Customer Reviews

Deadly Games

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Flawless storytelling from the author and I (the lucky reader) got a lot of goosebumps. A great read.

I just read this book from cover to cover. It's strikingly suspenseful, and the author shows amazing skill in making a wild plot believable and scary. It reminds me of The Manchurian Candidate, but with a 2001 twist that could make any parent a little paranoid about the technology in their children's hands. The writing is vivid and brisk. This is the kind of book people reach for in airports right before they get on a plane -- and the kind that they hold on to and recommend to friends. It's several notches above any thrillers I've read in months!

The truth is: I carried this book everywhere for 48 hours until I finished it! Great pacing, and the characters are meaty enough that you want to know what happens to them. This is one of those plots where you already know whodunit, but you can't imagine how or why, and you have to keep reading to find out. This is my first book by Thom Racina, and I will keep reading. Think summer movie entertainment, not "litrajure", and you will not be disappointed!

Thom Racina, a master of what we affectionately call "fluff fiction", come up with an interesting premise here: a megalomaniac with a strong hatred of religion uses his video game, Practice Run, to brainwash teens to help eradicate important religious figures in an attempt to wipe God's influence off the face of the planet. Tyler Bryant has just married idealistic and impressionistic Quinn. It doesn't take long for her to suspect her husband in a series of hideous murders: a teen shoots an Archbishop at her confirmation and then shoots herself; a teen brutally attacks two door to door religious men, and then kills himself; and on and on. The sole factor that connects them: they all played Practice Run. Add a heroic FBI investigator; the maniac's imprisoned half-brother, and a stoic friend, and Quinn is off to tell the world.
There are some cliche scenes, some inane dialogue, but Racina knows how to hook his reader and keep them involved. His books move fast, and I enjoy them.

Once again Mr. Racina has written a compelling, captivating suspense thriller.
His easy reading style makes his books a pleasure to read.
The plot and character development are superb!!!!!!
After reading this book of his, try all his others!!!

engaging characters drive this quick-moving story. great for a relaxing weekend. in addition to looming questions of the dangers of a video game generation, much is given to debating the values of religion in history and society. pick it up.

The world's premier computer game programmer Tyler and Quinn, a woman who heads a foundation that gives computers to the needy in all parts of the world, met at Costco and soon they married. Quinn is the happiest woman on earth because she is in love again. She begins to have doubts about her husband when she learns that he has a brother he never mentioned. The sibling is in prison for hacking into the Pentagon's computer.

Next Quinn discovers that Tyler's number one bestselling game has subliminal messages that program the hardcore users to kill religious leaders. She confides her fear to a closes friend, an FBI agent but he is murdered before they can find hard evidence against Tyler. Quinn talks to the agent's partner, but he too disappears. Now she concludes that the new version of Practice Run due in stores on Easter will cause a blood bath against religious figures yet she still struggles with accepting Tyler is a killer.

Thom Racina is one of the most exciting suspense authors of our time, always writing a book that is believable and unforgettable. DEADLY GAMES is one of his most fascinating books to date because readers don't want Quinn's husband to be the villain. He is portrayed for much of the book as a kind-hearted loving spouse and the audience finds themselves, like Quinn, under his spell and hoping that he is not a killer (kind of like Hitchcock's' Suspicion). There is so much action in this crime thriller that it is a wonder that the characters are so three dimensional and realistic, a testimony to Mr. Racina's talent.

Harriet Klausner

I like to drop in here at Amazon when I'm done with a book, to see if other readers shared my impressions of it. I made an exception in this case and checked when I was halfway through, because I honestly didn't think I would make it to the end. I somehow did, but it was a struggle.

My wife and I read a lot of mystery/suspense novels...perhaps two a week. This was the first time I had tried one of Mr. Racina's books, having picked it up based on it's premise; I'm an avid computer gamer myself. The subject matter is appealing, and in itself believable. The presentation is not.

The writing style is simplistic, to the point of being juvenile at times. I read one passage to my wife; a kidnapping scene which I suppose should have been suspenseful. She told me it reminded her of Nancy Drew. I was thinking Hardy Boys. Don't get me wrong, I was a big Hardy Boy fan...when I was ten.

The dialogue is contrived, reminiscent of a B-Movie, with characters exclaiming things along the lines of "we must stop this evil plan". The characters themselves are forgettable at best, annoying at worst.

As I mentioned, I have not read any of Mr. Racina's previous efforts; he may very well be an excellent suspense writer. Even the best authors fail at times however, and I would strongly advise that you read a few pages first, before heading to the cashier with a copy of "Deadly Games".