Game (Jasper Dent, #2)

Apr 04, 2013 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-pov, male-ya-author, thriller-suspense, lb, 2013-publication, april, gory, mature-ya, read-2013, too-many-povs

3.5 stars I Hunt Killers was one of my favorite books last year. Between the graveyard humor and the taut plotting and the excellent character sketch of a boy who fears he may become a serial killer like his father, I was both intrigued and excited by the story.

I have more...mixed feelings about the sequel. While it's certainly still well-researched and well-executed, the focus has changed from suspense--albeit with gory underpinnings--to a more typical thriller. Since it's written like adult cr...more 3.5 stars I Hunt Killers was one of my favorite books last year. Between the graveyard humor and the taut plotting and the excellent character sketch of a boy who fears he may become a serial killer like his father, I was both intrigued and excited by the story.

I have more...mixed feelings about the sequel. While it's certainly still well-researched and well-executed, the focus has changed from suspense--albeit with gory underpinnings--to a more typical thriller. Since it's written like adult crime fiction with a teenager suddenly in the middle, it's a little harder to suspend disbelief that the authorities would rely so heavily on a 17-year-old's input (to the point of taking him across state lines), no matter what his parentage.

Things I liked: it's still fun to be in Jazz's head. The secondary characters, including his best friend Howie, are interesting and diverse. There are some good action scenes. It's fascinating that Jazz is afraid that having sex with his girlfriend Connie will trigger latent violent tendencies, even though he deliberately chose a girl whose ethnicity doesn't fit the usual victim profile; Jazz's self-awareness in general, and his attempts to keep himself in check, are so well done. And dear heaven, I will never, ever be able to look at a grapefruit spoon in the same way again.

Things I struggled with: Distracting limited multiple POVs. Creepy flashbacks of sexual encounters Jazz has blocked from his mind--they reminded me of the voyeuristic ones from Boy Toy. A TV episode-style cliffhanger. Investigators who are portrayed in a fairly stereotypical way in order to serve the "boy detective" premise. A lot of scenes written from the perspective of the killer's, which is rarely a technique I find engaging. And unfortunately, every time the words "Hat-Dog Killer" popped up, I read "Hot Dog Killer," which didn't help matters at all.

The thing is, my favorite part of Jasper Dent's story is not the crimes in and of themselves, but the riveting psychological profile of a boy who's on the brink of making the choice to ignore his baser instincts and violent training--or to unleash the scary ass monster that you know is hiding inside him. The skilled observations of human behavior present in I Hunt Killers take a back seat to cat and mouse, Lecter-like machinations in Game's more action-oriented plot, and as a result I was less inclined to overlook the more unlikely scenarios--and less inclined to care about what happens to Jazz himself.

But am I still excited by the series? Hell, yes. There's a lot to be said for books that push boundaries, and even those that make us uncomfortable. I may have mixed feelings about this particular installment of the Jasper Dent saga, but the author's writing, gift for narrative voice, sense of humor, and excellent research will ensure I'll read just about anything he's written. I'm just hoping that the final book in Jazz's story makes a return to the things I loved best about the first book: the origin story of a serial killer, or the survival of a man who chose good over evil. Thrillers are a dime a dozen; it's the complexities of individual human drama and emotion that make a story stand out.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.
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May 11, 2013 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, mystery-thriller-horror, 2013

“Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

I think I am once again in the minority here - but for a good reason this time. I actually liked this sequel quite a bit better than the first and I think I might have been willing to go with five stars if it wasn't for that awful non-ending, cliffhanger thing that Lyga felt the need to leave us with. After sitting on the edge of my seat and knawing my nails away for the whole book, I felt somewhat cheated by that lack of closure. It...more

“Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

I think I am once again in the minority here - but for a good reason this time. I actually liked this sequel quite a bit better than the first and I think I might have been willing to go with five stars if it wasn't for that awful non-ending, cliffhanger thing that Lyga felt the need to leave us with. After sitting on the edge of my seat and knawing my nails away for the whole book, I felt somewhat cheated by that lack of closure. It wasn't even lack of closure in a remotely forgivable way, it was straight-up, Karen Marie Moning-style drop the characters in a dire situation and fade to black... nasty.

