The Killing Game

Nowhere #5

by Nancy Bush

"Nancy Bush always delivers edge-of-your seat suspense!" --Lisa Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Nancy Bush comes a tense, intricately plotted novel of suspense, as one woman becomes the focus of a killer's warped game of revenge and murder.

The Rules Are

It's the ultimate test of strategy and skill. The killer chooses each opponent carefully, learning each one's weaknesses. Every meticulously planned move is leading to a devastating checkmate. Because in this game, all the pretty pawns must die.

First You Play

Andi Wren is fighting to keep her late husband's company safe from vindictive competitors. When she receives an ominous note, Little birds must fly, she turns to P.I. Luke Denton. But though Luke has personal reasons for wanting to take down Wren Development's opponents, his investigation suggests this is deeper and far more dangerous than a business grudge.

Then You Die. . .

In a basement on the outskirts of town, police detectives unearth piles of skeletons. As they learn the shocking truth about each victim's identity, their case collides with Andi's, revealing a killer's ruthless plot and a chilling, lethal endgame. . .

Praise for Nancy Bush's I'll Find You

"A fast-paced page turner." -- The Parkersburg News & Sentinel

"A page-turner chock full of suspense and intrigue. Once again, Bush does not disappoint." -- RT Book Reviews

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 28, 2016

About the author

Nancy Bush is a New York Times bestselling author of over forty novels, including the River Glen Series, Nowhere Series, and numerous stand alone novels. She also is the co-author of Last Breath, Last Girl Standing, and the Wicked Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Lisa Jackson, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Lisa Jackson and Rosalind Noonan.

Nancy has called Oregon her home all of her life. She grew up in a small logging community and after graduating from high school, attended Oregon State University where she met her husband, Ken and graduated with a degree in nutrition. They married a few years after graduation and together they have one daughter. After working in banking and the travel business, with her daughter still in diapers, Nancy read an article in Time Magazine about young mothers who, once the last diaper was changed and the final bottle was washed, pulled out their typewriters and wrote romance novels for the then expanding market. Nancy convinced her sister, Lisa Jackson, that they should try their hand at writing.

After writing several successful romance novels such as Lady Sundown, Miracle Jones, Jesse’s Renegade and Scandal’s Darling and a stint writing for one of ABC’s top-rated daytime shows: All My Children, she turned her attention to writing thrillers for Kensington Publishing. Today, her books appear on The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly national bestseller lists.

In her free time Nancy enjoys walking, working on jigsaw and crossword puzzles and hanging out with family and friends. When she and Ken aren’t visiting their daughter and grandchildren in Southern California, Nancy is busy working on her next book!

Visit https://www.NancyBush.net where you can find a Media Kit with photos and more information.

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of a murder, mystery, thriller? NOT being able to figure out just who the villain is and trust me, Nancy Bush’s The Killing Game has that part down pat!

There is a twisted serial killer on the loose and Andi Wren looks to be on his dance card for murder. A recent widow and largest shareholder in Wren Development, Andi is discovering that the company is not doing as well as she thought. When another group tries strong-arming their way in, Andi is facing the drunken indifference of her sister-in-law and the reckless business dealings of her brother-in-law. She has also become the object of threatening notes that taunt her safety with their mysterious lines.

Enter P.I. Luke Denton, former cop, and one determined sleuth. Who is sending the notes? What do they mean?

Women are being murdered and two hard-nosed female detectives are on the case. When Andi’s best friend is murdered, a connection is made, but is it coincidence or the thread that will unravel both Andi’s problems and uncover a monstrous serial killer with an appetite for death?
Grab your notepad, list the possible suspects and tally the clues, as people are interviewed, re-interviewed by the detectives and Luke works his hardest to keep the beautiful Andi safe. Is there more than one killer? What IS the tie that binds shady business deals with murder?

