Game On, Trouble

by James Taylor, Marco Sparks

Jenny Valentine is public enemy no. 1. Just wait till she gets off house arrest

After a bloody class trip to Europe, and new evidence that puts her inheritance in jeopardy, your girl Trouble is out of money, out of friends, and out of second chances. When a shocking new heirloom clue falls at her feet, Jenny finds herself sleuthing solo in a hostile environment, searching for the connection between murdered father RJ Valentine, a seedy video game arcade on the wrong side of town, and her late mother’s misanthropic youth.

Will retracing mom’s retro footsteps uncover the key to the Stranger’s identity? Or could this latest mystery find the world’s greatest Girl Detective in too deep, without a single ally left to pull her out?

380 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

James Taylor is a writer, podcaster, and jack-of-all-trades media producer. Over the years, he’s been a barista, a professional gambler, and a tech support phone jockey. When he’s not tucked into a corner at a random Starbucks working on Trouble, you can find him road-tripping around the west coast, drinking a pint of Dunkel by a fire pit, or playing video games in his office when he should be doing something productive. He lives in the Golden State.

Reviews

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A killer ending! I will definitely be pre-ordering the next book.

What I liked:
- I’ve been impressed with the pacing of the story and the series as a whole!
- The turning point of the story focused on the bond between Trouble & Danger. My favorite Trouble book is still the second one because of the emphasis on the connection between these two characters. It is the most compelling part of the series for me.
- Jenny’s downward spiral and subsequent apology tour. At times it was hard to not have someone to root for when she and Lizzy both kind of sucked for a long stretch, but it was worth it when they met up in the diner.
- More info about Laura. After getting a peek into RJ’s past in the previous book, it was nice to get more of an idea of who Laura was. I would love to see more (I have my theories!). I also loved that it reinforced that RJ was pretty lame (wanting to write the next Fight Club, ha!) and that his successful series was largely owing to Laura’s ideas.
- Bad British accents. Hilarious.
- Alicia’s backstory! Though I don’t believe anyone would just confess to covering up a crime like that with no compelling reason to, let alone someone who works in law enforcement, I was glad to get the story about how she lost her leg and that it wasn’t just about her being a victim but the person of action we’ve seen her be over the series. (I don’t think she is actually dead, so I look forward to seeing what she does next)
- Red herrings!
- The death of Nilay. I found him annoying in the last book; he was less annoying here, but it was still a relief when he was definitely not going to be a part of the story going forward, and his murder was a great sequence in the book. It was an infusion of action (and Danger) where it was needed and believably compelled Val into being more forthcoming with “Trouble”
- The finale in the mansion on a dark and stormy night!

What I have mixed feelings about:
- The reveal about Lizzy’s RJ meetup. Having a POV character hide something from the audience when you are in their head is extremely difficult. This device works much better on TV than in a book and is largely why the first book is my least favorite of the series. However, the plot point itself is super interesting.
- Dinah. I’ve never been that invested in her and Jenny, I think because she is more of a “dream girl” than a real person, but I thought she was used well in this book and the last.
- I liked that Jenny no longer had a fortune to throw at problems (that can get kind of boring), but she was still handed 10k, and I would love to see her be more creative without a chunk of money to rely on.
- The death of Mason. I was surprised at how much his death affected me, it was sad! But also, you’ve got to have real stakes.

What I didn’t like:
- Lizzy and Drew. Don’t get me wrong, I shipped these two, but Lizzy’s actions (sleeping with him as Kazumi and the chloroform) gave me the ick. For anyone who doesn’t see the problem, swap the genders. If a guy slept with someone under a false identity and then drugged her…yikes. Also, the wig and makeup disguise staying in place through that really defied belief. I am assuming there will be fallout in the next book, so I am trying to reserve judgment, but it made me a lot less into them as a couple, especially since she didn’t seem that conflicted about it.
- Pixeldrome went a little far at times. These people were supposed to be awful, but there was sometimes too much of it, and it took me out of the cozy mystery feel. Though I did like the arcade setting in general.
- Some things felt a bit dated. These teenagers often acted like teenagers from the 90s/early 2000s than teenagers in 2020. It did get me wondering how this would have played out if it took place 20-30 years ago though, à la Cruel Summer.
- Occasionally, the storytelling didn’t fit the medium. I’ve noticed this in various books lately, not just this one, but sometimes, it’s written like describing a TV show. I’m thinking of the Homecoming scene in particular, where it felt like the music cues and shot list were almost written in. I get that this was originally intended to be a TV show (I hope it becomes one; I would watch it!), but medium matters.

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things I liked:
- More of the high school group “the unfridgeables” was great. I was thrilled to see more Jack.
- I’m a big Eliza lover. Her chapters are always great. The chapters where she breaks in to the Valentine penthouse was probably the height of the book.
- This book should probably be called Troubling Red Flags (it’s lame, give me a break) because the thematic link of everything in this book being a red herring was great. Webb, probably the most suspicious candidate for the stranger - killed in the first chapter (that was a VERY fun way to start the book); The whole business with Alicia; and then that horrible ending page (more on that in things I didn’t like).
- The writing is great! Despite my problems to follow, I know that the humour is always on point (I’m ashamed to admit how long the “ruminate my balls” line made me laugh for) and the anticipation built throughout the book is great.

Things I didn’t like
- big problem throughout was Jenny’s outlook on women. It feels creepy the way she leers at women. Sometimes it shows that Jenny is written by a man. We just don’t sexualise people like that all the time. Also - I know it’s fiction, but sex in high school is so tame, like let’s cool the jets just a little bit.
- This next point is probably nitpicking, but Eliza sleeping with Drew (someone she’s been pining over for a long time) in disguise??? The ending felt rushed here - I just don’t think Eliza would give no thought to the ramifications of that. It was one thing to be dating Charlie who knew her real identity, but no paragraph debating her turmoil of dating Drew without him knowing the real her?? The level of deceit is beyond messed up and IMO out of character for Eliza.
- The logic of who to tell and who not to tell was loose throughout. Yes to Jack and Alicia, no to Drew - someone more loyal and reliable? Ok.
- My other problem throughout was just Jenny. God she was awful in this book. Her usual sass and spunk were at a minimum, she was unreasonably awful. The chapter of her publicly outing Alicia (with no remorse afterwards) had me cringing as I turned the page. Yikes. Jenny has seemingly been on the outskirts of social groups her whole life - this descent into bitterness just didn’t track unfortunately. She’s previously been a very smart and creative girl - where did that go in this book?
- All of that above, on top of the pixeldrome extremities was a little too much for me.
- The ending. I really really loved the last 3 books for the cliffhanger ending that you knew would shake up the status quo. This ending was such a disappointment to me, it feels cheap. She’s not the stranger, why would the stranger announce themselves to Jenny after taking away a clue and teasing her a chapter before with the records? Especially since Dinah is probably the worst written character in the whole series. She’s very bland with nothing to do since the first book. Maybe I’d be more upset if she is the stranger based on her blandness.
- The structure of this book was… weird. It felt like there was no plot for a really long time. I found Eliza’s lack of wanting to get in the game a wee bit of a stretch.
- I suspect it’s just the limitations of the format but for a series that has two really strong female leads, their respective girlfriends are so bland. Both Dinah and Charlie get written like sexual-candy for the leads with no personality. So Dinah has cool hair - whoop dee doo. That’s not a fun character beat.

Despite all this, I am very excited for the next and final book in the series and absolutely recommend to anyone who loves mysteries. The previous 3 books have been such a delight, I do hope the next one captures more of the spirit of prior books.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was my favorite Trouble book! (But I say that after each one!)
This one felt very Veronica Mars-y, in the best way possible! Jenny and Veronica would definitely have been friends in high school!
The last 50 or so pages flew by! I love all the “red herrings.”
I’m actually glad I waited to finish this until book 5 came out, so now I will be able to pick up right where book 4 left off!
Congrats, Bros!

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I left this book in my to-read pile until just before the last book comes out, because oh.my.god.
I will admit Jenny got a little too unlikable and that worried me, but at least that got resolved.... Can't wait to find out what happens next!