting better.
I gave it a real effort, but this book badly written. Its dialogue is stiff and stilted and the characters are one dimensional. I don’t usually quit on books, but after 5 chapters, nothing is getting better.
November 6, 2026
I pride myself on finishing what I start, but The Wicked Game of a Serial Killer: Hide and Seek completely broke my resolve. To call this novel a dumpster fire of modern suspense would be an insult to well-managed waste. It is so uniformly, profoundly awful that I couldn't even manage to drag myself past Chapter 3.
Let us start with the prose, which reads like it was churned out by a malfunctioning artificial intelligence fed exclusively on the rejected script drafts of low-budget direct-to-streaming crime dramas. The author relies so heavily on purple prose and exhausting, melodramatic cliches that every sentence feels like a chore. Within the first two chapters, we are introduced to our protagonist—a "disgraced" detective whose wife left him, who drinks too much whiskey, and who stares broodingly out of rain-streaked windows. Groundbreaking. I could practically hear the sad, generic saxophone playing in the background.
Then there is the dialogue. Good grief, the dialogue. It is stiff, unnatural, and loaded with clunky exposition that makes human interaction feel like an alien species trying to roleplay Law & Order. Characters don't talk to each other; they deliver awkward monologues designed solely to spoon-feed background information to a reader they apparently assume has the cognitive capacity of a turnip.
By the time I limped into Chapter 3—which featured yet another gratuitous, edge-lord description of a crime scene designed to shock rather than tell a compelling story—I slammed the metaphorical book shut. Life is simply too short to spend another second wading through this amateurish sludge. Save your time, save your brain cells, and steer as far away from this literary atrocity as humanly possible.
Read other reviews on my website: Best F/X
Let us start with the prose, which reads like it was churned out by a malfunctioning artificial intelligence fed exclusively on the rejected script drafts of low-budget direct-to-streaming crime dramas. The author relies so heavily on purple prose and exhausting, melodramatic cliches that every sentence feels like a chore. Within the first two chapters, we are introduced to our protagonist—a "disgraced" detective whose wife left him, who drinks too much whiskey, and who stares broodingly out of rain-streaked windows. Groundbreaking. I could practically hear the sad, generic saxophone playing in the background.
Then there is the dialogue. Good grief, the dialogue. It is stiff, unnatural, and loaded with clunky exposition that makes human interaction feel like an alien species trying to roleplay Law & Order. Characters don't talk to each other; they deliver awkward monologues designed solely to spoon-feed background information to a reader they apparently assume has the cognitive capacity of a turnip.
By the time I limped into Chapter 3—which featured yet another gratuitous, edge-lord description of a crime scene designed to shock rather than tell a compelling story—I slammed the metaphorical book shut. Life is simply too short to spend another second wading through this amateurish sludge. Save your time, save your brain cells, and steer as far away from this literary atrocity as humanly possible.
Read other reviews on my website: Best F/X
November 2, 2026
Billionaire Lucas run family hotel and casino business. His fiancee died which triggered him to start seeing/hearing her voice telling him to murder women. He lures women to his home where he offers them to play hide and seek and if they win he will give them money. He cheats using cameras in his house. When he finds them he murders them with a hammer and his bodyguard Carl cleans up the mess and covers his tracks. It's a boring repeat each time talking about how rich he is and he compliments the women and then they see the evil as he comes with the hammer. Repetitive.
Lucas is a self reported psychopath, family agree but no one realizes that he is dangerous too.
The FBI start investigating and a retired agent helps. He suspects Lucas but can't find a motive or any evidence. The retired agent starts working as a PI and partners with another psychopath (not violent) who is a psych patient of his wife's. Again not very believable.
Lucas is a self reported psychopath, family agree but no one realizes that he is dangerous too.
