A serial killer is loose in Moscow! I loved the setting of this book, I enjoy anything with a European vibe, and liked the premise. However, it dragged in the middle and at the end which let the book down for me.

The Greatest Endgame is about Lena, a pretty young lawyer and artist living a nightmare. She's been abducted and is being kept in the basement of a serial killer.

Definitely, a psychological thriller that'll leave you turning on the lights at night!

The first part of this book follows Lena in the present day as she struggles with a breakup and tries to find herself and find love again. It also takes us back a few years to meet 18 year old Ruslan, a nerdy chess player with no friends. Ruslan gets picked on a lot, but the worst happens when his gran sends him to camp with his classmates.
This brings us to present day. A serial killer is preying on women and leaving their dismembered bodies for the police to find. He sets his sights on Lena and eventually she is caught.

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it the way I thought I would. It was a very very quick read and there seemed to be a lot of build up but the ending just ended up being a bit of a let down.

There’s a serial killer loose in Moscow and the police are no closer to catching him than when he made his first kill. Young women are advised not to go out alone at night otherwise they may become the latest target of the Blinder, the nickname given to the serial killer by the Russian police. However, the Blinder has just made his first mistake. He has kidnapped Lena. And Lena isn’t going down without a fight.

This isn’t a big book which meant that I could finish it though I have noticed that a few people struggled to get to the end. The writing was basic and needed so much more polish. Having said that, the plot wasn’t bad and it could had the making of a good story but I feel the writer’s inexperience let it down.

My thanks go to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

The Greatest Endgame
by Artem Kofanov
2⭐⭐
This novel is about a serial killer in Moscow. The book starts out really slow and boreing . The background of why he becomes a serial killer is interesting but nothing else is. I finally gave up 54 % into the book. Sorry this book just was not for me. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get ! Thank you to NetGalley ,the publisher and the author for the chance to read and review this read for an honest review ! 2⭐⭐

This book was interesting from start to finish! The characters are great, the plotline is captivating, and the writing is good.
I enjoyed this thriller very much and can't wait to read more books by Artem Kofanov!

This is overall a good thriller but the writing felt clumsy and I'm not sure whether that was down to the translation or not. There was also a shift in time and character to follow right from the start which was difficult as you weren't sure why you were seeing different characters (normally when you use past and present as chapter switches they are to show the progression of one character).

Thanks to Net Galley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this book about 2.5 stars. The idea was good, but but a lot of the situations were just not plausible.

Basic plot: A child who experiences a rough childhood turns into a serial killer. No big surprise there, but the back story was interesting, but didn't go deep enough. I would have liked to know more about the intervening years between childhood and adulthood. When he abducts his latest victim, Lena, her boyfriend sets out to find her.

I understood the killer's motivation and the storyline was interesting overall, which is why I was able to finish the book. The biggest flaw in this book is just how unbelievable some of the actions on the part of the main characters and the police.

For example, in one part of the book they find the body of a young woman and need to find out if it is Lena. For some reason the police ask her boyfriend to identify the body (and not her parents who are both mentioned in the book) and the body that they need ID'd is in bad shape and shows signs of torture. I have to believe that no police department would allow someone to view the body of a loved one close-up who showed signs of torture.

There were several other situations that had me shaking my head and maybe things are just done differently in Moscow. Could have been a solid book but there was just a total disconnect with any type of police procedures.

A really good and interesting read.
Well written. Captivating from the start.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and author for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a disturbing murder mystery with all of the gory details but none of the finesse of an actual mystery. This was all rage and sloppy storytelling. There was no mystery to uncover nor subtle clues to follow,just one big violent quest to punish those who victimized the bullied kid. Disappointed. with an intriguing title like the Greatest Endgame I expected more.

Books about cults and serial killers are my thing. When I first started reading the book it was a but slow but then it started to pick up and I really found myself liking it a lot more. I also liked the fact that it was set in Moscow. Overall am enjoyable read,

The greatest end game by Artem kofanov is a book based on serial killer. This book details in length the emotions of both the victim and the serial killer. At first it is difficult to comprehend the details of both the victim and the killers past and emotions but as it progresses we understand the plot . its is a thrilling book for sure .

I really enjoyed the story going on in this book. I liked the characters and it moved along at a good pace. The wording and grammar were somewhat awkward at times but that may have just been the translation? Overall it was a good book I would recommend if you like serial killer books.

I loved the back and forth of this book. Dual timeline is an automatic plus for me and the story + mystery was very intriguing. The author does a great job of setting pace and building the character's up until about 2/3rds of the way through the book. After that, things felt rushed and the believability of the story got lost for me. Overall, I enjoyed the book but the last third of the book needed more.

Not a very long book, and at it should have been even shorter. Simplistic and very easy to read, even though POV is changing all the time.