Dark Game

The Dark Game was a title that pulled my attention due to a lot of people talking about it on Twitter.  I follow a lot of people who read, write and love horror novels on my Twitter account. So when there is a book that has quite a buzz on this social media medium I HAVE to read it. I had just set up a Net Galley account and this was the first book that they sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

AND I LOVED IT.  Sometimes when a book has so much buzz I do proceed with some caution.  Some books get a lot of attention because they are legitimately amazing and their popularity starts to grow as more people love and read the book. Some books get a lot of attention because they get a really good public relations campaign and get a positive endorsement by the right influencer.

 Don’t get me wrong—there are influencers that I do pay close attention to. Now that I have a clearer idea what my tastes are I know that Mother Horror is my go-to for my horror obsession and that Reese Witherspoon’s book club has the type of women’s fiction that I like. But I still read the books of my favorite influencers  with a critical eye. I really need to know firsthand that the content of a book is solid. I have this urge to make sure that I do take the time to read a book that is being talked about and develop my own conclusions. I can now confidently say firsthand that this book is one of those books that is solid due to its entertaining style and solid writing content.

Jonathan Janz exceeded my expectations. He has one of those writing styles where I felt the need to absorb the nuances of his words in a quiet setting.Also, as the plot is about writers who are on a writing retreat who are working with a well loved writer there is a lot of risk that dialogue could start to feel too didactic. However that never happens! As the participants are forced to explore the darker parts of their souls, this contributes to a lot of suspense with unexpected twists and turns in the novel.

This is the first book that I am reading by is by Jonathan Janz. One of the books that is being written in this retreat is called The Siren and the Specter…which is actually the title of one of Janz’s previous books.  I found it comical that this was being written at a retreat knowing that this is a book that Janz had written.  I felt like the placement of this title was handled in a way that did not require any background information. However, I did wonder if there was a layer of understanding that I may be missing as a newbie to Janz’s writing. This is the only reason why I am giving this 4/5 stars on Goodreads.  However my intrigue for this previous book is now really high having really loved this story. I would definitely say that following the hype on this book was worth it for me. I am now eager to read more work by this author!

 Thank you Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this ARC!

I also posted this review on Goodreads