Jeffery Deaver is a master of suspense and psychology, and his latest novel – the first in a new series – does not disappoint.
The Never Game presents a new character, Colter Shaw. What’s most appealing about Shaw is he does not appear to be your standard ‘ragged edge’ ex-cop that fill most crime thrillers. He has a demon or two of course – who doesn’t – but he also seems to have more depth and heart than some other comparable leading men. Shaw finds people for a living, be that victims, fugitives, or people missing from life.
In this first introduction to him, he’s faced with a new challenge beyond his experiences growing up in a rural ranch to a father adamant that his children learn to survive in the wild. This time, Shaw is faced with the world of online gaming, thrust into the heart of Silicon Valley and a very different way of life.
Deaver takes us through a maze of aliases, coding, and gaming strategy, each page being a new level to interpret, understand, and hopefully conquer. The Never Game is the crime thriller for our times of surveillance and paranoia, where big data is both the saviour and destruction of life as we know it. And of course, we’re left with a textbook cliffhanger already anticipating Shaw’s next challenge.
This book was originally reviewed for LoveReading.
Tiffany Chevis 