The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver

Colter Shaw, book 1. HarperCollins, 2019. ISBN: 9780008341909.
(Age: 15+) Recommended for thriller lovers. Themes: Murder, Gaming. Fans of Jeffery Deaver will be happy to start a new series starring Colter Shaw, a reward seeker who has been brought up in a survivalist family. Shaw is smart and an expert woodsman and is used by distraught relatives to find missing persons for a reward. When he is called to Silicon Valley to investigate the disappearance of a young woman, he finds himself embroiled in the world of gamers, and it seems as if a video game, The Whispering Man, is being used to give clues to the whereabouts of the victims of a clever manipulator.
Deaver is a master at writing the action plot and each chapter often has a hook that compels the reader to quickly move to the next exciting strand of the search for the people who have been kidnapped. Colter finds himself in danger as well, and Deaver cleverly gains the reader's sympathy for Colter and curiosity about his survivalist family as he tracks down subtle clues and learns about the video game industry in Silicon Valley.
The setting of Silicon Valley makes for interesting reading. The problems that workers have in finding affordable housing, the big tech companies and gaming exhibitions are all described vividly and in detail and provide the reader with an in-depth insight into the competitive gaming industry and the gamers who are consumed by the games.
With some totally unexpected twists and turns and an exciting plot, The never game is certain to appeal to fans of mystery and suspense stories, who will want to read the next in the series to learn more about Colter Shaw and the unsolved mystery in his background.
Pat Pledger