Fast paced and riveting from beginning to end! With the first book in an exciting new series. Jeffery Deaver takes us into the heart of the Silicon Valley tech industry when a mad man starts bringing a pulse pounding video game to life. Tracker Colter Shaw is brought in to help find a kidnapped young woman, but as days pass, more people start to go missing as the reign of terror begins to unravel. The characters are well-developed with colorful back stories that open additional mystery that will hopefully continue to play out as the series continues. Enjoyed it and will look forward to more to come!

So, this is the start in a new series from Deaver and we’ve moved away from Lincoln Rhyme for a bit.

The Never Game is successful – particularly when it comes to the world of gaming – but isn’t quite as exciting as the Rhyme series.

Deaver does give us a character with a fascinating way of making a living. I can’t really call it a job – our main character basically collects rewards whenever there’s one offered in conjunction with a crime. He’s not a private investigator, but when he hears about an interesting crime, he chases it down in order to get the reward. It’s a fascinating way to make a living. I did like him, but was especially amused as he muddled through the world of gaming as part of his ‘case’.

Gamers should enjoy the techy bits, though this never reaches the level of technothriller.

Overall, a good story. I’ll definitely look for the next one in the series.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Jeffery Deaver is a tremendous writer. His Lincoln Rhymes books are some of my favorites. His descriptions of people and places are impressive! His stories are always interesting and different . You never know what to expect. Colter Shaw reminds me of Jack Reacher,a loner who travels the country helping people. He also gets into a lot of trouble on the way.. I hope he writes more stories about this character as he is fascinating.

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver – 5 Stars
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam
ISBN: 9780525535942

We can always count on Jeffery Deaver’s books and short stories to be enjoyable and well written, to have great characters and to include a plot with perfect complexity. This first book of a series is no exception.

Although we are not gamers, we did relish the lesson in the world of gaming. We never expected it to be so well accepted with huge revenues off games, equipment, accessories, and a host of other side products. Despite a complete description of the industry and company employees, the technical details were spared but covered to the right degree to supplement the mystery within. Also interesting and applicable were Colter Shaw’s upbringing in the family compound and firm instruction in wilderness survival which played most important in his venture to find and survive the tracking of kidnapped people. For the “Gamer” it was a game. For Colter it was business as usual.

The Silicon Valley case is solved in this book, but a lead-in for future books makes you salivate for the next course, plus dessert. We are already starving Mr. Deaver – make it soon.



Reviewer: Nancy and Rich

Always a fun read with Deaver, and this new series is a winner. The character is fresh, and the story zips by with the usual twists and turns. It’s a great beach read, and will earn him another space on the list.

Colter Shaw, a "reward seeker", is on the case looking for a suspected kidnapped young woman. For a expert tracker this simple case soon turns into a deadly real-life hunt in Silicon Valley. The cut-throat world of gaming, gamers and the high cost of living in California feature prominently in the puzzle Shaw must figure out. Learning the fate of the former Moffett Field Naval Base was one of my favorite parts because I was stationed there for aircraft maintenance school at one time. Although I love Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series, I enjoyed this new character and his slightly unorthodox way of life. Being the first in the series we get to see glimpses of the man behind the curtain with the anticipation of the multilayers of Shaw to be revealed in future books. I look forward to the next installment in the Colter Shaw series!

This book opens with the main character, Colton Shaw, trying to rescue a pregnant woman from a sinking ship. The book then takes you into the previous days that led up to the opening scene. Colton was raised off the grid and learned survival skills. His job now is hunting for people for rewards. He is choosy in what cases he takes. Sometimes the amount of the reward isn’t a factor in his choice of a case. Now he is following a diabolical, twisted individual to get to his victims before they die.

This is a new series for this author. It takes you on a crazy ride full of action and twists. I didn’t figure out who the bad guy was. I look forward to more books in this series. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

What could possibly be better than finding an exciting new series? When it's written by a favorite author, that's what! Such is the case here for sure - and for sure I'm already chomping at the bit for the next installment.