The FBI start investigating and a retired agent helps. He suspects Lucas but can't find a motive or any evidence. The retired agent starts working as a PI and partners with another psychopath (not violent) who is a psych patient of his wife's. Again not very believable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2025
Wow
Omg sooo good! I just happened to see this book by an unknown author that intrigued me and once I started I could not put it down. From the perspective of a serial killer and the team chasing the killer, the whole story unfolds in front of you and keeps you hooked. I'm downloading the second book right now and I have no idea what it is going to be about but I am excited to find out
Omg sooo good! I just happened to see this book by an unknown author that intrigued me and once I started I could not put it down. From the perspective of a serial killer and the team chasing the killer, the whole story unfolds in front of you and keeps you hooked. I'm downloading the second book right now and I have no idea what it is going to be about but I am excited to find out
December 21, 2025
3.5 stars…I liked the concept a lot. Was it a literary masterpiece? No. It was entertaining and Arthur was my favorite character 🤣 sometimes when reading a story there is one character that you wish just didn’t exist and to me that was Ray’s wife. She drove me crazy. I think there are more Wicked Games books so I will check them out.
August 10, 2026
Do not read this book
There is nothing positive to say about this book.
I think 80% of the content is filled with the words “smirk” and “chuckle” and their variations.
If you value your time, do not read this book.
I’m currently on bed rest because of a knee injury, and not being able to walk sucks. But somehow, reading this book has been an even worse experience than that.
There is nothing positive to say about this book.
I think 80% of the content is filled with the words “smirk” and “chuckle” and their variations.
If you value your time, do not read this book.
I’m currently on bed rest because of a knee injury, and not being able to walk sucks. But somehow, reading this book has been an even worse experience than that.
April 24, 2026
good premise, poorly written
A retired FBI agent teaming up with a psychopath to catch a psychopath serial killer is a great premise for a story. Unfortunately, the writing, the character development, and the editing were poor. I wouldn’t read it again.
A retired FBI agent teaming up with a psychopath to catch a psychopath serial killer is a great premise for a story. Unfortunately, the writing, the character development, and the editing were poor. I wouldn’t read it again.
July 19, 2026
I can’t keep reading. Even this early in. Grammatical errors aside, the story is so bad. Akin to the Fifty Shades of Grey garbage. On to another book. This is one of three that in my 61 years, I have not finished.
October 27, 2026
The Wicked Game of a serial Killer, Hide and Seek
I was held captive by the book from the very beginning. You learn early who the serial killer is but the twists and turns leading to his arrest keep you in suspense. Highly recommend the book
I was held captive by the book from the very beginning. You learn early who the serial killer is but the twists and turns leading to his arrest keep you in suspense. Highly recommend the book
October 9, 2024
wow
All I can say is wow. I learned a lot from this book about the mind of a psychopath. Lucas was a real nut case.
All I can say is wow. I learned a lot from this book about the mind of a psychopath. Lucas was a real nut case.
August 4, 2025
6 stars
October 16, 2025
I probably would have given 5 stars, but I listened on audible, and it was narrated by virtual voice. Very annoying.
December 29, 2025
Why are the paragraphs so long?????!
January 22, 2026
juvenile writing
This reads like a 15 year old wrote it. Or AI. I couldn’t get past the second chapter. The writing is terrible.
This reads like a 15 year old wrote it. Or AI. I couldn’t get past the second chapter. The writing is terrible.
May 17, 2026
borrowing
I found this a tedious read. I wanted to like and multiple times went to dnf Ian’s would then pick it back up.
I found this a tedious read. I wanted to like and multiple times went to dnf Ian’s would then pick it back up.
May 25, 2026
Very interesting story but it wasn't proof read. It read more like an ARC. Otherwise I would have given a higher rating.
May 31, 2026
Eding First, Story second
The book is a page turner. You are introduced to the bad guy in the beginning as he is telling his tail of terror to the police. Then the story really begins with a vivid description of each of his kills.
. I truly enjoyed this reverse twist on the novel.
The book is a page turner. You are introduced to the bad guy in the beginning as he is telling his tail of terror to the police. Then the story really begins with a vivid description of each of his kills.
. I truly enjoyed this reverse twist on the novel.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews