The Murder Game (Wheeler Hardcover) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Beverly Barton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2008 | Series: Wheeler Hardcover

The game is simple - he is the Hunter. They are the Prey. He gives them a chance to escape. To run. To hide. To outsmart him. But eventually, he catches them. And that's when the game gets really terrifying...Private investigator Griffin Powell and FBI agent Nicole Baxter know a lot about serial killers - they took one down together. But this new killer is as sadistic as they've ever seen. He likes his little games, and he especially likes forcing Nic and Griff to play along. Every unsolvable clue, every posed victim, every taunting phone call - it's all part of his twisted, elaborate plan. And then the Hunter calls, wanting to know if they're really ready to play...There's a new game now, and it's much more deadly than the first. A brutal psychopath needs a worthy adversary. He won't stop until he can hunt the most precious prey of all - Nicole. And with his partner in a killer's sights, Griff is playing for the biggest stakes of his life.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Close Enough to Kill and The Dying Game:"Not for the faint of heart! Shocking and terrifying, it will chill you to the bone." Tess Gerritsen, bestselling author of The Bone Garden‘This gripping crime novel … [is] not for the faint-hearted … you’ll be guessing until the very end.’Closer --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 621 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597227293
• ISBN-13: 978-1597227292
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,457,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An avid reader since childhood, Beverly Barton wrote her first book at the age of nine. Since then, she has gone on to write well over seventy novels and is a New York Times bestselling author. Beverly lives in Alabama in the U.S.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel to "The Dying Game", February 5, 2008

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Murder Game (Mass Market Paperback)

The co-conspirator in the infamous Beauty Queen Killer (see Barton's "The Dying Game") escaped capture, but has come up with a new game - kidnapping athletic women in their prime and forcing them to become his prey in a high stakes game that ultimately ends in death. But killing them is not enough, he needs someone to play the game with him so he forces FBI agent Nicole Baxter and charismatic PI Griff Powell to play the game with him, by providing clues that might allow them to rescue his victims before their game ends. Nicole and Griff are the only two people who thought that there was a second killer in the BQK case, but could never have anticipated becoming his pawns. With checkered pasts, the two reluctantly join forces, but soon their past collide, bringing them closer together, as the killer wants to tear them apart so that he can have his ultimate trophy - Nicole.

Barton finally provides readers with the ten missing years from Griff's past, as well as the secret past he shares with Yvette and Sanders. Nicole and Griff are a great match - readers noticed this early in her novels, so it's great to see that momentum carried on through the years to the two finally getting together. The tension is stepped up several notches, as the Hunter discovers his prey is not as weak as he had hoped.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner, February 1, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Murder Game (Mass Market Paperback)

If you like suspense, romance, and sadistic serial killers, then this book is for you!

Special Agent Nicole Baxter is on vacation from her job with the FBI when she gets a chilling phone call. She had been part of a team who hunted a man they called the BQ Killer--and he had been shot. Forensics found two bullets in him from different guns, and she had always suspected there were two killers working together. Now the second BQ Killer calls Nic on her cell phone and tells her the game is on--he is back. He gives her the details of a recent death in his new game. His victims are all athletic strong women, worthy adversaries.

He also calls the other member of the team who believed that there were two killers, wealthy PI Griffin Powell. Grif and Nicole are forced to work together, even though they detest each other. The FBI is called in when they realize there are several similar deaths in the South. The hunter lets them know certain clues to help them guess who his next victim is going to be, and they know he kills them in about three weeks, so they are racing against the clock to try and stop this monster.

As the victims pile up and Grif and Nic work together to catch this horrific murderer they get to know each other, and finally they realize they are attracted to each other, And that is when Nicole disappears. Did she flee the new romance with Grif? Or has she been abducted?

Grif has some secrets in his past, and he shares them with Nicole as they get closer, and she shares some secrets as well about her father and her dead husband. It turns out Grif and Nicole have a lot in common. They share more than an obsessive passion to stop this killer before he kills again.

Armchair Interviews says: You won't be able to put this book down!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Murder Game-A Joyfully Recommended Title!!!, January 31, 2008

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Murder Game (Mass Market Paperback)

A vicious psychopath is on the hunt. He preys on athletic women,
forcing them to play his sadistic game. The game is for them to run,
hide and, if they can outwit him, escape. But no one has bested him
yet, and when he does capture his prey, his evil is truly unleashed.

Griffin Powell and FBI agent Nicole Baxter have worked together once
before to put away a serial killer. This new sadist is the worst they
have ever seen and he's forcing them to play the game with him. When
the game is murder, Griffin will do whatever it takes to keep Nicole
safe from this psychopath's demented scheme.

I adore the way Beverly Barton writes romantic suspense! She sends me
into the heebie jeebies and rewards me with the hot and squirmies.
Ms. Barton is a top notch suspense writer taking the reader on a dark
and twisted journey. Add to that the heated passion she gifts her
hero and heroine and the reader gets a fantastic escape. The Murder
Game is a must read for fans of this genre and anyone else looking for
quality fiction.

Annmarie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed