Review - The Never Game

I am a fan of Jeffrey Deaver, I just have sooo many books to read that his tend to get pushed aside.  I have been watching the new TV show "Tracker" and I wanted to read at least the first in the series that inspired the show.  I've only reviewed two prior books of his, although I've read more of the Lincoln Rhyme books than shown here.  

 The Burning Wire: Lincoln Rhyme (click here) 

XO: Kathryn Dance (click here)  

Author: Jeffery Deaver

Copyright: Mar 2019 (G.P. Putnam's Sons) 413 pgs

Series: 1st in Colter Shaw Mysteries

Sensuality: Adult topics, intimacy-no details

Mystery Sub-genre: Contemporary Detective

Main Character: Colter Shaw, rewardist with a heart 

Setting: Contemporary Silicon Valley, California

Obtained Through: Library

 Book Blurb:  "The son of a survivalist family, Colter Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a “reward seeker,” traveling the country to help police solve crimes and locate missing persons for private citizens.

“You’ve been abandoned. Escape if you can. Or die with dignity.”

Hired by the father of a young woman who has gone missing in Silicon Valley, Shaw's search takes him into the dark heart of America’s cutthroat billion-dollar video-game industry. When another person goes missing, Shaw must ask: Is a madman bringing a twisted video game to life?

Encountering eccentric designers, trigger-happy gamers, and ruthless tech titans, Shaw soon learns that he isn't the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast...."

I'll be reviewing the television series based on this book shortly, but for now let's focus on the books that lead to the show. 

MY Thoughts:

Colter Shaw was raised by a paranoid schizophrenic father (formerly history, political science, and humanities professor) who was a survivalist and a medical school professor mother.  He graduated from the University of Michigan in law and interned at a law firm, but he couldn't stand working in an office.  Colter and his siblings were raised on roughly 1,000 acres in Sierra Nevada foothills living off the grid.  His father ingrained in the children his list of "nevers" such as: 

Never antagonize beast or man.

Never adopt a strategy or approach without assigning percentages.

Never assign a percentage until you have as many facts as possible and many more.

Colter has a team backing him: Teddy and Velma Bruin, who watch his actual home while he's traveling in a Winnebago and find him reward jobs, plus he has a private investigator, Mack whose last name is not yet mentioned . They are introduced and we get a little bit about Teddy and Velma but they aren't developed much yet.  Local cop LaDonna Standish was a gem I enjoyed.

The plot is finally crafted with plenty of red herrings to lead you down to the wrong person.  The setting of Silicon Valley shows the wealthy in sharp contrast to those struggling to get by pay check by pay check.  I have to say this character and the pacing kept me fully engaged.  

The climax was thrilling and nail biting.  Perfection.  The writing style is detailed where needed and efficient when needed.  Some chapters are flashbacks to Colter's growing up and that is doling out peeks into his non-traditional upbringing and a mystery involving his father.  This will be an ongoing theme in the next book, apparently.  I'm a fan of this new series and will be going to the next in the series.

Rating:  Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list 

Thank you for reading this blog and please recommend to friends and family who will enjoy it.