Helpful Score: 2
I really liked The Dying Game! I am a big fan of Beverly Barton's and she delivered on this one. It was suspenseful till the end. By giving some of the victims some of their own story, the suspense was more real and it made the killing that much more scary and sad. The characterizations were thorough and interesting. It wasn't exactly a romance, but more of a love story about healing and dealing with emotional demons. Judd wasn't really a hero in the traditional sense, but a main character who is flawed and unstable. Lindsay was a wonderful heroine who stuck with Judd, right or wrong. His healing and journey back from the bottom he had let himself fall to to reunite with Lindsay was heartwrenching and heartwarming. A lot of the story involved Griffin and Nic and Sanders, which will lead right into their book next year. Griffin was the less likable character in my mind. At this point, I have a hard time picturing him and Nic together, but I will trust Barton to pull it off.
This was an emotional and suspenseful (very graphic and gory also) read that I highly recommend. This was definitely one of Barton's best.
This was an emotional and suspenseful (very graphic and gory also) read that I highly recommend. This was definitely one of Barton's best.
Helpful Score: 1
I decided to try a new author, and while I very much enjoyed this book, I warn that it isn't for those without an iron stomach. The book can be very graphic, almost gory - but still a good read if you can stomach it.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved the characters but storyline got a little gross. Good enough that I'll read the next one too just to see what happens to the main players.
Helpful Score: 1
In Chattanooga though her husband Judd would object to her showing off a house at night, realtor Jennifer Walker agrees to take a potential customer and his wife to see an expensive mansion. However, instead of a sale that she would use to furnish a nursery, the man slices off her hands before killing her. He leaves behind a rose and a devastated spouse, who hires his friend's Powell private investigative firm to uncover the identity of the killer.
Over the next three years and eight months, twenty-nine beauty queens starting with Jennifer have been butchered by the Beauty Queen Killer, but so far there is no progress in apprehending the culprit. Judd has stopped living except for his obsession to wrap his hands around the killer's neck. That is until now. Apparently in Williamstown, Kentucky Barbara Jean Hughes visiting her sister saved Gale Ann Cain's life after the killer sliced off her legs. Griff Powell sends former Chattanooga detective, employee Lindsay McAllister to see Judd, whom she fell in love with when she was still a cop while he grieved his loss then but now Judd shows interest as he demands to join the hunt for a deadly deranged predator.
THE DYING GAME is an action-packed cat and mouse thriller with several incredible yet plausible twists that will shake readers into leaving the lights on all night. The story line is fast-paced, but it is the psychologically damaged survivors like Judd and the sisters who make the tale real. A romantic subplot is deftly interwoven into Beverly Barton's tense thriller and readers will look forward to the sequel starring Griff and his FBI enemy combatant.
Harriet Klausner
Over the next three years and eight months, twenty-nine beauty queens starting with Jennifer have been butchered by the Beauty Queen Killer, but so far there is no progress in apprehending the culprit. Judd has stopped living except for his obsession to wrap his hands around the killer's neck. That is until now. Apparently in Williamstown, Kentucky Barbara Jean Hughes visiting her sister saved Gale Ann Cain's life after the killer sliced off her legs. Griff Powell sends former Chattanooga detective, employee Lindsay McAllister to see Judd, whom she fell in love with when she was still a cop while he grieved his loss then but now Judd shows interest as he demands to join the hunt for a deadly deranged predator.
THE DYING GAME is an action-packed cat and mouse thriller with several incredible yet plausible twists that will shake readers into leaving the lights on all night. The story line is fast-paced, but it is the psychologically damaged survivors like Judd and the sisters who make the tale real. A romantic subplot is deftly interwoven into Beverly Barton's tense thriller and readers will look forward to the sequel starring Griff and his FBI enemy combatant.
Harriet Klausner
Lindsay McAllister works for Griffin Powell's investigative agency trying to find the serial killer brutally murdering former beauty queens. She is in love with the husband of one of the victims but he is staunchly resisting. For her own welfare, Judd is horrible to Lindsay but with the best of intentions. He knows that he is incapable of returning her affection and is trying to protect her. The killer is relentless and twisted as hell...killing faster than Griff's team (and the FBI) can handle.
This is an excellent mystery which kept me turning pages as fast as I could. This is gruesome and not for the faint of heart but terrific nonetheless. The instant animosity between Griffin and Nicole (the FBI agent) is intense and I sense in a future book the romance will be wild and eminently enjoyable. I can't wait for her fall as she is very arrogant and determined not to like Griff.
This is an excellent mystery which kept me turning pages as fast as I could. This is gruesome and not for the faint of heart but terrific nonetheless. The instant animosity between Griffin and Nicole (the FBI agent) is intense and I sense in a future book the romance will be wild and eminently enjoyable. I can't wait for her fall as she is very arrogant and determined not to like Griff.
This was the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It really was a quick and easy read. There were several times that I thought I knew what was going to happen and was very surprised when it didn't. I like a book that keeps you guessing. I can't wait to read the next one in this series.
This was a good book, but a bit dark for my tastes.
My first Griffin Powell mystery and it was very engaging. Will be reading more.
This was the first book I've read by Beverly Barton and it was a very good read. I couldn't put it down.
A serial killer is targeting beuty queeens - Beverly Barton at her best
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE READ I LOVE THIS AUTHOR.
I love reading her books, keeps you thinking until the end.
GAIL L. (my2luvsemmyandmally) reviewed The Dying Game (Griffin Powell, Bk 3) on + 758 more book reviews
This book was GREAT! I had just stumbled onto Beverly Barton by dumb luck and am so happy that I did !!! The woman really knows how to spin a tale and make you feel like
you are part of the story........her books are hard to put down and I stay awake late at night reading till my eyes can't take it anymore ....that is how exciting her stories are! A real master of the "thriller". Kudos to Ms Barton on her exceptional writing skills.......and I am now finishing the book after this one that is a continuing story of the same "killer" and it is called "The Murder Game" so if you like this one you have to read "The Murder Game" next!
you are part of the story........her books are hard to put down and I stay awake late at night reading till my eyes can't take it anymore ....that is how exciting her stories are! A real master of the "thriller". Kudos to Ms Barton on her exceptional writing skills.......and I am now finishing the book after this one that is a continuing story of the same "killer" and it is called "The Murder Game" so if you like this one you have to read "The Murder Game" next!
I love this book! I picked it up a whim while waiting to use the copier in the teacher's lounge and have not put it down since! I feel like I know these characters so well they could be old friends of mine. I absolutely cannot wait to get the next book after this one. I would recommend this to fans of the murder mystery/thriller/serial killer genre.
Good Book,Beverly Barton writes great suspense.
Very good book. Great quick read.
Can't wait for the next book!!!!!
It's the ultimate game. The winner takes all the loser loses his life. The victims are beauty Queens. Lindsey McAllister has seen this before, while she was on the Chattanooga P.D. That is why she now workes for The Griffin Powell investigating agency. Will she find the killer before he can catch her. Was he the only killer? Who will be next.
This book really keeps your interest. Fast moving as former beauty queens dye.
It's the ultimate game---the adrenaline surge of the hunt, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. For in this game, the rules are simple: To win, you only have to kill. To lose, you will have to die.
This one will keep you on the edge of your seat!
This one will keep you on the edge of your seat!
A really great read
suspenseful.
great
