The book was pretty good, but I had issue with the description. The cover claims that a serial killer is playing a "game" with his victims. But for most of the book, the main character, Andi, did not realize that she was being stalked by a killer. So how much of a "game" was it really?

Did I guess who the killer was? No. The book became a little confusing at times. There were current murders, and murders from 20 years ago. Do they finally connect? Yes, but it took a long time. For me, this book was not as engaging as I hoped it would be.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley ( )

Nancy Bush's [b:The Killing Game|27168956|The Killing Game (Nowhere, #5)|Nancy Bush|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453057596s/27168956.jpg|47206135] is a wonderful mystery, suspenseful thriller with a little bit of romance thrown in. This book had me on the edge of my seat and it was just at the ending when the killer was revealed that I finally figured it out. For me, that makes a great book.

There are two parallel stories going on in this book and they finally curve toward one another and the solution comes fast and furious at that point. Andrea (Andi) Wren is a recent widow who is still reeling from her husband's death and infidelity. She is fighting with her brother-in-law about the direction the family business, Wren Construcion, is going to take. She is the majority stock owner and does not want to deal with the ruthless Carerra brothers. There is suspicion that they were responsible for her husband's death. When Andi starts getting strange notes about birds that appear threatening, she hires Lucas Denton to investigate the Carerra's as well as to give her personal protection. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Andi is not being threatened by the Carerra's but that she appears to have a stalker, a deadly serial killer who targets women who have bird names. With Luke as well as two female detectives on the hunt, how long will it take to discover how the cased intersect and who is after Andi.

Enter P.I. Luke Denton, former cop, and one determined sleuth. Who is sending the notes? What do they mean?

There are a lot of characters in this book, yet I had no trouble keeping track of them. Andi is a strong female character that shows her mettle when the chips are down. Luke is a great investigator, smart, loyal and good-looking to boot. He is a great partner in the mystery to Andi. The villian is wonderfully written. I could feel his evil coming off the pages. Add to the mix, a competitive and underhanded adversary in the building trade, millions of dollars at stake and what is the connection between these women and this twisted tale earns its mystery title. I will now have to go back and read the first 4 books in this series. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.
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I am off serial killer stories these days. I don't want to read about them, their obsessions, their fantasies, their planning, and certainly not their successful kidnappings, tortures, and killings. Here, the killer is one of the several POV. No thanks.

I received a review copy of "The Killing Game" by Nancy Bush (Kensington) through NetGalley.com. ( )

The very beginning of this book scared me to death. It wasn't the part leading up to the death, but the way that it happened that horrified me to absolutely no end. Having said that, the rest of the book was anticlimactic to some extent.

I loved the protagonist, Andi Wren. She just lost her less than stellar cheat of a husband exactly three months earlier. Then she finds out that she is three months pregnant on the same day someone broke into her home and left a bizarre message on her bed. She seeks out a crazy hot private detective to keep her safe. Alone for this reason, the book would be well worth the read.

But, then there is a second plot that seems to get in the way of reading the main story. More often than not, that seemed to drive me insane. You can be reading along, then this just comes zooming out of nowhere, at the oddest times.

This is a good story with just too much happening all at once. If edited a bit more, I believe this book could have literally scared me to death.

Thank you to Nancy Bush, Kensington Books and NetGalley for giving me a free e-ARC of this book so that I may read it and give my honest review. ( )

Detailed and complex story with many threads that overlap and interweave and then are tied up neatly at the end – although – I felt the story could have been faster paced with less repetition.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I usually enjoy Nancy Bush’s novels but this one left me feeling so-so at the end. I liked the premise and the murder the bird tie-in of the murders with the idea of it being a game. I felt like I was reading two or perhaps even three stories in one even though they all did overlap in the end. I didn’t have real sympathy, empathy or feel as if I could relate to any of the characters. I can’t believe that the killer could find so many women that were so clueless and needy. I found it unbelievable that Andi and Luke ended up in bed and fell for one another so quickly. The plot seemed predictable in many ways. I don’t know…I did enjoy reading it but it didn’t have anything that made it special or stand out from other romantic suspense stories with serial killers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the e-ARC to read in exchange for my honest review. ( )