The Dead Game (The Dead Game Series, #1) in Authors Looking directly for Readers

Dec 17, 2013 Dianne rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, paranormal, adult-fiction, mystery

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Doesn’t the name Oasis sound like an idyllic place to live? The perfect calm and relaxing place to settle down, Oasis has small town charm, small town neighbors, and even a mysterious and foreboding house about which horror stories are told, oh and bodies are being found, drained of blood. Who or what would drain the blood of its victims? What is the dark secret surrounding the town and its inhabitants? A newcomer to Oasis, Linda can’t help but get involved

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Doesn’t the name Oasis sound like an idyllic place to live? The perfect calm and relaxing place to settle down, Oasis has small town charm, small town neighbors, and even a mysterious and foreboding house about which horror stories are told, oh and bodies are being found, drained of blood. Who or what would drain the blood of its victims? What is the dark secret surrounding the town and its inhabitants? A newcomer to Oasis, Linda can’t help but get involved, especially after a harrowing experience at the End House. Is there a serial murderer going around acting out a vampire fantasy? Is it possible vampires are real? Are there good vamps and bad vamps? From the day Linda entered Oasis, her life was set on a path she could never have imagined, and her boyfriend just may be part of the nightmare she is now living.

The Dead Game by debut author Susanne Leist makes a bold statement by crossing the genre lines, serving up one scoop mystery, one scoop romance and topping it off with a dollop of dark paranormal fantasy. Have you ever been somewhere, listening to someone drone on, while carrying on your own mental conversation, full of snark and attitude? There is lots of that going, lightening those dark moments with a little quirky humor. The main character, Linda is inquisitive to the point of putting herself in danger, as well as her friends who are all on board for playing paranormal super sleuths. They form a rag-tag band of amateur P.I.s playing cat and mouse with some serious evil that has been hiding out in town, waiting to make their play for power and control.

The attention to detail is very strong, from the settings to the characters themselves, mental images are easy to conjure, as well as the actions each character is making. While it doesn’t slow the story down, (which by the way is twisting and convoluted right up to that last page), it does require paying attention, as does the dialogue, which at times seemed too calm and intelligent when I would have been a babbling fool!

Publication Date: August 29, 2013
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc
ISBN: 1478704489
Genre: Adult Paranormal Mystery
Number of Pages: 325
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2015 Trista Borgwardt rated it really liked it

This book introduces you to the small town of Oasis where there are missing people and unexplained murders. Why anyone would want to move there to begin with, or why anyone stays once they discover the creepy happenings that go on. I would freak out and move out of there so fast!

Linda and her group of friends get invited to this party at End house which most of them are not thrilled about. Linda flat out doesn't want to go and neither does David. The one thing I will say about this is I am not This book introduces you to the small town of Oasis where there are missing people and unexplained murders. Why anyone would want to move there to begin with, or why anyone stays once they discover the creepy happenings that go on. I would freak out and move out of there so fast!

Linda and her group of friends get invited to this party at End house which most of them are not thrilled about. Linda flat out doesn't want to go and neither does David. The one thing I will say about this is I am not sure why they did end up going. I was mildly perplexed for a second when Linda doesn't have any desire to go and then she is talking about going. Since this is a supernatural book, I am willing to give credit to the supernatural forces that made her go.

After the tragedy that is this party, Linda finds herself getting closer and closer to Todd...the town hottie. He is also a very suspicious man who is always willing to inform the sheriff for people and then tell them not to say anything to anybody.

Linda is not satisfied and begins her own investigation with the help of one of her friends to get to the bottom of what is going on in town. During this investigation, they will face dangerous situations and dangerous beings.

The story line was fast paced and well written. My only comment is towards the end, there seemed to be quite a bit crammed in. It was all good twists and events but it was one of those where you think the big conflict has ended but then something else comes up and that took place a couple of times. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the twists that were thrown in there because of this and thought the addition was creative and intriguing.

