I liked this as a popcorn read, you munch it down without thinking a lot about what you're doing and then forget it. Deaver's formula is to introduce a suspect and make everything point that way, and then "A-HA", it's not them. Easy to figure out since you know there's still 2/3 of the book to go. Colter's background was very interesting and I liked how lessons of the past dictate his moves (true for any of us I guess). One big subplot involving his dad, and another little one (where DOES he get his money?). I know almost nothing about the computer gaming world, but the part of the plot about collecting user data - c'mon, no one is so naive today as to be surprised by any of that right? The main plot seemed awfully complicated but hey, it's entertainment. I enjoyed it, I'd buy one in an airport bookstore, but I won't actively seek out the next.
I recently discovered a new CBS TV series called Tracker. After watching and enjoying the first episode, I saw in the credits that it is based on a series of books by Jeffery Deaver. The show's protagonist is Colter Shaw who seeks out rewards across the country and helps police and private citizens solve crimes.
I am a fan of Deaver and have read quite a few of his novels including many of his Lincoln Rhyme series, but haven't read anything by him for a few years. So I was unaware of his Colter Shaw novels but decided to check out the first in the series from the library.
THE NEVER GAME provides a lot of the back story for Shaw. He is the son of a survivalist who died years ago amid suspicious circumstances. Colter had returned to the Bay area to try to find some information on his father's death. He suspected he was killed by his older brother but was that really what happened? He also hopes to claim a $10,000 reward being offered by the father of a young woman who has gone missing and presumed kidnapped in Silicon Valley. This throws Colter into a deadly game involving the billion-dollar video gaming industry. After a second victim is kidnapped, clues point to someone playing out a video game called "The Whispering Man" in real life where the victim has to survive after being abandoned in a perilous location. So is this a gamer gone psycho or is something else motivating these kidnappings?
Overall, I did enjoy this new character from Deaver and think some of the subsequent novels may be more to my liking since I am not really a big fan of video games. The Colter character in the TV series is pretty close to the character in the book and I did enjoy the first couple of episodes of the series. I'll probably be reading more of the books as well to see how the character develops. Deaver provided some nuggets at the end of the novel related to possible future outings which is a motivation to continue with the series.
I am a fan of Deaver and have read quite a few of his novels including many of his Lincoln Rhyme series, but haven't read anything by him for a few years. So I was unaware of his Colter Shaw novels but decided to check out the first in the series from the library.
THE NEVER GAME provides a lot of the back story for Shaw. He is the son of a survivalist who died years ago amid suspicious circumstances. Colter had returned to the Bay area to try to find some information on his father's death. He suspected he was killed by his older brother but was that really what happened? He also hopes to claim a $10,000 reward being offered by the father of a young woman who has gone missing and presumed kidnapped in Silicon Valley. This throws Colter into a deadly game involving the billion-dollar video gaming industry. After a second victim is kidnapped, clues point to someone playing out a video game called "The Whispering Man" in real life where the victim has to survive after being abandoned in a perilous location. So is this a gamer gone psycho or is something else motivating these kidnappings?
Overall, I did enjoy this new character from Deaver and think some of the subsequent novels may be more to my liking since I am not really a big fan of video games. The Colter character in the TV series is pretty close to the character in the book and I did enjoy the first couple of episodes of the series. I'll probably be reading more of the books as well to see how the character develops. Deaver provided some nuggets at the end of the novel related to possible future outings which is a motivation to continue with the series.