Nancy Bush brings in a huge cast of characters, almost telling two tales at once, as she whips back and forth between what look to be separate cases. Add to the mix, a competitive and underhanded adversary in the building trade, millions of dollars at stake and once strange clue that keeps popping up and this twisted tale earns its mystery title. The questions are: Who Dunnit and Who will be the next victim? A good mystery, with a light touch of romance, characters in over their heads and failure to communicate as the puppet master pulls everyone’s strings with dark abandon. Who is the murderer behind the curtain?

I received an ARC edition from Zebra in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Zebra (June 28, 2016)
Publication Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781420134667
Genre: Mystery | Suspense
Print Length: 384 pages
Available from: Amazon |  Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

He has invented a game .. a game of strategy and skill. All the pawns are beautiful young women. And they all have names of birds.

Andi Wren is trying to protect her late husband's company from going bankrupt. She's also dealing with in-laws who don't particularly like her and resent her for having the major part of the company given to her upon their brother's death.

Still coming to terms with her husband's death 3 months ago, she finds herself pregnant. She also finds she has a stalker. She finds notes to her saying things like Little Birds Must Fly. Andi turns to Luke Denton, former cop, now private investigator.

There are two men, brothers, who have approached the Wren family with the idea of buying them out. Needless to say, they are not happy when the answer is No.

Little 'accidents' seem to be getting bigger.. first the notes, her car is keyed, her sister in law has a fall down a flight of stairs. And her best friend Trini Finch is brutally murdered. And she's not the first victim ... nor the last.

I've enjoyed all the books written by Nancy Bush. There's always a little romance, great characters that you root for, bad guys that you want to see put away, suspense that doesn't seem to let up until the last page, and a tightly written plot.

This book did not disappoint. There are lots of suspects who may have a motive to kill Andi. Any one of her family ... the woman who had an affair with her late husband, people who want to take over her company.. any of them at all. Luke Denton is the only person she truly trusts.

As the game continues and the stakes get higher, the anxiety and stress begins to take its toll on all of them.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books - Zebra / Net Galley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Monnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is anyone else old enough to remember the TV commercial for Prego pasta sauce claiming, "It's in there?" The reference, of course, is to all the ingredients a person (presumably a real Italian) would expect to find in homemade sauce. Well, that tagline came to mind often as I turned the pages this book. It's in there - in this case the ingredients for a really good book - but alas, it needs better mixing before I'm willing to call it a tasty read.

The writing itself is perfectly fine - just what I would expect from the author of several books (who, BTW, is the sister of another popular author, Lisa Jackson). The plots - there are two of them, for the most part running concurrently - aren't too far-fetched for a murder mystery. But the way it's all put together just didn't gel for me.

As I understand it, this is a continuation of Bush's "Rafferty Family" series. As such, I not only hoped it would stand on its own (it does), but hoped I'd be introduced to a new and appealing character. I'm sorry to say that never happened. Yes, there's a Rafferty in there - in this case September, a police detective who's handling the second story line - but she doesn't make much of an appearance (nor much of an impression on me one way or another). Her partner, Gretchen, doesn't get much mention either, but in her case, that's a good thing; she's downright annoying.

What I'll call the primary plot (both because it takes up way more pages and is way more interesting) revolves around a serial killer who loves to play games - in this case, apparently targeting victims with bird-related names. The killer's next victim seems to be Andi Wren, the majority owner of a construction company that's developing property around a lake in Oregon. Her ownership came as a result of her husband's fairly recent death in an auto accident, and his brother and sister - also company owners - are less than thrilled to have her on board. Realizing her life may be in danger, Andi calls up help from former police officer and now private investigator Luke Denton, who (surprise!) also happens to be an unmarried hunk.

The other plot involves Rafferty's team, who are working on identifying the skeletal remains found in a basement at the edge of town. When this story line finally was introduced, it was accompanied by such a barrage of different characters that within a few pages, I realized I was totally lost -and I wasn't inclined to go back and reread to try and figure out what was happening. Somewhere along the way, I surmised, things would come together and I'd "get it."