There's quite a big difference between this installment and book one and I think this will either make it or break it for you. Book one has a mystery but the main story is the one inside Jazz's head, his fight to be a different kind of person from his father and to conquer the dark demons lurking just beneath the surface, the demons who whisper evil thoughts and try to bring out the monster he hides away. I found this all fascinating but, if I'm honest, by the end I was starting to get just a little sick of Jazz and his demons. On top of that, I solved the "mystery" in book one before I'd even hit the halfway marker.

I think Game branches out from Jazz in a way that I felt was necessary for the series to not start dragging. This second book gives us more of Billy Dent (Jazz's father), more of Connie and more of Howie. I found it darker, more thrilling, creepier... and I really liked how Lyga has gone even further into his exploration of the psychology of psychopaths. Truly fascinating. There were a number of times when I thought I'd worked out what was going on and predicted some upcoming twists, but everything I guessed at was wrong and Lyga managed to pull out answers that were satisfying and unpredictable - unlike in I Hunt Killers.

However, I still think Jazz's original struggles are as important in this sequel as they were before. The main focus of Jazz's uncertainty in this book is not his involvement in the investigation but his relationship with Connie. As much as he wants to sleep with her, he constantly worries that sex will be a kind of trigger for him and turn him into a monstrous rapist like his father. Because his father was his first teacher, the lessons he grew up with were how to dehumanise other people - particularly women - and sometimes Jazz can hear that voice in his head telling him that people don't matter, that cutting into human flesh is "just like cutting chicken". I still really enjoy this aspect which separates this series from being like any other mystery series but, personally, I believe this sequel was more successful at getting the balance right.

I said it in my review of the first book but I'm going to say it again here: the biggest challenge potential readers of this series face is getting past the idea that the police would consult a teenage boy. It is quite unbelievable, no matter what kind of valid excuses Lyga attempts to throw our way. Because even though Jazz's position is unusual and certainly valuable to an investigation, the FBI aren't going to put a minor at risk when they have teams of experts that have spent years studying the behaviour of criminals and psychopaths. Ever seen Criminal Minds? When seeing those guys work, I have my doubts as to how much Jazz really is needed. But, yeah, if you make do without the realism, then you should love this series.

Though this book was darker than I Hunt Killers, in my opinion, there remains touches of the same humour that so attracted me to the characters in the first book. They are all funny, which makes them likeable, which makes me care, which means I know without a doubt I will be picking up the next book as soon as it's available. I'm so glad I still feel like I can recommend these books - it's just too bad that it ended that way, the wait to find out what happens is going to drive me insane.(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, ebook, mystery-thriller

*This review is spoiler free for book 1 and this sequel!*

Before I went into YA my favorite novels were criminal mysteries and serial killer type stories. Then my favorite among them were the ones dealing with profilers. There is just something incredibly fascinating about seeing how these guys can take one small and seemingly insignificant detail of a crime scene, and tell you who the killer is in the most intimate of way. Game brought back the reasons why I loved these types of books; there are...more *This review is spoiler free for book 1 and this sequel!*

Before I went into YA my favorite novels were criminal mysteries and serial killer type stories. Then my favorite among them were the ones dealing with profilers. There is just something incredibly fascinating about seeing how these guys can take one small and seemingly insignificant detail of a crime scene, and tell you who the killer is in the most intimate of way. Game brought back the reasons why I loved these types of books; there are truly sick people in this world and it's shocking to get into their heads. True to its name, Jasper's father brings us into an exhilarating game in this fast-paced sequel.

The characters I so loved in I Hunt Killers are back with just as much wit and charm as in book 1. We're privy to a few different POVs that I found worked great to bring up the intensity and intrigue: We see what every character is up to simultaneously, giving us the full 360 of this puzzle-filled plot. Jasper himself is still struggling with his own self-identity. Is he going to fall prey to his father's brainwashing ways? Does he have an underlying instinct, or need, to kill as well? His character is as compelling as it is a psychological study. I love being in his head, trying to figure him out as well. What would it be like to have been raised by the most notorious serial killer? Some kind of effed up! The side characters are not put aside either. Howie, especially, gives this book all the humour it needs and then some. This guy made me guffaw with his come-ons to Jasper's aunt. I think every single scene he appears in shows us a side of his hilarious personality; be it his amusing reasonings or creative ways to laugh at himself, you can't help but love this fella! He's also exceptionally loyal and that makes him awesome in my book!

This book does in fact bring up its game when it comes to gory details. If you've read and enjoyed I Hunt Killers then you've been well prepared--though this sequel is fairly more gross than its predecessor. Several instances of disembowelments are involved, along with lots of eyeballs--even an explanation on how easy they are to remove. Some very noteworthy stuff in here! There really wasn't much difference in the gore factor than most of the adult crime thriller books I've read so it's clearly meant for more mature YA. This makes it real, though; serial killing is rarely a clean job and all. There were definitely some parts of the plot that were less realistic, however. No matter how famous of a serial killer is his father, I'm wary to believe that NYPD would start calling on a 17 year old kid to help with a case. A case that we know all along is linked to Billy Dent, but they don't, so how… convenient? There were also details that Jasper discovers in the crime scene pictures that are hard to believe competent NYPD investigators (and FBI, even) wouldn't have deciphered themselves. Fortunately these details weren't a real bother for the story, it was just a underlying fact I had to look over. For the most part it was a convincing scenario of a messed up serial killer case that became a blast to figure out. While I did predict pieces of it, I was blind to the way it all fit together until it was revealed.

Oh, but I think you forgot something, Mr. Lyga! How about an ending! *sobs quietly* He truly leaves us hanging in the end, and we get two major cliffhangers that are going to make the wait extremely long for the third book! If it was a TV series, this episode would have ended with "… To Be Continued". Likely with sinister music and all that jazz! This series continues to be the perfect read for fans of Dexter everywhere!

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Apr 18, 2013 Mitch rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-by-guys-for-guys

Imagine you learned everything you know about serial killers from Wikipedia and watching episodes of Criminal Minds. Then tried to write a book about it with a kid in the lead role. Would it be comparable to the many standout crime thrillers that dominate the genre? Unfortunately with Game, I don’t think so.

The problem I have with this is the same problem I had with I Hunt Killers but on a larger scale, psychological and crime thrillers are inherently adult genres; these books try to play with t...more

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Aug 05, 2012 M marked it as to-read

The sequel to Barry Lyga's I HUNT KILLERS.
Good riddance! Do you feel the blood lust as much as I do?

description

Serial Killer addiction on overdrive!

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May 17, 2013 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jazz, Connie and Howie in New York

UPDATE: So I guess I read too deep into the blurb thingy and Howie does not tag a long to New York ): However he still plays a prominent character in the story *inserts cheering sound effect*. Just as I suspected this novel was intense, and action packed keeping you on your toes. BUT HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THINGS GREAT THIS WAS THE WORST CLIFFHANGER EVER! AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT ONE MORE WHOLE YEAR TILL I CAN READ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! This was literally the definition...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Suzanne Rooyen marked it as to-read

Love the cover. Not so keen on the title though - seems trite considering the subject material but I'll definitely be reading :)

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Apr 10, 2013 Steven R. McEvoy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-best-of, read-2013

Last year I read 176 books and I Hunt Killers was my number one pick. Game is even better! A quick comparison: when I finished IHK it felt like base jumping. I was falling but excited about where things were going. The end of Game was like being thrown off a mountain, while screaming on the way down, no idea where or how we're going to stop. An amazing book! Barry Lyga has a skill and craft in his writing that gets better with each offering. And Game is a thriller that races from start to finish...more Last year I read 176 books and I Hunt Killers was my number one pick. Game is even better! A quick comparison: when I finished IHK it felt like base jumping. I was falling but excited about where things were going. The end of Game was like being thrown off a mountain, while screaming on the way down, no idea where or how we're going to stop. An amazing book! Barry Lyga has a skill and craft in his writing that gets better with each offering. And Game is a thriller that races from start to finish. It some ways it reminded me of Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger because there are so many different story lines and so many different tangents that you wonder how it will all come together. But as we discover each new piece of the puzzle, we find that new pieces are being put on the board and played with skill. But we should have known that once he escaped from jail, Billy Dent, aka The Artist, Green Jack, Gentle Killer, Hand-in-Glove or the world’s most notorious serial killer was going to play and this time the stakes are higher.

Jasper 'Jazz' Francis Dent is the son of serial killer Billy Dent. He is fresh off the case of the Impressionist and helped catch the serial killer who was imitating his father. But now dad is out of jail. There is a serial killer in New York and Jazz gets called in to consult, at first unofficially but later directly requested. The pieces just do not add up and Jazz is trying hard to help solve the case. There are so many pieces in play, how could we expect Jazz to pull it all together and can he in time. But the biggest problem Jazz has is people he loves. Connie and Howie are being pulled into the game and they are trying to protect him and soon they may all be caught up in a game only one person really understands.