The new character is a complex guy named Colter Shaw, who grew up as a son of exceptionally well-educated parents who ditched mainstream life for a survivalist existence. They taught their children well; their father, from off an ever-deepening end, and their mother from a more practical (and loving) perspective as she struggled to rein in her husband's paranoia. Long since, Colt moved back to reality (even going to college and law school) and now makes a living primarily by earning reward money offered for locating missing loved ones. He's not a bounty hunter; he picks his jobs only after carefully researching both the reward offerers and the victims. On every case, one of his strengths - long ago instilled by his now-deceased father - is assessing probabilities (whether or not he'll be successful, which suspect is more likely to be the perpetrator, etc.) Adding to the overall strength of the book is that interspersed throughout are recollections from Colt's growing-up years - some good, some not so much - all of which give readers intriguing insights into what motivates him.

The story opens as Colt is in over his head - literally; he's trying to save a very pregnant woman who's been locked into a boat that's sinking in frigid water. We get a glimpse or two of what might happen before the scene shifts to two days earlier, when someone tries to toss a Molotov cocktail into Colt's RV. Shortly thereafter, he learns of a $10,000 reward from a Silicon Valley father who's desperate to find his missing daughter. Colt drives his RV to a park there, rents a car, visits the father and agrees to take on the case. During the investigation, he encounters a professional computer game tester named Maddie, who drags him to a huge convention and introduces him to a world he didn't even know existed - a world filled with characters who love killing, both virtually and, quite possibly, in real life.

Although I'm working on some kind of electronic gadget a big part of every day, whether it be my desktop or Kindle or smartphone - I've never had more than a passing interest in playing animated games. As such, a good bit of the plentiful and complex information on that topic that's in here pretty much sailed over my head. On the other hand, I learned quite a few things - all of which added to the story and made it even more interesting. I can't say more without giving away too much, but the ending brings everything together (including the woman on the sinking ship) as well as leaves the door wide open to the next chapter in Colt's life.

For me, that can't come soon enough, so please get busy, Mr. Deaver. While I wait, I'll thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review the first of what I'm confident will be a great series.

An enjoyable adventure novel with a superhero protagonist, reminding me of Jack Reacher. Because of his background Cokter Shaw has unique talents and abilities which he uses to find and save people in danger.

Certainly an interesting read and will probably become part of an ongoing series.

I will stick to Lee Child.

The Never Game, a new series by Jeffery Deaver, features Colter Shaw. The story begins with Colter, who is a "reward seeker", being hired by the father of a missing :young woman. Lots of twists & turns, interesting background of Colter being raised in a survivalist family and the mystery of his father's death. What a great start to a new series - can't wait for the next one! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver- Colter Shaw works as a recovery/reward independent operator, searching for lost or kidnapped victims. He's been doing so for about ten years and is confident in his methods and instincts. Raised by a survivalist father, he follows a strict set of rules to keep out of harms way. He assists law enforcement when they let him, but is not encumbered by their sanctions.
The books opens with Shaw living in his RV near Berkeley, California, trying to track down something from his father's past that has been haunting him. While he's there, a local girl has disappeared, and a reward offered. He takes on the case. The police think it is a simple runaway, and which he believes otherwise. Through his own efforts, he is able to find the girl but not without a fatality to someone else.
Afterwards, he meets young woman named Maddie, who introduces him to the world of video gamming, something he is only vaguely familiar. After some talk, they both begin to realize the setting for the recent kidnapping is the first level of a popular game played online by thousands of people. Then another kidnapping occurs.
Shaw pursues this second case and sees it has a similar setup to level two of the same game. The police are unconvinced but reluctantly help him. By now, he has talked to so many people with possible interest in this case, that he doesn't know who to trust. Some red herrings are thrown in to spice up the action and some surprises await Shaw.
The story is well paced, characters filled out just enough to justify their participation, some good tense moments keep things urgent. One standout for me was the curious storyline involving Shaw's father. From time to time, we would see flashbacks of Colter growing up and how his parents trained him to be self-sufficient, and how his father's unyielding will must be served.
After a modest start, becomes a page-turner. I recommend it.

Deaver’s new series stars Colter Shaw, a man who collects rewards for a living. His dad a psychologist turned survivalist taught Colter many tricks of the trade.

Colter shows up to help a man locate his daughter. It helps that $10,000 is offered by Frank Mulliner for the return of Sophie, who disappeared after the two of them fought over the sale of his house.

Shaw, quickly learns that the detective in charge of the case isn’t taking it seriously, so he starts at the beginning and due to his expert tracking skills begins the process. He combines what he has learned from his father as well as his experience solving cases to attempt to locate this woman who has gone missing in Silicon Valley.

