This book is a gripping thriller that follows Nicole, a stay-at-home mom, as she becomes embroiled in a missing persons case involving her son Kyle. As she delves deeper into the investigation, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies that challenge her perception of her son and her own beliefs. The author masterfully crafts a narrative that raises questions about the complexity of maternal love, loyalty, and morality.

Nicole's journey is fraught with tension and uncertainty as she navigates a tangled web of clues, suspects, and motives. Gayle Brown’s skillful plotting keeps the reader guessing until the very end, as Nicole's search for the truth leads her down a dangerous path.

A deadly game is a thought-provoking exploration of the darker aspects of human nature, and the lengths to which a mother will go to protect her child. With its well-developed characters, intricate plot, and surprising twists, it is a compelling read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers.

I loved the premise of this book and couldn't wait to get started but it wasn't for me! The dialogue just made me cringe, it's like when old people try and be relevant by using words they've heard their grandkids use and it just feels..... odd! It had that vibe. Its also quite a slow but and just didn't feel like much happened. Ever. I ended up skimming a pot of ot because I did love the premise and the plot but I just didnt connect with the writing at all for some reason. The bones of an amazing book are there but this just didn't deliver for me. Maybe those who prefer a more slow burn will find it more appealing than I did

This was a debut novel, which I did not feel that it read like it was a debut novel. So I am looking forward to seeing more of Ms.Brown’s works. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was surprised at the end.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A Deadly Game centres around a fraternity game played in the woods at night that is the catalyst for a series of events that start with one of the students going missing during the game.

After the news is announced, one of the parents, Nicole, feels strongly that she needs to investigate herself. She is concerned that her son Kyle played a part and she wants to get to the bottom of what happened before he gets into any serious trouble. As she looks deeper she makes some shocking discoveries that turn her whole world upside down.

The premise for the plot is a good one however the execution didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Within the first couple of pages the dialogue between the students is unbearable (the word “bruh” is written multiple times). Although I can appreciate the author attempting to give authenticity to modern day slang, it’s just not something I want to read in a book.

There’s a lot of mention that the main character is extremely unlikeable, but I’m a believer that if an author is able to elicit strong emotions based on the actions and personality in a fictional character then they did a good job.

There are a lot of twists throughout this book so if you like shocking revelations you will surely enjoy the conclusion to this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and black rose writing for a copy of this book

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me. The story was there, underneath it all, but the execution was lacking. The dialogue was unrealistic and actually made me cringe at times. Nicole was insufferable, inserting herself absolutely unnecessarily into the case of Jaden’s disappearance. The writing style was choppy and awkward. Everything leading up the last chapter and the Epilogue was predictable. The most interesting part of the book was within the last ten pages or so.

****SPOILERS AHEAD, read on at your own risk***

Nicole is a housewife who after staying home to raise her son, Kyle, continued to stay home while her husband Craig is a professor at the local university. While she fills her day with exercise and cooking, she feels drawn to help with the search party of missing college student Jaden.

Jaden went missing while playing a game in the wood with some fraternity brothers, including Kyle. As the investigation goes deeper, rumors circulate about who could have done this. Jaden's parents do not feel like the police are doing enough to investigate the fraternity but would that really bring answers.

Nicole starts receiving notes on her car and thinks she is being followed by a dark suv. But is this just her overactive imagination. While Craig is working longer hours at the college, her mind is racing with all the possibilities on what could have happened. Was Kyle involved? Did Jaden just leave on his own?

This book is definitely a super slow burn. It starts off with a bang but immediately screeches to a halt. Nicole is a bit annoying with how much she worries about the silliest things and doesn't seem to pay attention to bigger clues around her. There are times that she receives threats (that could be clues) and she basically ignores them. She's more worried about Kyle than if a killer is sending her threatening messages. Yet, she's also unstoppable at finding the answers to make sure Kyle is innocent of anything related to Jaden's disappearance.

The characters other than Nicole are not truly fleshed out. Although, at least 1 or 2 more characters are revealed more in depth by the end of the book but until then you get a feel for the supporting characters but that's about it. There was no real connection for me to any character. I did enjoy the plot even with the slow burn. The final 4 or 5 chapters almost make up for the slow speed of the book and also why Iit got bumped to 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this novel.