And for the most part, I did, as the two story lines began to intersect. It was extremely frustrating, though, to find scenes doing a switcheroo smack in the middle of chapters (and back again). Still more frustration came by way of repetition; take all that out and quite a few pages could be eliminated without dire consequences (in fact, the same could be said for the entire second plot, IMHO). The killer, for instance, apparently loves to hear himself talk as he explains his actions to the nth degree. And while I'm on the subject of the killer, it struck me as totally out of character for a person who's supremely meticulous - taking great pains to leave no evidence at the crime scenes that could be used for identification - to use the same name when meeting each and every victim).

In the end, I'll call this a good book that, with a little stirring, has the potential to be great. Thanks to the publisher and author for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Donnelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arguably the most well done aspect of this book is the serial killer: he's cold, brutal, and depraved, and the method by which he picks his victims is unique, which makes it all the more chilling. Further, his identity is actually a surprise (though in retrospect, it should not have been), which is a rarity in books in this genre. However, there are myriad issues with the story, and there's even one - and it's significant - in terms of that twist: it is impossible for me to believe that one of his victims did not recognize him. The author provides excuses for that, but not a single one of them rings true for me, and the suspension of disbelief required to believe them proves to be a bridge too far for this reader.

Still more problematic is the sheer amount of exposition in the story: the huge cast of characters - which includes Andi, Luke, in-laws, various detectives, myriad witnesses, victims, an ex-girlfriend, siblings, friends, business rivals, Luke's clients, and the list goes on and on - is prone to having conversations and then almost immediately repeating the crux of said conversations to other characters. This being the case, there is a large amount of repetition, and the story meanders and drags on as the second-tier characters investigate a case from the past and unwittingly play catch-up to present events.

One of the worst examples of the reliance on unnecessary exposition is that the author makes use of the aggravating trope by which the villain, instead of ensuring that his goals are realized and getting on with the business at hand, feels the need to take the time to go into detail about every single one of his crimes, motivations, and overarching plans in a supremely long-winded speech. Making matters worse on that score is that most of his crimes are then summarized yet again just a handful of pages later.

When it comes to the relationship between Andi and Luke, that, too, falls short. The connection is of the instantaneous variety, but the why of it all eludes me, especially from Luke's perspective. Beyond Andi's physical attractiveness, she spends most of the piece being depressed, angry, panicked, and/or terrified. The issue is not that she doesn't have cause to be mired in negative emotions; it's that those things are pretty much all that she feels, and her reliance on Luke and the expectations she places upon him are huge, numerous, and begin from literally their very first meeting. From her perspective, it's easy to see why she falls for Luke, as he's a good-looking, smart, reliable, charismatic man, but the entire relationship seems tacked-on and baseless.

I had high hopes for this book, largely because of the synopsis and because I've long-considered Nancy Bush to be a good writer. Unfortunately, the surfeit of exposition not only bogs down the book, but it deprives the story of the opportunity to round out the central relationship, more adequately explain away some of the major questions that aren't satisfactorily addressed, etc. Ms. Bush has many good books to her credit; ultimately, though, this one proves to be disappointing.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending! I kept wondering how all of these plots were going to tie into each other. At the beginning, one of them sounded so far fetched and way out of the realm of where the main story I had been reading was going. It was amazing how the author brought all the pieces together to single out the one suspect.

This was a great read, great characters, a few pages of sex (for those who wonder, I was able to just skip over), with great plot development. That's my honest review.

