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The Game
MIA Special Forces Captain John Washicha wants nothing more than to find his family. After two decades of searching, Washicha instead comes across Los Angeles petty criminal Peter Richardson, who makes him an offer he can't refuse: the chance to reunite him with his wife and children. But everything comes with a price. John suddenly finds himself thrust into Peter's seedy underworld, where a very different type of battle awaits him on the streets of LA. From games of gangland politics to a corrupt legal system, the pair raise questions of greed and complacency, betrayal and loyalty, forgiveness and revenge. Realizing too late that the Mob has ensnared him in a bloody turf war with a vicious biker, John struggles to break free from their deadly grasp while evading prison as his faux-lawyer, Peter, prepares them for a bank heist that will put him back on top. With the stakes mounting, how far will he go for those he loves?
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 23, 2018
About the author
Parker Felterman
7 books7 followersParker Felterman is a Military Intelligence officer, law student, and writer. He received various undergraduate degrees and a graduate degree in philosophy from Carnegie Mellon, and is currently enrolled at Notre Dame Law School. His plays "A Fictional Truth" and "For the Sake of the Child" are recipients of the MWO Tennessee Williams Festival award.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 30, 2018
I prefer nonfiction over fiction, and I've never been interested in crime novels. I also love this book. It's that good.
(contains spoilers)
The first thing I enjoyed was the pacing. There was hardly a dull moment in this book, which made it hard to put down. The plot develops wonderfully as the story progresses; its complexity and mystery were compelling. At the end of nearly every chapter, I needed to know what happened next.
I also loved the book's humor. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book. I also found interesting social commentary scattered throughout. In chapter twelve, when John is taken to prison, there is an short interaction between a prisoner and a district attorney about the attorney's privilege compared to the privilege of the prisoners. In the same chapter, John points out that a convicted criminal will always be seen as a criminal, even if he/she has served time.
I want to talk about the idea of family in the book. Family plays a massive role in the story; John is entirely motivated by his loyalty to his family. Peter is also motivated by family in his own way. He never talks about his father or mother and the reader can't even tell if he has siblings. So these crime organizations serve as a kind of family to him, bound to him by loyalty. This is especially clear when he becomes a Made man, and he is officially made part of the Beppo family. He accepts them as family because even though they dislike him, their strong loyalty makes them family. On the other hand, John defines family by love and flesh and blood. How does one define their family?
The characters take a little while to open up and develop, especially John, the main protagonist. The character that stands out the most is Peter. He's a complex character, often with complex motives that I'm not sure he always fully understands. The only character I truly had issues with was John's wife Katy. She's the only character who's heavily affected who is also given no details about what exactly is going on or even what danger she might be in. Her husband leaves for jobs, often with no explanation. When she does demand answers, her husband often ignores the important questions entirely and she doesn't persist. She then usually says something about not needing answers as long as he comes back alive. The exchanges are predictable. She doesn't expect answers and she doesn't get any. She is the least autonomous character in this book.
I also felt that John's reunion with his family was strange. When he meets his grown sons after over 20 years, there are no tears and no hugs are exchanged. There's just a handshake and a pat on the shoulder. It felt unemotional and strange. I had a similar issue with his reunion with his wife. After setting down the gun she held to the back of his head (after she found out it was him), she proceeds to pull up a chair and sit across the table from him. This was a strange and unemotional reaction on her part. It left me a bit confused.
The compelling plot, the mystery, and the story's complexity made this book fantastic. I'm now very invested in the characters, and I'm incredibly invested in the plot. Would highly recommend.
(contains spoilers)
The first thing I enjoyed was the pacing. There was hardly a dull moment in this book, which made it hard to put down. The plot develops wonderfully as the story progresses; its complexity and mystery were compelling. At the end of nearly every chapter, I needed to know what happened next.
I also loved the book's humor. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book. I also found interesting social commentary scattered throughout. In chapter twelve, when John is taken to prison, there is an short interaction between a prisoner and a district attorney about the attorney's privilege compared to the privilege of the prisoners. In the same chapter, John points out that a convicted criminal will always be seen as a criminal, even if he/she has served time.
I want to talk about the idea of family in the book. Family plays a massive role in the story; John is entirely motivated by his loyalty to his family. Peter is also motivated by family in his own way. He never talks about his father or mother and the reader can't even tell if he has siblings. So these crime organizations serve as a kind of family to him, bound to him by loyalty. This is especially clear when he becomes a Made man, and he is officially made part of the Beppo family. He accepts them as family because even though they dislike him, their strong loyalty makes them family. On the other hand, John defines family by love and flesh and blood. How does one define their family?
The characters take a little while to open up and develop, especially John, the main protagonist. The character that stands out the most is Peter. He's a complex character, often with complex motives that I'm not sure he always fully understands. The only character I truly had issues with was John's wife Katy. She's the only character who's heavily affected who is also given no details about what exactly is going on or even what danger she might be in. Her husband leaves for jobs, often with no explanation. When she does demand answers, her husband often ignores the important questions entirely and she doesn't persist. She then usually says something about not needing answers as long as he comes back alive. The exchanges are predictable. She doesn't expect answers and she doesn't get any. She is the least autonomous character in this book.
I also felt that John's reunion with his family was strange. When he meets his grown sons after over 20 years, there are no tears and no hugs are exchanged. There's just a handshake and a pat on the shoulder. It felt unemotional and strange. I had a similar issue with his reunion with his wife. After setting down the gun she held to the back of his head (after she found out it was him), she proceeds to pull up a chair and sit across the table from him. This was a strange and unemotional reaction on her part. It left me a bit confused.
The compelling plot, the mystery, and the story's complexity made this book fantastic. I'm now very invested in the characters, and I'm incredibly invested in the plot. Would highly recommend.
October 6, 2019
It's a fine book, Crime thrillers aren't my Forté but I actually did enjoy this, although switching from John to Peter was confusing at times and I would lose track on who's perspective I'm reading through. But I liked how the story didn't pertain to the MC's on how things would go their way just because they were the MC. (Main character) Like the Van scene in the beginning for example.
April 1, 2018
Five years of perseverence bound to 360 pages.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews