Book Review: Game by Barry Lyga

Book Two

I've been a fan of Barry Lyga since I read his second book, Boy Toy. it is about the sexual abuse of a young boy by his teacher. It was so amazingly good. I learned he was writing a fairly big book on a serial killer. He appears to be a through researcher on the subject matter he he writes about, so I couldn't wait to see what he was going to do with this topic. I wasn't disappointed. The first book in the series, I Hunt Killers is excellent. Game is the sequel and once again, I was a satisfied customer. It picks up where I Hunt Killers left off and takes so many spins and turns. The first book had so many heart pumping moments. Game deepened the story. Check out the description...

Billy grinned. "Oh, New York," he whispered. "We're gonna have so much fun."

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history's most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent.

In an effort to prove murder didn't run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo's Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help, he can't say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple--and its police force--running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer's murderous game.

Both the stakes and the body count are higher in this suspenseful and unstoppable sequel from acclaimed author Barry Lyga.

Lyga makes each character so unique.  The main character, Jasper Dent aka Jazz is white and his girlfriend, Connie is black. I don't know if the author had/has a black girlfriend, but he captured the whole black girl feel perfectly, especially the angst many of them have about their hair. I may be confusing this issue with what happened in the first book since the story meshes together so seamlessly.

This is not just the story of the exploits of a serial killer, but how those exploits affect his son and their relationship; how this killer thinks he is and tries to be a good father in his own perverse way. A very creative premise.

On one of my visits to Lyga's site, I recall seeing a picture of how thick the manuscript for this story was before it was published. In book two, he leaves us at a critical juncture. I'm licking my chops to learn how it all ends in book three.

Game released April 16, 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Toodles ya'll!