Thanks Kensington Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed and complex story with many threads that overlap and interweave and then are tied up neatly at the end – although – I felt the story could have been faster paced with less repetition.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I usually enjoy Nancy Bush’s novels but this one left me feeling so-so at the end. I liked the premise and the murder the bird tie-in of the murders with the idea of it being a game. I felt like I was reading two or perhaps even three stories in one even though they all did overlap in the end. I didn’t have real sympathy, empathy or feel as if I could relate to any of the characters. I can’t believe that the killer could find so many women that were so clueless and needy. I found it unbelievable that Andi and Luke ended up in bed and fell for one another so quickly. The plot seemed predictable in many ways. I don’t know…I did enjoy reading it but it didn’t have anything that made it special or stand out from other romantic suspense stories with serial killers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the e-ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Killing Game by Nancy Bush just didn't do it for me. I really wanted to like it, but found it slow paced, with A LOT of repetition, more than needed characters which are two-dimensional at best, and two story lines that often jump back and forth in the middle of a chapter (really?!?). Then there's the serial killer who uses the same name all the time. But what I dislike most of all is the shallow way women are portrayed. Most of the women characters are sex-starved and have incomplete lives until their man comes along (serial-killer or not). A book that could have shown a lot of promise but ends up being rather a huge mish-mash. I'd like my hours back...

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Press for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

[Yellagirlgc · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the back of this book and looking at some of the other reviews posted I was prepared to love this book. Serial killer, skeletons & a sexy P.I.. That's my idea of a good time. Unfortunately it didn't deliver. I grew bored with the same thing happening throughout the book.
I received this copy from the publisher.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Bush's The Killing Game is a wonderful mystery, suspenseful thriller with a little bit of romance thrown in. This book had me on the edge of my seat and it was just at the ending when the killer was revealed that I finally figured it out. For me, that makes a great book.

There are two parallel stories going on in this book and they finally curve toward one another and the solution comes fast and furious at that point. Andrea (Andi) Wren is a recent widow who is still reeling from her husband's death and infidelity. She is fighting with her brother-in-law about the direction the family business, Wren Construcion, is going to take. She is the majority stock owner and does not want to deal with the ruthless Carerra brothers. There is suspicion that they were responsible for her husband's death. When Andi starts getting strange notes about birds that appear threatening, she hires Lucas Denton to investigate the Carerra's as well as to give her personal protection. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Andi is not being threatened by the Carerra's but that she appears to have a stalker, a deadly serial killer who targets women who have bird names. With Luke as well as two female detectives on the hunt, how long will it take to discover how the cased intersect and who is after Andi.

Enter P.I. Luke Denton, former cop, and one determined sleuth. Who is sending the notes? What do they mean?

There are a lot of characters in this book, yet I had no trouble keeping track of them. Andi is a strong female character that shows her mettle when the chips are down. Luke is a great investigator, smart, loyal and good-looking to boot. He is a great partner in the mystery to Andi. The villian is wonderfully written. I could feel his evil coming off the pages. Add to the mix, a competitive and underhanded adversary in the building trade, millions of dollars at stake and what is the connection between these women and this twisted tale earns its mystery title. I will now have to go back and read the first 4 books in this series. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Bush is truly one of the most underrated crime/suspense writers spinning yarns today. I don't know if it's because she started in the business writing romance novels, because she's Lisa Jackson's sister, or because her books have been pigeonholed as trade/airport-gift-shop/straight-to-paperback or what, but the odd distribution of Bush's new novels is proof that her publisher is oblivious to just how superior a storyteller Bush is. Nancy Bush keeps you thinking about her stories when you aren't reading and makes you want to disappear into a bathroom stall to sneak in another five minutes while your supervisor waits and thinks 'What'd she fall in?!' Listen, if my head is on the pillow at night and I'm puzzling out where the tale I'm reading is going, the writer is doing something VERY right. That is not something I ordinarily do. I read mostly fiction and of that a lot of it is Crime Fiction because, honestly, I like great writing, plausible stories, and Crime/Suspense is where a lot of the hot writers make their home. Nancy Bush SHOULD be ranked among The Hots. She is on MY list but only because I found a copy of one of her books on a break room table when I (mercifully) had some free time. I've been a fan ever since.

Yup, this story kept me from doing my laundry and working on my art - but only for two days. I loved it and I hope in the next Rafferty book we get to hear Emma got her shit together and she and Andi are running Wren in the black. And September... I know there's a private detective who could really use an intelligent, connected, and resourceful partner... Or Bush could slot her in the same city as her brother(!). I especially like that in spite of the hideous things the killer does your brain is disturbed in exactly the right way without plot-killing God-give-it-rest endlessly gruesome descriptions of blood, gore, and (female... it's always WOMEN!!) suffering. I've been noticing lately that everyone, including the brilliant Karin Slaughter, have dialed back The Gruesome Factor (The Kept Woman was a MUCH better book because if it!). Nonetheless, Nancy Bush was way ahead of all of them in capping the gore when she recognized overly descriptive blow-by-blow nastiness had become such an over-used device that many writers seemed unable to pull off a crime/suspense tale without it. If it needs to be there, it NEEDS to be there... unless it really doesn't. Also, when the suffering is so over-the-top you can't recommend the book to friends who read - that's a problem. In the opening gambit when the killer does what he does to that poor girl there is no blood but it is so awful I'm still thinking about it, largely BECAUSE it was so quick, so ghastly, and so unexpected. It got so every time the killer would say to some girl "I've got a surprise" I was awash in dread. In the French film, Cache, there's a sudden out-of-the-blue, don't-blink scene of violence that literally stops time. Bush does that. She does it very well and it's fantastic. She doesn't rely on horror tricks. She slowly turns the screws.

And now I want to speak frankly about that tired Lisa Jackson blurb (the same one) that appears on the cover of every Nancy Bush paperback. Lisa Jackson is more famous than her sister but as a writer, her books are nowhere near as good. They're just so... all over the place. She has her moments, but not enough of them. Maybe Jackson is better known because she made her name first but Nancy Bush is the pony to put your money on. PLEASE, I beg you Zebra/Kensington, get that patronizing, faint-praise Lisa Jackson blurb ("Nancy Bush always delivers edge-of-your-seat suspense"... A FORM blurb, like Jackson never even read it. Yea, makes me salivate for a copy...... Wtf?!) off the covers of all future works of Crime/Suspense by Bush. The student surpassed the master way back when Augie Rafferty popped up on Bush's pages. When it comes to cover blurbs, It's time to pass copies of Bush's new books out to respected genre writers who do not share Bush's dna.

There is little I can tell about the story (no, I didn't see it coming but realize now, there WERE tells...) except to say this book is VERY good and I strongly recommend it. The reason I have to knock a star off is because it's a rough start. I knew by page ten that if I didn't go back, start over, and draw up a descriptive Cast of Characters I was going to spend a long time (the entire first third of the book as it turned out) flipping back to try and get straight on who was who and what did they do(?). I referred to my list often during the first third, and that's not good. When you introduce too many characters all at once it confuses the reader. Bush only did that one other time (the first book of hers I ever read... the character list was essential for about four chapters) but my list for THAT book kept things from getting too bogged down and the book was, otherwise, good enough to prompt me to read all Bush's other Crime/Suspense. Since August Rafferty (more Augie & Liv, please???) Bush has been right up there with Harlan Coben, Karen Slaughter, Sharon Bolton, Belinda Bauer, and Mo Hayder as authors I follow and whose books I wait for. Do you see the company in which I put Bush? So yes, it irritates me that she's been relegated to the straight-to-paperback rack. She's better than that and should be nurtured. She is right up there among my must-reads.

I want to say I'm glad folks at Zebra/Kensington finally listened to Bush readers and (apparently) ran this one through a team of eagle-eyed editors. Most readers expect straight-to-ebook fiction to be riddled with typographical errors, repeating words (this this...) and so forth. Ebooks are rarely edited by professionals and usually, there's only one friend doing the deed. But for print editions to be loaded with distracting errors is inexcusable. "It's JUST a paperback" is ridiculous thinking. Readers will call them on it here so, yes, thank you for listening, Zebra/Kensington, and doing right by your author.. I found no distracting flaws. Keep it up. Please.

