Winter Games

by John Lacombe

In the frigid mountains of North Korea, trained assassins, dark geniuses, government super-agents, elite soldiers and drug kingpins are thrown together in a ferocious fight to the death. Yet even as these deadly killers circle each other in the snowy wilderness, the fate of each and every one of them may rest in the hands of a single man... ************ 24-year-old Tim Sutton runs a humble comic book store in a small New Hampshire town. But Tim's simple life is about to be ripped from its foundation. Unbeknownst to Tim, a round of deadly Winter Games has begun. And Tim is the key player. Winter Games, the upcoming debut novel of author John Lacombe, weaves together many of today's hottest issues to form a complex, driving, relevant thriller. A brother hunts for answers. A warrior hunts for her own limits. A nation hunts for both of them. In a frosty wilderness of military cover-ups and international crime, everyone is a predator. And everyone is prey. Winter Games.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 8, 2008

About the author

John Lacombe was born and raised in New Hampshire. He attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating with his Bachelor's degree in 2002. After graduating from NU, John began to pursue fiction writing, exploring opposite ends of the country (North Carolina and California) while he researched and wrote Winter Games, which recently won the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Book Festival. Finally, the land of his alma mater and the city of Chicago called, and he now resides in this city eager to fuel future mysteries and thrillers.

John Lacombe is currently at work on the sequel to Winter Games, as well as a YA novel.

Reviews

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

AN EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING READ.

John Lacombe's debut novel, 'Winter Games' is a fast-paced action-thriller of an old fashioned page-turner, (or, perhaps, in this era of eReaders, we might call it a 'screen-burner'.) with a very imaginative plot. I enjoyed reading this novel, and would probably give it more like 3+ stars. With a bit less violence it might even approach a 4-star read for me; but then it wouldn't be 'Winter Games', anymore.

Very well written. Very well constructed. A quick and easy read.

Recommendation: If gratuitous violence doesn't trouble you, and you like a fast-paced, convoluted plot... this is the book for you.

(nookEbook #4)

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just about one of the most suspenseful, intense, and awesome I've ever read. For a first novel, Lacombe seems like he's been writing for years. There were so many twists and turns in this story it could make your head spin. The writing was great and you never ever knew what would happen next. If you're looking for suspense, action, and great book, plunge into the mystery of Winter Games.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great page-turner! This was an entertaining thriller. I especially loved the characters. They were very distinct and memorable. Also, this thriller was not predictable at all, which was a lot of fun. It seems to be set up for a sequel, and I'm looking forward to that if it comes out.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Games is a spell-binding, action packed thriller. I was thoroughly engrossed in the characters from page one, marvel at the author's ability to lace together several plot twists, and enthusiastically await the sequel. This novel is the kids of book that makes you put your life on hold.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but poorly developed, shallow characters.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Sutton, 24-year-old owner of a comic book store in a small New Hampshire town, is the central thread in this thriller by first-time novelist John Lacombe. Tim has an older brother, Eric, a brilliant misfit, who has disappeared years before. When an odd, encrypted plea for rescue, seemingly from Eric, appears at Tim's store, it launches Tim on a strange odyssey across the United States, to China, and finally to North Korea, of all places.
Tim is a normal person, but worked into the narrative with him are an assortment of CIA and FBI agents, Army Rangers, drug kingpins, and two almost mythologically adept super-warriors, the kind who can render themselves invisible, are immune to fatigue and environment, and are unexcelled in the use of every weapon known to man, with a familiarity with cutting-edge technology thrown in at no extra charge. As an added plus, the American agent of lethality is a smallish woman with red hair.
The story, at first a basic missing person case, eventually thickens with the agendas of the other characters: interagency rivalries, super-agent vs. super-agent, and the intrigues of the various national entities. This is satisfying. This type of thriller lives on complications and duplicity. The conclusion is not quite the expected one, but satisfying nonetheless. A lover of the genre would have a good time with this book.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an exciting book from beginning to end. It was like the Bourne Supremacy infused with a bit of Catch Me If You Can. It was tightly woven and smart and so well unravelled that you figure out a little bit and want to know what happens next and figure out a little bit more and wonder but wait, what about... until the next thing you know you haven't had so much as a drink of water in 3 hours. =) I skipped over most of the fighting scenes, because they're not my thing, and sure, like any book there were a few little errors that I could pick on, but it was such a good story, who cares?

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first novel by John Lacombe begins in Manchester’s Airport as FBI agents wait for the arrival of a plane and passenger Eric Sutton. He doesn’t get off the plane and when the agents go look in the plane he in not there either, but the agents spot him in a maintenance tunnel and give chase. A gunshot is heard and when the third agent heads for tunnel he finds both agents dead and Eric gone.
This begins a tale of a search for Eric by the FBI and CIA, a rescue mission by Eric’s older brother, two super soldiers and a North Korean drug ring that travels from a small New Hampshire town to a secret enclave deep in the forest of North Korea. Good enough to keep me reading till the end.

[Myra Emmons · Rating 1 out of 5]

Without a doubt one of the most poorly written books I've read in a long time. Shallow characters, unbelievable scenarios... and the author kept telling me how smart the protagonist was, without ever providing a situation that *demonstrated* any intelligence whatsoever. I found that incredibly annoying.

The premise of the story was interesting but this writer really needs to work on his craft.

[Susan Schatvet · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far this book is fabulous, very well written for a first book.