This was an incredible read! I could not put the book down. I raced through the 500 plus pages in two sittings, and literally screamed at the end because I want the next chapter in the story of Billy and Jasper Dent. I have recommended I Hunt Killers to dozens of people and all have loved it. I really cannot state how much better this one is. You will need to read it and see.

Read the review and with links to other reviews of books by the author on my blog Book Reviews and More. And also an author profile and interview with Barry Lyga.(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Sarah (YA Love) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, contemporary-ya, realistic-fiction, 2013-release, young-adult-lit, series, april-release, ncte-alan12

Review originally posted at YA Love

I need to start off by saying that I enjoyed Game even more than I enjoyed I Hunt Killers. Barry Lyga has done an excellent job building Jazz’s character and creating an intense and thoroughly enjoyable story. It’s still gory like I Hunt Killers, so be prepared.

What I liked about Game by Barry Lyga:

**The mystery and thrill. The third person narrative switches from Jazz to other characters, but the best is when it focuses on the killer. I love it when murder mys...more

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May 20, 2013 Chin-li rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, great-rereadables

As a follow-up novel, "Game" by Barry Lyga doesn't disappoint. The plot increasingly thickens and had me guessing at every turn. Something that honestly doesn't happen very often for me. With ANOTHER murderer (they just pop out of the ground like daisies!) on Jasper Dent's plate, this time in the fast-paced City-that-never-sleeps (aka the Big Apple). Jasper is sick and tired of all the murders going on, stalkerazzi, school, and the terrifying 'game' his father is playing with the police.

Told in...more

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May 20, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, new-york

Just as good as I Hunt Killers, if not better.

Jasper is summoned to New York to help investigate the Hat-Dog killer, who can't possibly be his dad because he's been killing since before Billy Dent escaped prison. But Dear Old Dad's got to be involved somehow...

I love how Lyga explores Jasper's psychology, and I think Jasper is creeper in this book than he is in the first one. But, oh! he doesn't want to be. We get a lot more time with Connie in Game, which is a nice addition. It adds a lot of s...more

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May 19, 2013 Ariana d. rated it 5 of 5 stars

what the freck?
how can it end that way? it can't. it can't end with me wanting to slap connie, do something worse to billy, and beg jazz to find a way out! no. it can't.
but it did.
AND ARGHHH! but i can't find the third book and now i am going to go book hunting so i can put it on my list of o-mi-god-why-do-authors-want-to-frustrate-me-so-by-putting-release-dates-so-far-away???
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ALERT THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T REA...more

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May 18, 2013 Barbara Garren rated it 5 of 5 stars

OH man! I can NOT believe I didn't update this! This book is just... I mean it's really... Like - wow. Just WOW. You HAVE TO READ THIS. With all the lights on. And someone else in the house. And not on a weeknight or any other night when you have to be somewhere the next day.

In other words - don't even THINK about starting this book until you can read it front to back. Unless you are one of those really strange and obnoxious people who can just put a book down in the middle of something absolut...more

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May 14, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-bridget

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: This was a very intense mystery filled with fascinating characters, and a suspenseful plot. It defiantly has a really creepy vibe to it, but it is a really enjoyable read.

Opening Sentence: She had screamed, but she had not cried.

The Review:

Jasper dent, better known as Jazz, is 17 years old and he is the only child of the notorious serial killer Billy Dent. Four years ago his father was caught and put in prison and Jazz has been living with...more

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May 12, 2013 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: disturbing, dysfunctional-families, guy-reads, horror, mystery, ya

I have a love/hate relationship with the show Dexter-- I hate the content, but it's so well written and fascinating and the characters are so compelling I find myself watching it even though I'm entertained and tortured at the same time.

I feel the exact same way about these books. I really enjoyed I Hunt Killers, despite my simultaneous misery about reading a mystery involving a serial killer that vividly depicted the murders of many innocent women. Game picks up the story where Billy Dent has e...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Librobaby rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm at 40% and I am loving every single thing

I'm at 55%. And why do I feel like Connie is going to do something stupid that may get her killed. When you receive an anonymous text saying "R U game" and the probability that the message came from a serial killer PLEASE BE WISE AND REPORT IT to the people who knows how to handle serial killers..like your boyfriend. Don't try to be a freaking HERO

Just finished the book.I had two realizations while reading this book.NUMBER ONE:DON'T BE A F**ING HERO...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Lexie Robinson Austin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ack. Sequels. The are SO MANY WAYS to get them wrong. And when they follow up an exceptionally good first book, they are so much more painful. If I ever become an author, I think I’ll just stick to the stand-alone novels. Because sequels? They are So. Hard. To. Do. Right.

