Game by Anders De La Motte - Breathless Thriller

I haven't been feeling well this week and so have been reading to take my mind of my cough. The book I am bringing to you today has most certainly done that. I was going to wait until I and read all 3 books in the trilogy before I reviewed but this one was so good I and to let my readers know.

It says on the book blurb that this author is the new Stieg Larson. This may be the case in that the author has written a brilliant book, the first in a trilogy. However, this book has it's own style and storyline and is nothing like Larson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy. This, the first book, is outstanding and has me reaching for the second book already. 

HP is a layabout waster, with an overwhelming sense of entitlement, who feels life has treated him badly. This makes him the perfect candidate for The Game, which starts when he picks up a mobile phone he finds on a train. This act unleashes a chain of events which are bigger than he, or anyone else could ever imagine. The Game quickly turns into The GAME where no one is as he or she seems and no one is safe. The components of the game become increasingly more dangerous with potentially lethal consequences. HP finds himself right up to his blond hair right in the midst of it.

This is also the story of HP's sister, a Police Officer and Bodyguard who is dragged into the whole sorry mess. Rebecca is a complex character with a troubled past and she is very much part of the story.

This is a superbly written thriller with a fast paced and ever changing plot. Initially I didn't think much to the characters, in fact I intensely disliked them. However, throughout the book I found them growing on me. It wasn't long before I was rooting for the good guys and railing against the bad guys. This is hard as I was never entirely sure who the good guys and bad guys are. I found myself holding my breath regularly and wondering where the story was going.

The story does tend to jump between scenes with little warning and sometimes only briefly. Initially I found this somewhat disconcerting but once I got used to it, it served to ramp up the tension. There is a lot of tension. The premise of this trilogy is original and, in book one at least, riveting. I found this book to be engrossing from start to finish and I cannot wait to read book 2. This is definitely a highly recommend.

I actually have book 2, Buzz, in my sticky little mitts as I type. Well not literally of course but it is lying on my desk next to the keyboard. It's looking highly likely I'll be purchasing book three. Look out as the review of Buzz will be here soon. I'm off back to Sweden to find out what is happening to HP as the game progresses. See you all back here soon for another review from the Bookaholic.