Thank you to Black Rose Writing and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this story to enjoy!
I have such heavy mixed feelings about this story.
I will start by saying that I loved the premise, I loved how it was written, and for the first 60% I really was interesting. I kept saying "one more chapter" again and again. The story was complex, but not too complex that I didn't find myself enjoying it or getting confused.
At about the 65% mark I found myself disconnecting from the story as we discovered more about the characters, and skimmed about 25% of the book and jumped back in at 90%. I still wanted to know what happened, but didn't find myself wanting to stay as engaged in the story. I was able to pick up everything I needed to by skimming, though.
I loved Kyle, I wish he had better parents. Our good ole lawyer really enhanced the story. For being a side character, I felt he was well developed and likable. I was happy every time his name came on the page because he was smart and witty.
I found myself really not liking our main character very much, especially as the story went on. While she is ethically good I believe, some of her actions where really questionable and I felt like I never had any idea where her head was or what she was going to do next. She did some incredibly unlikable things in the name of protecting her son. She wants to help, but hides evidence. She feels so bad for the parents of Jaden, but not bad enough to not lie straight to their face about losing her own "daughter". Just many weird characteristics.
Where it left a sour taste in my mouth was the very ending, the last chapter. It felt like it made no sense, I didn't find myself caring too much about this big "reveal" and it just kind of made me mad.
Overall, it was, in my opinion, a very okay story. There are good things and bad, but the bad didn't make the story unreadable. I would recommend it to people who are maybe just getting started out in mystery/thriller and haven't read very many yet, as some of the turns were a little predictable to me, but wouldn't have been a year ago.

In the beginning we have a happily married couple who still fancy each other madly after 20 years. However, when their undergraduate son gets caught up in the disappearance of one of their classmates in the equivalent of a game of hide-and-seek in the woods, this idyliic family picture soon gets seriously challenged.

Nicole the mother acts to protect her cub at all costs, and starts making some pretty iffy moves, even while not being totally sure said cub is innocent. As she gets stalked by someone warning her to stay away, she begins to realise that secrets abound within her family.

Twists there are aplenty, right up to the very end, and it soon becomes clear that nothing will ever be the same again for Nicole and her family, as this panicking midlife individual continues to dig herself into an ever-deepening chasm.

As a whodunit, this debut novel works well, though it was difficult not to feel irritation at the protagonist's reactions to what happens to her. Yet possibly, this is no less than the foolishness that most people might display when having their perfect world torn asunder?

The prologue reveals a group of fraternity brothers playing a game called Manhunt (maybe this is a game the author expected we would be familiar with? I am not, so I didn’t understand what they were doing and it wasn’t explained at any point.) One brother, Jaden, disappears.

Cut to, married couple Nicole and Craig learn of Jaden’s disappearance and Nicole loses it because their son, Kyle, is in Jade’s fraternity. She proceeds to make an utter fool of herself, somehow thinking she is entitled to all sorts of inside information. Ultimately she joins the search for Jaden and finds proof of Kyle’s possible involvement. What to do? What is really going on here?

Nicole and Craig were two of the worst, most annoying characters I have come across in ages, especially Nicole. Dumb as a brick. I wanted to punch her. Anyone who has ever read a thriller will have a pretty good guess about where this is going, even if you aren’t sure exactly why. Totally predictable and banal.

This book is about Nicole an empty Nester whose son Kyle was playing hide and seek in the woods when his fraternity brother Jaden went missing and because Nicole loves her son Kyle so much she investigates to prove her son innocent of any wrongdoing. I want to say when I started this book I knew I wasn’t going to like it it is unrealistic from the beginning her and her husband who have been married over 20 years or still madly in love and still want to have sex more than once a day I just felt like it was on realistic her their husband are just a small portion of the book the majority is her trying to solve the crime in the whole thing just felt holy unreal I feel like if I’m rolling my eyes in the first paragraph I’m not going to enjoy the book something I found sad because the summary made me believe it was going to be a really good one. This is too fanciful and fantastical and I am sure that will be those who love the book I just did not like it at all. I want to thank black rose riding and Net Galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A Deadly Game, new author for me. Thrilling plot and well developed characters. Will read more by this author.