[Namita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Killing Game is a romantic mystery novel by Nancy Bush.

There is a twisted serial killer who has invented a game of killing beautiful women with the name of birds. Andi Wren seems to be the killers next victim. She is recently widowed and due to that is the majority owner of her late husband’s company. In come her in-laws who resent the fact that she owns most of the shares of the company. When she starts get threatening notes she turns for help to Luke Denton, former cop, now private investigator.

There are two plots going on simultaneously. The other plot involves Detective Stephanie Rafferty, who is trying to identify the skeletal remains found in a basement of a house. The plots did come together though at times it was difficult to follow so many characters.

With so many characters there is no lack of suspects with motive to kill Andi and I was not able to figure out who really the killer was. It caught me by surprise. Overall I would give it 3 ½ stars and I am sure people who like romantic suspense genre will love it

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.

[Jay Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a jumble of story threads this thriller keeps the reader gasping and delivers a great story. A dark psychopath treats killing as a game, targeting women with the last name from a bird. Against this drama, a young widow fights to manage the family business inherited from her husband, while her husband's siblings fight her. The large number of characters are at times difficult to follow, but the threads come together and work out in the end. The writing is descriptive without being burdensome. A little violence and a little sex provide additional interest and make the book more engrossing. This is one I want to read again.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is holy crap amazing! Unputdownable from the very beginning with the suspense always keeping you on your toes. I loved this and thought it was well written and with all the red herrings, I couldn't read fast enough to get to the end. A fantastic, compelling thriller that gave me slivers of goosebumps when reading from the killer's perspective.

[al_readsnrambles · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanna start out by saying I read this book by pure spite so I could write a hate filled review. There’s so many things wrong with this book from gross phrases and wording to unnecessary side stories.

There’s a side story about a mistress which is completely unnecessary. There’s no point to it and it takes up space. Another thing is that the book feels like Nancy Bush was just trying to meet a word count. The brother of the mistress also just had to comment that his LITTLE SISTER had “perky tits”. Not only is that whole side story unnecessary, so is that comment. This book reads as if it had a male author it was written for a male audience and it’s disgusting. I also find the whole romance between Luke and Andi unnecessary. The point of the book is finding the killer not a romance that “feels wrong”.

The killer is also not even logical. Trini, being Andi’s best friend, should know what Carter looks like. What friend just chooses not to go their best friends wedding or even look at pictures, that’s just illogical. I don’t care if he wore a toupee and glasses, he’s not Clark Kent.

There were also way too many perspectives. I believe it would’ve been better with just Andi’s and the killers. Adding in the others just made it more confusing.

Also, the fact that the title of the book is literally called “The Killing Game”, but there wasn’t any killing until over half the book was read. The killer had no depth and seems just thrown in there.

I hated this book and I would NOT recommended it unless you like reading with hate and pure spite for the author or the book itself.

[SusanneH · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne. Für 4 hats nicht gereicht, da mir der Schluss zu konstruiert vorkam, auch wenn es gegen Ende immer spannender wurde.
Die Reihe um Detective September Rafferty habe ich bisher sehr gerne gelesen. Diesmal hat mich dieser romantische Liebesschnulz dazwischen schon fast genervt.

[Susan Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently widowed Andi Wren is struggling to hold her life together. She has taken her husband's place at the family business, which is fighting to hold off major competitors. Those competitors have threatened Andi, so she hires ex-police detective turned PI Luke Denton to be both her bodyguard and to help find proof that the competitors (twin brothers) have broken the law. There is a serial killer at work, but no one realizes it until Andi's best friend, Trini Finch is found dead. Just when things can't get worse for Andi, she loses the baby she didn't know she was carrying, and finds out that her husband's mistress is pregnant.

