Red Screen

by Daniel Burke

The real terror begins when the game is over.

Parker Reid is the FBI’s top profiler, and he’s been dispatched to hunt another monster. A serial killer is slaughtering people in their beds. The manner in which he kills, the trophies he takes, and the way he poses the bodies indicate the killer is acting out a cruel fantasy. The murders are real, but the clues have led Parker to the computer-simulated worlds of the Metaverse.

Shea Britton is hunting a killer too. The top player in an elaborate fantasy simulation game called the Land of Might and Magic, Shea’s character, Darshana, is on a quest to rid the Land of an evil player known only as The Gray Warrior, who is killing the game’s best players.

What neither of them know is they are hunting the same person, and soon the game will become a lot more real for Shea.

Genres: Mystery, Murder Mystery

321 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

Daniel Burke lives outside Atlanta, Georgia where he devotes time to writing, travel, and grandchildren. When not pecking away on a writing project, his favorite place to be is on the back of his Triumph motorcycle winding through the north Georgia mountains. He has had a lifelong addiction to great fiction and hopes his stories touch others with the same need.

Reviews

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a scintillating twist of Dungeons and Dragons meets Ready Player One (and Two), with at least one fantasy fandom thrown in, the author presents a futuristic mystery thriller that had me unable to put the story down to the very end. I have to be fair that I'd begun suspecting the culprit about halfway through, but that did not diminish the readability, excitement, and heart pounding as the story finished unfolding and concluded. Very interested to see what else this author has written, and what any future releases are.

This is an unsolicited review based on an ARC provided by the author.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to BookSirens for this ARC - one of my fiction highlights of the year. I loooove techy stories like this; MMORPGs make a great setting for adventure. I felt like Burke did a brilliant job of making LMM and the Real feel totally believable, and I loved the characters. I'd be incredibly keen for more! Even when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I hadn't quite got it all figured out. The writing style was so easy to read, and the chapters were quite short which meant you never lost momentum with each of the storylines. Great book - I will be recommending it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

LitRPG combines with the serial killer genre in an excellent novel. Characters are well developed and the plot made it difficult for me to quit for the night. An “anomaly” is found in the near future online gaming world. It has hacked its way into an online game and seems to be invulnerable. It cuts off the heads of the most high level players in the game and takes their ears, stringing them around its neck. Although this is a problem that needs to be solved by the company running the game, when the beheading begin to take place in the real world, FBI behavior psychologists get involved. A great book that you will love if you are interested in gaming and serial killers. Thanks to BookSirens for providing me with an ARC. This is an honest review based on my own choice.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Virtual reality meets reality. Dark, mysterious thriller. Easy read, great characters.

[DL Heim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equal parts taut psychological thriller, Dungeons and Dragons fantasy and Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game, Red Screen by Daniel Burke manages to spin an immersive tale that had me reading way past my bedtime. Burke’s writing style is quite spare, but nevertheless captures both the Metaverse and the “Real Real” world of criminal investigations and corporate intrigue. What I found most satisfying were the emotional beats of the novel. The impact of loss, trauma and grief on the protagonists’ motivations are given as much narrative weight as the descriptions of the Land of Might and Magic. Finally, I loved the relationships that developed between some of the main characters – I’m hoping the author follows through on what felt like a nice set up for further adventures!

[Jenny Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good fun. The twin strands of the story were great, got into both of them.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5

Daniel Burke's "Red Screen" deserves a round of applause. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I had it read in less than a day! Interesting storyline, likeable characters, well-written, and fast paced. This Reality vs. Virtual Reality read is a winner, and I look forward to reading more from Burke in the future.

Thank you to the author and publisher for my free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Alex Molik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5. I was entertained throughout. A story about a serial killer that finds their victims in the metaverse. Found it a bit annoying that I predicted the twist, and was right about it, far before it was revealed. The author explains some jargon that if you've ever played video games, don't need explaining (respawn is the one that nearly made me throw my kindle). Although, that makes more sense since one of the main characters has no idea how video games work. The final chapter with action in it felt like kind of a let down after so much buildup. Overall, not bad, though.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thrilling read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Sheri Corriero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a fantasy type story where the virtual world has intermixed with the real world. The virtual world is the Land of Might and Magic. Shea Britton is one of the top players, named Darshana. She is an ultra high level player who people pay to get them through tricky areas of the Land of Might and Magic. She trains people to help them become more skilled and powerful, but she is there to kill anyone who tries to kill them. That’s what they pay her for. Darshana takes a group out and comes across a beast of a player/character who is killing everyone. Her group is lost, and she couldn’t protect them. This character was too powerful. Darshana has to get him. At the same time in the real world, there is a killer loose. Parker Reid is an FBI profiler who is trying to get him. Little do they know, it’s the same person. I loved the way virtual reality was intertwined with real life. That’s what drew me to the story. The magical land and its characters were well written. I felt like I was there. I didn’t have any difficulty picturing the scenes in my head as I read. I received an ARC copy from the author and this is my honest review.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The FBI are investigating curious deaths and Dr Parker leads the case. Alongside him, Shea and Tony investigate the curious murders as Shea can get on the inside of the simulation game. It takes time to grasp the visuals as various characters are introduced and it is unclear when the setting is real life or in the game. This is not a casual read and requires careful reading to follow the murder investigations.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story concept was so cool! Some twists I saw coming but most I didn't and I love how Daniel Burke was able to put it all together in the end! The descriptions of the Metaverse were so cool I could really picture it clearly. Definitely a great thriller, mystery read!