The characters are well designed and I am rooting for Linda and Todd. There is just way too much tension there! This book is full of surprises and the author's creativity is quite unique. It is creepy and will definitely get you thinking about disturbing shadows while you read it in the dark. I much enjoyed reading this story and am looking forward to checking out the second one! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 29, 2016 Grant Leishman rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2016

The Dead Game by Susanne Leist is a good, solid, read. At 320 pages on Kindle it is a pleasure to read a full-length novel again, after so many truncated stories that purport to call themselves novels. What Leist does in this book is show us that you can write the first book in a series, without chopping it off at some convenient point. This is a full story, complete with a suitable ending and the opportunity for the sequel. I was impressed by this.

The Dead Game takes place in a mythical (I assu The Dead Game by Susanne Leist is a good, solid, read. At 320 pages on Kindle it is a pleasure to read a full-length novel again, after so many truncated stories that purport to call themselves novels. What Leist does in this book is show us that you can write the first book in a series, without chopping it off at some convenient point. This is a full story, complete with a suitable ending and the opportunity for the sequel. I was impressed by this.

The Dead Game takes place in a mythical (I assume) Floridan tourist village called Oasis. All is not well in Oasis, however, with any number of demons and otherworldly beings threatening the peace of the residents. It is left to Linda, Todd, and their friends to try to deal with the host of supernatural threats to the quiet tourist haven.

Her writing is descriptive and colorful and I found the horror and paranormal scenes, of which there are many, incredibly compelling. The author has a vivid imagination and translates this to paper very well. More than once, I was reminded of the great story; "Jumanji". I'm sure the author mentioned it at one stage, so perhaps she drew inspiration from it. The paranormal scenes were very reminiscent of Jumanji; fast-paced, with all sort of perils, to be faced, almost like running an obstacle course. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of this novel and would recommend it to anyone who likes fast-paced action paranormal/horror.

For a first novel, which I am assuming this is, given it is the only book on Leist's Amazon page, it was a very successful and enjoyable debut.

The one drawback and something I'm sure that will come with experience and practice was some of the dialogue. I did find the dialogue somewhat stilted at times and a little bit forced. Good dialogue is a learning process and I'm sure Leist will improve this over time. It didn't detract from the excitement of the story, which was related at a breath-taking pace.

An excellent debut and the promise of much more in the future. A solid four stars for The Dead Game. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 08, 2015 Colm Herron rated it it was amazing

Nothing is what it seems to be in this graphically and brilliantly written horror story.

Take an idyllic town called Oasis. Take a girl called Linda who arrives there to open a bookshop (but finds that she's really opening a can of worms - and corpses and vampires and ghosts). Take her stubborn determination to investigate on and on and on instead of getting the hell out. Take a mysterious invitation to an abandoned mansion of death and decay. Take all these and every fibre of you and your brain ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 11, 2020 Linnea Tanner rated it really liked it

The prologue inThe Dead Game by Susanne Leist piqued my interest with its horrific scene of a family racing to escape their dark mansion that is falling apart before their eyes. The story begins five years later in what seems like a scenic and tranquil city—Oasis, Florida. Linda, a new arrival from New York, hopes to find a new life after losing her brother and parents from a car accident. On a whim, she signs a deal to manage a bookstore. Along with other people she has met in town, she is inv ...more

Like · see review

Dec 31, 2016 Patricia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a fast paced easy read that will keep you held from beginning to end. The story concept is extraordinary and is very open for the books that are to come. As the story progresses we see the characters begin to grow into their own individual roles and they take us through many twists and turns in a complex maze of murder, mystery, supernatural phenomena and betrayal.

As a debut author Susanne has brought together a winning combination of character types and a complex plot line that has the ...more

Like · see review

Jul 04, 2018 Laura Thomas rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, paranormal

I’m always up for a haunted house story. This has that and much more. Oasis sounds like the perfect little town. But, of course, all is not as it appears. The denizens are reclusive and strange, rarely seen during the day and partying at night. Phantom figures prowl the dark streets and vandalism occurs for no apparent reason. The younger adults are kept separate from the older inhabitants. Offered housing in the apartments while the elders live in posh estates tucked away from the town’s center ...more

Like · see review