Whew. There's a lot going on in this book. Murder, extortion, a love story. There's an equally large list of characters. I think the book could have been written tighter with less distractions. That being said, I enjoyed "The Killing Game". There was a lot of backstory on each character, and the true identity of the killer remained a secret until the end. Recommended with reservations for readers of mystery/romance and serial killer thrillers.

Thanks to Kensington Books via Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Connie Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The very beginning of this book scared me to death. It wasn't the part leading up to the death, but the way that it happened that horrified me to absolutely no end. Having said that, the rest of the book was anticlimactic to some extent.

I loved the protagonist, Andi Wren. She just lost her less than stellar cheat of a husband exactly three months earlier. Then she finds out that she is three months pregnant on the same day someone broke into her home and left a bizarre message on her bed. She seeks out a crazy hot private detective to keep her safe. Alone for this reason, the book would be well worth the read.

But, then there is a second plot that seems to get in the way of reading the main story. More often than not, that seemed to drive me insane. You can be reading along, then this just comes zooming out of nowhere, at the oddest times.

This is a good story with just too much happening all at once. If edited a bit more, I believe this book could have literally scared me to death.

Thank you to Nancy Bush, Kensington Books and NetGalley for giving me a free e-ARC of this book so that I may read it and give my honest review.

[Lorrie McCullers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yawn. That's all I could do when I read this book. It is so formulaic and boring that I almost didn't finish.

Rich husband dies, sweet (and miraculously pregnant) widow is left behind to battle with the rich family. She feels threatened by someone. A handsome ex-cop falls in love with her and wants to protect her. She is kidnapped. Yada yada yada.

I feel like I have read this story a million times. Not even the "plot twist" and big reveal of the killer could save it.

There are several reasons why I am bored with "romantic suspense" novels, and this book has them all.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC for free from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[BookwormCatLady · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say this book really wasn't for me: A predictable plot with an unconvincing love story & characters with overcomplicated names.

It's not very often that I genuinely want to give up on a book and if it wasn't for the fact that I needed to review it is doubt I would've made it to the halfway point but I have seen some positive reviews so maybe I only like the really twisted stuff now?!

Thanks to Kensington Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review, but this one is not for me I'm afraid.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was pretty good, but I had issue with the description. The cover claims that a serial killer is playing a "game" with his victims. But for most of the book, the main character, Andi, did not realize that she was being stalked by a killer. So how much of a "game" was it really?

Did I guess who the killer was? No. The book became a little confusing at times. There were current murders, and murders from 20 years ago. Do they finally connect? Yes, but it took a long time. For me, this book was not as engaging as I hoped it would be.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley

[CL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though it was a surprise ending this was not one of her better books. I am not a fan of long details for why everything is happening. I want to be teased into the plot and kept wondering until the reveal but this was a little long in the details and I wanted more suspense. I will still read her books but this was not a favorite for me and that is a fist for this author. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

[Melissa Borsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I did not really enjoy this book very much. I am huge on being able to feel something for the characters and I just didn't like anything about any of them. I felt the story had way too much going on and it was all happening at a snail's pace. On a positive note, I never saw the serial killer reveal coming.

[Paris (kerbytejas)]

DNF @ 36%. Just doesn't engage me, can't get behind the characters and the plot is boring

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Bush’s The Killing Game is a thriller that throws everything at the wall—serial killers, secret pasts, psychic flashes—and honestly, most of it sticks. At the center of the chaos is Andi Wren, a woman who thought she had left her troubled past behind until a game-playing murderer decides she’s his next target. Enter Detective Luke Denton, a broody, no-nonsense investigator with just enough emotional baggage to keep things interesting. The plot moves fast, with plenty of twists, near-misses, and a killer who is way too committed to being the most dramatic person in the room.