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a complex story that the author seamlessly weaves the story into an easily understood exciting book. This book was excellently told. The story was interesting and captures the reader from page one. I couldn’t put it down! The characters were well developed to the point they seemed real. This was an interesting story about reality vs Virtual Reality and how the lines could blur! This book was nonstop action! I highly recommend this book and this author! I will go back and read more if this author’s books!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! What an awesome book. Combining gaming and murder into one really neatly, well-written book.

Some really interesting twists and turn, had me guessing a lot of the time, although I did see one thing coming, and was quite proud of myself for that.

The fantasy meets reality, real-life elements in this book were really well handled, and the fact that even the fantasy had a toe in the reality, made this book actually a bit scary too.

Excellent world- and character-building!!

This is highly recommended and well worth the read, more so if the genre is what tickles your fancy. Even if it doesn't, I believe that you will still manage to immerse yourself in this book.

[Anastacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Red Screen" is a technothriller about a VR fantasy world where a player is killing top players and cannot be stopped. In the real world, someone is also killing people. Multiple people race to stop them, including hackers and the FBI.

This book was amazing. It kept my attention, and I could not stop reading. The world is very detailed, and the FBI duo was fleshed out. I cared about everyone, and I figured out who the killer was fairly early, but still enjoyed the book. Shea was very sympathetic, and I felt for her. This book isn't too graphic with the violence, and there is no romance which I appreciated.

[Kamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story and action packed. I didn't want this one to end!

[Susan Stachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understand first – that I am not a writer. What can be said by most in a few words – turns into an essay by me. Frankly, I hate reading books by folks that write like me. This is NOT one of ‘those’ books. What is challenging however, is to get someone like me immediately drawn into the story to the point of no return. I am an IT ‘person’. I am NOT a ‘gaming’ person and frankly know next to nothing about gaming. With this book, Dan grabbed me immediately with all of the jargon and feel of the IT world; the programming, the developing, the testing / simulation operators the overall Ops Teams and all the various roles. Let’s not forget the 24x7 troubleshooting when things go unexpectedly – the ‘all hands on deck’ meetings that task everyone to ‘fix the problem now’ before even knowing what the problem is, how did it get there, and how it managed to eke into the production environment bypassing all the stringent development and pre-production testing, simulation, and functionality stress testing for (hopefully) millions of user to become engaged. Now that I’m hooked, Dan needed to educate me in the gaming world by bringing me into the Metaverse and having me see firsthand (okay – via Shea /Darshana) what this gaming world was all about … and then losing myself in it. All in all, not an easy task for any author – but Dan very simply pulled me into this new world where I forgot where I was … Metaverse or Real? Who broke the code and how? An amazing read!! Honestly, the first two things I said when I finished this book (quickly I might add) is: When is the movie coming out?? And Is the sequel written yet?? READ THIS BOOK, GET SUCKED INTO THIS BOOK, YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED !!

[BookishDramas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book as a free Review copy. My thanks to the publisher, BookSirens and the author for the copy.

This review is based on my reading this book and is my honest unbiased opinion of what I felt while reading the book.

I have been having a great run in reading books over the last few days especially when it comes to reading ARC's from a variety of authors some of whose work I have read earlier and many who are totally new for me but the books have been great and entertaining.

This is another such book for me. I have read Burke's earlier novel Cherokee Gold a decade earlier and had a fair expectation from him for this book. The story has exceeded expectations despite the fact that Daniel tends to write a bit longer story in terms of size but is able to hold interest.

This story is also very different from the earlier book and is a serial killer murder mystery which occurs both offline and online in a fantasy game. Burke has kept the spirit of the game and the work done in following the clues towards the serial killer separate and distinct. He has to be commended for the effort and research put in specially for the game which seems so real and appealing. This is a fusion of two captivating genres and the story holds interest throughout.

The story captured my imagination and the characters including the profiler Parker and the gamer Shea.

The basic storyline is something that I have read about earlier and this being in my comfort zone (thrillers) helped me draw early conclusions in the book. I could have done with more edits to wean out longer descriptions even though the story speed/pace is not much affected.

Loved the book and highly recommended as a more than competent thriller.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be "red-screened" is to die in the meta-verse Land of Might and Magic - a virtual reality game that may have more in common with the real world than the players would like. The killings have crossed over, and Parker Reid, the FBI's top profiler, is brought in to hunt for this cruel and elusive murderer. Gamer Shea Britton is on the hunt in the virtual world for the same killer. This quick-moving book takes you back and forth between the real and unreal as we follow both hunters racing on a collision course toward each other as they chase the Gray Warrior. What a genre-bending novel this is, with elements of fantasy, thriller, horror, mystery, and even romance. It's a top-notch, well-written tale with Burke at the top of his craft in this one. Hang on in the early-goings where it can be difficult to keep all the players straightened out - with many of the characters living in two worlds with two different names. It's all part of the fun of keeping reality and fantasy separated. But is that really how it is meant to be? Is the Gray Warrior real or a figment of some programmer's madness? "Red Screen" by Daniel Burke should be the best thriller you read this year with fun twists and turns to keep you guessing and turning the pages. Enter the Land of Might and Magic - you will not be disappointed.

[Gary Gerlacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Screen is a mystery that blurs the lines between reality and game play. People are being murdered in the real world, but the clues to the murder are inside the Metaverse, an online reality game. To solve the murders, the FBI enlist the help of Shea, one of the top players in the game. Shea agrees to use her character in the game as bait, but it will also put her life at risk in the real world. This is an intelligent, tense mystery that will keep you guessing until the final pages.

[Chuck Storla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the two sides of this novel—the video game sequences and the hunt for the killer in real life. Either story would have made for a compelling read, but the mix made it all the more entertaining.

And don’t worry. You don’t need to be a gamer to appreciate the first, nor do you need to be a serial killer to get immersed in the second.