But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry.

When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game –The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. But raising the stakes is the fact that this victim, Elizabeth Chabelle, is nearly ready to give birth.

My Thoughts

What Concerned Me: Though the story was fine and for the most part a page turner, it didn’t totally capture my interest.

What I Liked Most: The new character is unique and I am excited to read more in this series.

The hero in The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver is Colter Shaw. The book begins when he is risking his life to save a woman who is locked in a sinking ship.He risks his life again and again when attempting to save kidnapped people. This seems to be his business since he requests payment or a reward if he is successful. Most of the book is about his attempt to find and save one young woman. Her father offered a reward and Shaw responded. While trying to find and save her he struggles with the police who would prefer that he let them solve the case. Colter Shaw is an interesting character. I would like to read more stories that feature him.

A new series, a new character who is very well developed. I got a good sense of the type of person Colter Shaw is, throughout the book, there were ‘flashbacks’ or memories of his past. The storyline was about gaming which is not my favorite, however with the main character it made it worthwhile and has me looking forward to the next one in the series by Jeffrey Deaver. This book was definitely action packed.

5 stars

Sophie Mulliner has been kidnapped. Tracker Colter Shaw is sure of it. The police don't seem very interested in the case, but Colter goes to search for her himself. Using his amazing deductive and tracking skills, he finds her in an old abandoned warehouse and manages to rescue her with somewhat minor injuries. But not all goes well.

The detective on the case is still not very interested and arrests Colter for removing evidence from the scene of the crime. Interesting since they weren't even at the scene and had failed to declare the area a crime scene in the first place.

Colter uses his skills to track missing people and assist the police in their hunt for wrong doers.

A man is kidnapped next. Colter meets with Detective Standish who is for more on the ball than the previous detective he met. She is actually welcoming his assistance. He tells her about his discovery of a game where the player gets five things to help them survive. They have to make it out of a trap – be it a room or wherever. It is called “The Whispering Man.” Colter believes that this is what the perpetrator is doing; playing the game with real people for keeps. Standish is clearly skeptical. Then she begins to accept his theory and focuses her investigation in that direction.

Elizabeth Chabelle, nearly ready to give birth is kidnapped next. Colter finds her trapped in an almost sunken boat by the time he reaches her. After an exciting and action-filled scene, the suspect is captured. The identity of the kidnapper/killer was somewhat of a surprise and his motive was straight out of the ozone.

Colter's past life and especially his family are most interesting. There is sufficient information given about his past to help the reader understand how he became the man he is and how he developed into the person he is and with his job. The information does not detract from the story, however, it only adds to it. Mr. Deaver has crafted a very well written and plotted novel. While I have read his other books, ( I really like the Kathryn Dance books), this is this reader's introduction to Colter Shaw novels and I found him to be a very fascinating individual. I am very much looking forward to reading more about Colter and his unique “job.”

I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Jeffrey Deaver has written the first in a new series.As usual a good read quirky with a solid story line looking foward to next in series.#netgalley #putnambooks.

A quirky lead character for a new series, I liked him. The storyline wasn't totally my bag, but I will give it another go with the next book.

Free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jeffrey Deaver scores again in this gaming thriller featuring a new intriguing and complex character. A son of an academic and a psychiatrist turned survivalists, Colter Shaw combines what he learned from his parents with his innate intelligence and experience to solve cases for which rewards are offered. The reward offered for finding a missing teen leads to a complex set of kidnappings and murders ultimately related to multilevel multiplayer games (and much much more, but no spoilers here). . Deaver combines an intellectual mystery with lots of action and a chilling commentary on current events to give us another of his spellbinding novels. He is one of our cleverest storytellers writing today and I look forward to his next offering.

As usual, Deaver delivers a very good thriller (almost a guarantee). I'll keep this brief. A pager turner with good characters, well-written characters, and most importantly an interesting, solid plot. I'm not a gamer, and I'm not sure this would appeal to those that are seriously into that, but who knows. Anyway, I'd certainly recommend this and look forward to the followup!

I really appreciate Putman's generosity in allowing me to read an advanced copy!

I like this Colter Shaw character and hope to read more of his adventures. This was a fast moving book. Great read