The suspense? Absolutely solid. The romance? A little just go with it, but it works if you enjoy some tension with your murder investigations. Andi is a compelling lead, and while her backstory gets a bit soap-opera levels of complicated, it adds to the book’s high-stakes energy. Luke, meanwhile, is the classic “tough guy with a soft side,” and their chemistry has that slow-burn, we-should-focus-on-not-dying-but-also-you’re-hot quality. The killer’s motivations are disturbing in a you might need therapy way, and while the twists are fun, a few veer into “wait, what now?” territory. The book has a lot going on, but Bush keeps it moving with sharp writing and enough action to keep the pages turning.

At 4 stars, The Killing Game is an engaging, fast-paced thriller with plenty of suspense, a dash of romance, and a villain who needs to calm down. It can work as a standalone, but having some background from the series definitely helps—otherwise, a few plot points might feel like inside jokes you weren’t invited to. The book leans into the everything is connected trope, so expect a few wait, how do they know each other?! moments. If you like your thrillers with high drama, a touch of the paranormal, and a lead couple who are equally good at solving crimes and making questionable life choices, this one is worth picking up.

[Rebecca Lyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I've never read anything by this author before, but this one sounded pretty good so I thought I'd give it a try! The plot was pretty interesting and it was creepy enough. The bad guy was someone that I didn't see coming - I was pretty surprised once we got to that plot twist. Overall though I didn't find the book to be overly thrilling, I just couldn't get fully into the story. I mean the plot held my interest, it wasn't that I wasn't interested in the story. I just couldn't emotionally connect to the characters in the story. Andi was a little timid to me, and I thought her character development was a little choppy. I also thought that the transitions between the detective chapters and Andi / Luke story was not always the smoothest and sometimes it took me a minute to catch up. Other than those things the book was good, I liked it and it was a pretty good story. I would recommend trying it, and it might be better to try with the rest of the series.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED it! I couldn't put it down!
The book was excellently written - and the author does a great job of changing the tone to fit different characters. At the beginning, with Belinda, I was a little worried for a second that I wouldn't like it, because of the way it was written... But it fit a woman in love, and the rest of the book had a much better feel. It was very suspenseful, and I just lived in the moment. When I was reading about Andi, I only cared about Andi, and forgot about the "bad guy". Same thing when reading about September, or anyone else. And speaking of September and everyone else, I really loved how all of their stories were so different, yet so excellently tied together in the end! I definitely wouldn't have guessed who the bad guy was - really shows how little you can know someone, despite knowing them for years! Would definitely recommend.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Danielle Urban · Rating 5 out of 5]

Killing Game by Nancy Bush is a great murder crime fiction read! It has multiple murders and a serial killer who thinks the police can't catch him. He lures women easily and other's killed because they got in his way. One woman gets in his way by talking to a detective. From there things get rocky, dangerous, and deadly. A lot of people die before the perpetrator is revealed. I kind of liked how I was in the dark on who the killer was and why. The ending tied up everything perfectly. It all made sense and eased all my questions.

I bought this book from my library's used book sale. This is my voluntary review.

[Davia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait for book 6 before reading!

If you are a series person this book practically ends in the middle of a thought and sentence. So I would have never started it had I known that ahead of time. The mystery was good but not as great as the others and I am still waiting for the killer in book 3 to return...
Do not get me wrong it is a good book just not one I would have started had I known that I would still be waiting for another shot of the female killer and it would end mid action. Of course I will definately read the next one because I must know! What happens next.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 2 out of 5]

According to my kindle I was 43% through this book when I finally gave up on it. I really felt the writing style was amateurish. I was surprised to later realize this was a book in a series and this writer was not a new novelist. The storyline was not believable. The characters were frivolous and childish. The romance was absurd. The dialogue writing was uncomfortable and awkward. This book had very little appeal.

[Claire Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m in two minds about this book, the second half definitely helped it get a 4 star rating but I did find that there was just too much going on in the first half and it was not only hard to keep up with the characters but the plots too. The ‘main story’ was great and it’s always good to have a book that keeps you guessing which this one does, I just wish that it had been blended together a little bit better, it definitely would have gotten a 5 star from me then.