Yep, this one is hard to put down. "A Deadly Game" takes off from page one and never lets up - with twists and turns throughout to keep you wondering just what is going to happen next.
A college student goes missing during some fraternity fun and it turns the town upside down, as well as the idyllic family life and marriage for Nicole and her loving college professor husband. And when their son becomes a person of interest - after all, he is a friend and fraternity brother to the missing student - their upside-down world is shaken even more. Well, all fairy tales must end, right?
This thriller is no fairy tale, but a nonstop roller coaster ride with no slowing down in sight. Grab a ride on "A Deadly Game" by Gayle Brown. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

This was an interesting murder mystery where the tension kept ratcheting up until the surprising twist at the end. Unfortunately, I did lose a little of the story momentum because of Nicole’s paranoia. I found myself skim reading the last third of the story but the ending made up for it. I also didn’t understand the writer’s obsession with the physicality of the characters. The beauty of Nicole and her husband, Craig, was mentioned numerous times. Was it to use it as a backdrop to the ugliness of the crime? I just found it repetitive. Also, are there any repercussions for Kyle and his role with the victim?

The premise of this book sounded interesting and that's why I chose this one on Netgalley. I received a copy via Black Rose Writing and it came out on the 7th of December.

A local student, Jaden, disappears one night and Nicole, the mother of one of the fraternity brothers of Jaden, joins the search party. She gets much more involved than necessary and this of course leads to some inevitable events leading up to a finale.

Although the premise sounded interesting, the execution of the story failed miserably. The characters were all quite unlikable, horribly described and just plain stupid. The story itself, after having read the book, was just laughable. Extremely unrealistic and uninteresting. And than the ending... What was supposed to be a major twist I guess was nothing more than a 'seriously?' Unfortunately, this was a waste of time for me. And what is more, it is baffling to see this book getting such high ratings.

1/5 ⭐

Definitely worth a read. It was fast paced, full of twists, and very entertaining. For easy thriller lovers, this one is perfect.

My only complaint was that, even though I appreciated having a type 1 Diabetic character represented (I was diagnosed 28 years ago with type 1 diabetes), I felt like the author did not thoroughly research type 1 diabetes. The author mentions insulin shock in the same paragraph where she talks about the diabetic being without insulin, and insulin SHOCK is from TOO MUCH insulin, not the lack thereof. Just a pet peeve since I actively try to raise awareness of my misunderstood disease.

Other than that, the book was well written and exciting. The main character annoyed me most of the time, as she made some stupid decisions. But, I figure she was supposed to be irrational to further move the plot along in a tense way.

For a debut thriller, it was satisfying. Easy to read. Easy to feel emotions while reading, and it kept me on my toes for the most part.

The way the author talked about Kyle’s parents drove me bonkers. Their bodies and their looks, which are irrelevant. Who cares. Nicole makes the dumbest decisions, just why? I skimmed through this just to be rid of it unfortunately.
2.5 ⭐️

A Deadly Game starts with a missing student following a late night fraternity game in the woods. Nicole fears that her son Kyle was involved somehow - as he had been present at the game. She starts to investigate, thinking to protect her son. But the discoveries she makes will change her life.

The premise of the novel is a good one, but the main character is so unlikable that it gives the reader mixed feelings. There a re a few too many coincidences in the plot, and the sense if place is very weak. But the twists in the ending make it worth reading to the conclusion.

All I have to say is WOW. I was so so so impressed by this debut novel by Gayle Brown.
I was immediately hooked by this story. I loved the writing style and the character/scene descriptions were great(I loved the nicknames for the unnamed characters, they were so funny!).
My only hangup was that after the really strong intro to this story, I felt the first 25% or so of this novel was a little bit slow, maybe a bit repetitive. But the rest of the book is such a crazy ride! Every time you think it can’t get twistier there’s ANOTHER twist and I really did love this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my feedback!

Brown weaves an engaging tale with a lot going on and which keeps the twists going right until the very end. A Deadly Game night just be the next Gone Girl.