The Dying Game (Paperback)

by Beverly Barton (Author)
Key Phrases: dying game, worth twenty points, Beverly Barton, Barbara Jean, Gale Ann (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Play To Win...

It's the ultimate game--the adrenaline surge of the hunt, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. For in this game, the rules are simple: To win, you only have to kill. To lose, you will have to die...

Play To Scream...

The victims are former beauty queens found with a single rose beside their bodies. Lindsay McAllister has seen this signature before, when she was a rookie detective with the Chattanooga PD investigating the death of Judd Walker's wife, a murder that sent the handsome lawyer off the deep end. Now, Lindsay has the brutal task of telling Judd that his wife's killer has struck again, and she's going to need his help to outplay their opponent--because the killer is getting bolder, faster, and more ruthless. The game is escalating, and no one is safe.

Play To Die...

Now as the body count rises, the rules are changing. A killer will do anything to win. And the only way for Lindsay to stop a madman's twisted game is to play it herself...

New York Times bestselling author Beverly Barton has written over thirty contemporary romance novels and created the popular "The Protectors" series for Silhouette's Intimate Moments line. This sixth-generation Alabamian is a two-time Maggie Award winner, a two-time National Reader's Choice Award winner, and a recipient of a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Adventure. She is currently working on her next novel of romantic suspense for Zebra Books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821776894
• ISBN-13: 978-0821776896
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A page-turning thriller, March 28, 2007

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

A serial killer is on the loose and his victims are all former beauty queens who are found mutilated and with a single rose placed by or on their body. Lindsay McAllister knows the killer's pattern all too well. A former police officer in Chattanooga, Tennessee (now a private investigator), her first contact with the brutal killer was when the beautiful young wife of attorney Judd Walker went out one evening to sell a house, and lost her life instead.

When the killer strikes again, Lindsay must put aside her feelings about Judd and convince him to leave his ever-deepening grief to help solve the case. The murderer is picking up speed and leaving an ever-increasing number of dead women behind. If Lindsay isn't careful, her idea to solve the murders just might mean she will become a victim herself.

The Dying Game is an interesting twist on the usual serial killer thriller and I didn't see the twist coming. The plot is unique and the characters are to be loved, hated, feared or pitied. At times I felt that the story bogged down in extraneous detail, but overall, this is a novel worth reading.

Armchair Interviews says: If you like thrillers, The Dying Game will keep you turning the pages.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars There's only one reason to read this book!, April 3, 2007

By	Jules Rosewood - See all my reviews

Beverly Barton usually delivers, but she lost me with The Dying Game. The lead characters are pathetic, needy, and unlikable. By the end of the book, I didn't care what happened to them. The only reason you should read this book is to get the background set up on Grif and Nic. Now there's a pair I'm looking forward to reading more about. Grif and Nic outshine the lead couple so much so that I found myself skimming parts just to get to Grif and Nic's interactions. Grif is really overbearing, but I have a feeling Nic is going to knock him down a peg or two in the next book in the series. The story line in The Dyine Game will keep you interested but you'll definitely get tired of the lead couple. Guaranteed! Treat this book as a prequel to the "real" story that's coming in Febuary, 2008.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More thriller than romance, and a bit gruesome, May 4, 2007

By	Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The latest victim of the "Beauty Queen Killer," has been discovered, this time alive, and hopes to catch the culprit are raised as the FBI and a special private investigative team race to identify her attacker before she succumbs to her injuries. The BQK has stalked former beauty queens throughout the southeast the last five years in an apparent game of murder, which they discover when the victim manages to tell them that she was worth 20 points due to her red hair. PI Lindsey McAllister has been in on the investigation since the beginning; she was a detective in the case of the first victim, Jennifer Walker. Along the way she managed to fall in with Jennifer's grieving husband, who wants nothing more than to find solace in alcohol and wallow in his misfortune.

When she is summoned by her boss Griffin Powell (who has appeared as a minor character in many of Barton's thrillers) to bring Judd Walker in on the case, Lindsey's checkered and painful history with Judd must be dealt with head on, just as Judd needs to finally reach out for help. But he BQK is not done, in fact, he is escalating as his five year anniversary of death nears.

Though graphic in some parts, particularly the gruesome methods that the killers employ, the story was riveting from cover to cover as the FBI and Powell's detective agency race to unmask and find the motivation of the killers. As always, Griff steals the show and makes for a very charismatic lead. Lindsey and Judd were not as charismatic as her other pairings, but this was more a thriller than a typical romance novel. Barton has cleverly only given small clues to Griff's past, making readers hungry for his story (which won't be out until 2008). One aspect I could have lived without is the ESP and other paranormal activity attributed to Dr. Meng; I hate this overused and trite plot device (and Barton seems to employ it a lot). If you can stomach the cruelty of the BQK, check this one out!