This review is written with apologies to the great Barry Lyga. Barry, I love your work and I have always loved your work. I Hunt Killers was one of my favorite books not only of 2012, but of like, my whole reading existence. It...more Ack. Sequels. The are SO MANY WAYS to get them wrong. And when they follow up an exceptionally good first book, they are so much more painful. If I ever become an author, I think I’ll just stick to the stand-alone novels. Because sequels? They are So. Hard. To. Do. Right.

This review is written with apologies to the great Barry Lyga. Barry, I love your work and I have always loved your work. I Hunt Killers was one of my favorite books not only of 2012, but of like, my whole reading existence. It was lightning in a bottle. The characters, the scenario, the plot, the themes…. GAH! I could go on and on. Or you could just read my five starred review of it on GoodReads. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

All that said, Game (which let me note- if it was anything BUT the sequel to I Hunt Killers would have been fantastic) was disappointing. Here are my issues with it:

1. Characters: the characters, which felt new and fresh in IHK, are starting to feel old and formulaic. There’s nothing new and exciting. Yes, Jazz is still struggling not to be like his dad. Yes, Connie is still trying to save him. Yes, Howie is still a hormonally driven adolescent. But they’re not discovering any real depths. And there are some characters (like Lana or even Aunt Samantha) who seem kind of pointless.

2. Plot: I’m not going to go into this too much, except to say that the reader can figure out the basic plot from the cover and the subtitles to some of the chapters. And once you get to the answer it’s still kind of disappointing. Lyga spends so much time on this convoluted and mysterious murder plot, there’s not much time left to address anything else. It's much more your typical serial killer type of read, what I expected when I picked up I Hunt Killers (and why I was so blown away when it was so much more). Yes, there are questions left. But they’re not the “I wonder about that? Let me contemplate” kind of questions. They’re the “Oh c’mon and give me the answer so I can move on with my life” kind of questions. And obvs, there’s a third book coming out.

3. Scenario: So the basic feel I got for this book was “Let’s see what happens when we pull some of our characters from a small town and toss them into a big city like NYC”. Except for all of the growth and exploration you would think could possibly happen doesn’t.

4. Writing: There were some really awesome quotable moments in IHK. Some amazing philosophical quotes that I just loved. They wasn't anything comparable in Game.

Okay, so I guess I should just take a step back here and say, I didn’t hate the book. In fact, like I said above- if it were anything BUT the sequel to I Hunt Killers I would probably like it. And even as a sequel it had it’s good moments. It wasn’t too “Two Towers-y” (the sequel plague that runs rife through all fiction: when the sequel is just the inbetween moments that are sandwiched between the original of the Trilogy and the Finale). It could actually stand alone with a plot that had a beginning, middle, and end. And I actually finished and plan to read the next one. Do you know how rarely that happens to me in YA fiction these days? (Divergent, Ashes, and Cinder all failed that test for me.) So because I actually enjoyed it and made it all the way through, it's getting four stars. Which is really high for a sequel!

BUT. I Hunt Killers was so excellent, it’s really hard to compare anything to it. And that’s where Game really comes up short. Sure it’s a great read, but it’s nothing compared to it’s older brother. I’m bummed out about this one, Lyga.

Still, if you liked I Hunt Killers, you should pick up Game. You’ll want to know what happens to Jazz, Connie, Howie, and the rest of the crew. An obviously if it got this big of a response from me, it’s got something to it. Ugh. I’m done.
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Apr 11, 2013 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-mt-bookpile

While I spend a lot of time railing against the seriesification (that's not a word? tough!) of YA lit, for Jasper Dent? More, please!

Lyga's I Hunt Killers was the start of a series, and here we have Jazz, mere months from 18 (when he would no longer have to worry about being removed from his grandmother's house) and just trying to make it through senior year of high school. Then the NYPD asks for his help with the Hat-Dog Killer... can he use his lifelong indoctrination in how to be a serial ki...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: community, families, friendship, multiple-narrators, mysteries, travel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Having loved I Hunt Killers, I couldn't wait to read this sequel in which Jasper (Jazz) Dent continues to battle the demons left behind in his head by his serial killer father, Billy. I was not disappointed as Jazz continues to struggle with his baser urges while also being compelled to use his first-hand knowledge of serial killers to help the NYPD and FBI try to solve a series of gruesome murders. The stakes seem even higher than they were in the last book, and Jazz's girlfriend Connie and bes...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Cj rated it 5 of 5 stars

Gimme a minute, okay? I'm still trying to purge my head of all the boring cliches I could use to perfectly encapsulate all these damned !!!!s running through my head right now.

I Hunt Killers is an exceptional book. No doubt about it. Which is why I was worried about Game. It had HUGE shoes to fill and I didn't want to deal with the disappointment if it couldn't. But by god it did! And how!

For the first time in my life, I found myself not wanting to finish a book because I didn't want it to end....more

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Apr 07, 2013 Erin Cataldi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, all-time-favorites

GAHH!! Amazing!!! I loved the first Jasper Dent book (I Hunt Killers) so I assumed I would like the sequel. Wrong! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it! It may even be better than the first one. Seriously so good.

This time around the story follows not only Jazz, but his hot black girlfriend Connie and his best friend, Howie. The three of them all have adventures of their own to deal with it, adventures that are more connected then they realize.

Jazz shoots off to New York where the NYPD have asked for his expe...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Renee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: death-murder, heros-that-dont-suck, horror, mystery, fiction, ya

Oh what can I say about the beautiful horrifying love I feel for Barry Lyga’s new novel Game

First off I Hunt Killers was far an away one of the best novels I read in 2012 and the sequel is almost just as good.

I enjoyed the serial killer details; one can tell that the author took the time to do research into serial killers, psychology and all the dirty horrible inner workings that make up the mind of a serial killer.

I have been fascinated with Serial Killers for years, in fact right now there is...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Ferdy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: daddy-issues-mummy-issues, dark-tortured-broody-hero, desperate-pathetic-heroine, disappointing, fucked-up-hero, good-friendships, kind-of-entertaining, tstl-heroine

Spoilers

I was tempted to rate this one star because the characters fucked me off that much but I decided to be generous because the writing and plot weren't actually half bad.
I enjoyed the first book, I Hunt Killers, but this one was hard to get through. Though I do have to admit that the ending was pretty great… I'm not a fan of cliffhangers but I didn't mind it in this case.

What's what:

-Teenager Jasper 'Jazz' Dent is the son of the world's most notorious serial killer, Billy Dent. For some rea...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Kimsandara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thou-art-a-fiend, thriller, wow-books, ya-books, interracial-relationships, i-freaking-loved-it, serial-killers

I can't tell you how much I loved this book.
I may come close by explaining to you that I read it in one night ,I didn't even bother eating till I was done...(Yeah,it's that good)

I can't get enough of Jasper...

One of the fundamental aspects in this book was for me his relationship with Connie.We have seen him struggle to maintain a sens of normalcy in his couple before but here it was really exploited by Barry Lyga.
Though,I don't really like Connie,I do get that she really loves him,I guess she s...more

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May 06, 2013 Melanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-books

I Hunt Killers was one of my favorite books that I read last year so I was really looking forward to the sequel and it didn't let me down. Barry Lyga really is an amazing author and this series is awesome. Picking up right where we left off in book 1, Game is non-stop suspense, action and mystery. The characters will make you fall in love with the story. Jazz is an amazing protagonist for this genre of book. He's strong, sweet, smart, nice, loyal, independent, all the while dealing with a bulk o...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: brought-to-rhs-library, guy-books

Dang it, Barry Lyga, that is one Grand Canyon of a cliff hanger. And because I read an ARC, I have to wait even longer than those who buy it on publication day. Dang. If you liked I Hunt Killers, you'll love this second, larger helping: the characters are richer, the plot as suspenseful, the murders graphic (who knew that there's a word for having one's eyes removed? Enucleated.) and frequent. Nothing here that will REALLY shock older teens, at least not those raised on a steady stream of CSI an...more

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May 02, 2013 Greta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brief summary: Jasper gets called in as a consultant on the Hat-Dog serial killer case in New York City. He feels strongly that Billie is involved in some way. Connie follows him to New York and uncovers some clues, too. But then she's sucked in too deeply when she starts receiving anonymous texts from the killer. She's being led on a wild goose chase through Jazz 's secret family history. Only some is revealed. Even as more questions are raised in the end, there is a massive cliff hanger leavin...more

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May 19, 2013 Anni rated it 4 of 5 stars

Somewhere between five stars and OMFG HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT LYGA?! SERIOUSLY?! That's like, AT LEAST FIVE CLIFFHANGERS THERE! I'm too pissed off to actually count, so it's probably more.
I mean, this book was so engrossing. You're reading about this shit, and you're trying to figure out all these sociopaths and who's who and what's what and then Why Does Jazz Have to Go Putting His Nose in Everything, and then everything gets BIGGER. The more you read, the bigger the puzzle gets,...more Somewhere between five stars and OMFG HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT LYGA?! SERIOUSLY?! That's like, AT LEAST FIVE CLIFFHANGERS THERE! I'm too pissed off to actually count, so it's probably more.
I mean, this book was so engrossing. You're reading about this shit, and you're trying to figure out all these sociopaths and who's who and what's what and then Why Does Jazz Have to Go Putting His Nose in Everything, and then everything gets BIGGER. The more you read, the bigger the puzzle gets, with more people and more secrets and more more more loose ends and you HAVE to keep reading, and then you turn the last page and all you read is . . . "ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS?!" That is so not what I was concerned about at the time! I don't care how many people helped research and write and edit and inspire right now, all I want to know is what THE HELL is going on and what happens in the NEXT CHAPTER, but oh sorry, THE NEXT CHAPTER DOES NOT EXIST.
And okay, so Connie was disappointing me, I mean, she HAD to know there were seriously dangerous people behind the clues she was following, and she HAD to know that she was going to end up in a situation she really did NOT want to be in, and MY GOD GIRL you need a backup plan, your boyfriend is the fucking spawn of a serial killer and is trying to solve some seriously fucked up murders at the moment, so CLEARLY you are going to be endangered and you do NOTHING to try and protect yourself. And no, I have NO IDEA what will happen to her because OH WAIT NAW SEE, everything was just left hanging over a very bad place, but honestly, BEAR SOME FUCKING ARMS OF SOME KIND. Even if you have to makeshift it out of a busted tree branch and some mace, get SOMETHING!
However, despite the fact that Connie weren't the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to dealing with people who might like to kill her at some point, the plot was quite obviously phenomenal, and while sometimes Jasper gets so emo over whether or not he's a person with human feelings or if he's doomed to be a sociopath, I was hoping something would give him a clue and he'd try and do something normal without whining about Daddy Who Taught Me Bad Things But I didn't Know No Better 'Cause I's Just a Kid, but I suppose I'll just have to wait six to twelve months for something to happen on that end AS WELL.
In short, this series is excellent so far and you shouldn't miss it but do yourself a favor and wait til the coast is clear. Barry Lyga's writing here is quite addictive, but in a way he's acting a bit like a sociopath himself when it comes to his readers.
And that can be taken as insult or compliment, I don't care, it's all up to interpretation.(less)

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Apr 27, 2013 Nina O'Daniels rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Loved it. If you were a fan of the first in the Jasper Dent series, this is a must read. I have already confessed my not so secret obsession to watching the ID channel on cable and the love of this series just enables me even more! I was surprised to see that is was a little over 500 pages. I am not sure how that is going to effect its popularity in my school library, but it will be a commitment for some of our readers, especially those who aren't avid readers but were hooked with the first stor...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: physical-books, young-adult, read-in-2013, 2013-favorites

Holy unrepentant serial killers, Batman! If you thought book 1 was creeptastic, this book is going to knock your socks off. And maybe remove your intestines. And your eyeballs. *shivers*

Book 1 ended with Jazz feeling like he was starting to fit in - that he'd found his calling with the skills Billy had given him as he was growing up. Book 2 finds Jazz not quite there yet. He doesn't trust himself enough to believe that he's not going to go bad and end up snapping and killing those around him. Hi...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
WHAT WLL BE THE THIRD BOOK?	1	5	May 17, 2013 09:54pm
Howie?	2	23	May 01, 2013 10:04am
Huntsville-Madiso...: Staff Picks: Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga	1	7	Apr 22, 2013 09:25am

title link	preview: Game
avg rating	preview: Game Goodreads rating: 4.26 (490 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15791383-game?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358851581l/15791383.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15791383-game?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Game by Barry Lyga[/url]

Game (Jasper Dent #2)

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