Official Review: The Killing Game, Part One

[gali]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Killing Game, Part One" by The Black Rose.]

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"The Killing Game" is a romantic suspense novel told from the third person omniscient point of view and the first of a series. The author brings to life the entire world of the characters by telling the story from multiple points of view. By using this technic the author gives us an insight into the mind-set of the characters. Romantic suspense novels mix romance with suspense (obviously) and it isn't an easy task to balance between the two. Some have more romance than suspense and such is the case here.

This is the story of Ives and Allina whose fate (aka FBI) has spun a tangled web in their tapestry of life. They will have to unravel the threads of the web to come out in one piece. Ives is the Director of the New York Division of the FBI. He is involved in the ongoing investigation of a crime lord by the name of Luca and he seeks evidence to incriminate the villain. As part of his investigation, Ives infiltrates the organization of Luca and becomes Luca's main money man and his trusty advisor.

Into the picture enters Allina, a beautiful, gullible and vulnerable woman. She has two books under her belt and she is in the process of publishing her third book. Alas, the subject of the book will entangle her in a hornet's nest and will open a Pandora's Box to boot. In her coming book, "The Blood Negotiators", she provides a too close to comfort account about the activities of the mafia. The bureau suspects she is involved in the dirty game due to her knowledge about the subject matter and asks Ives to investigate her. Ives does that and fells madly in love in Allina the minute he sees her picture (a bit farfetched) and goes after her with gusto.

In fact both protagonists are a bit too good to be truth. Ives has it all: he is a handsome, tall, impressive man, a "princely figure of a man" and he embodies all that entitles. Allina is his female counterpart: feminine, beautiful, eager to please, and naïve to a fault. She is the classical maiden in need, though not completely helpless.

Allina moves over to Manhattan and buys an apartment there with the FBI's kind help, a help she isn't aware of, behind the scenes. The FBI also prohibits her publisher to publish her new book as a way to force her to cooperate with it. Ives opens a publishing company (he is rich by his own rights) in order to find his way into Allina's heart. He publishes her novel and captures her heart in the process. Pretty soon Ives finds out that Allina is innocent of all charges, but he prolongs giving his report in order to spend more time with her. This delay causes his supervisors to doubt her innocence and his report of her. The Bureau, against Ives' wishes, asks for her help in infiltrating the inner organization of the Italian crime lord, Luca, in order to find out some evident for his illegal activities. Allina is carrying a torch for Ives so she agrees to trap Luca in order to help out Ives, the man she deeply loves. Little does she know the tangled mess she is getting into. Allina is getting introduced to Luca and things go downhill from this point. Allina will need all her wits about her to get out from the Luca's clutches. Ives will have to put up his career on the line in order to help out the love of his life. Suspense, betrayal, intrigue and love are only some of the aspects in this intriguing book.

The book is written in a very simple yet compelling language. There were a few repetitions of phrases, thoughts and scenes that the book could do without. The book took time to take off and it felt at first more of a romance book rather than a suspense one. The book moves backward and forward in time with the help of flashbacks. Some of those flashbacks down the memory lane were entwined in unsuitable moments (in the middle of the action in some cases) and it interrupted the flowing of the story. A bit more tightening of the plot and cutting down on some scenes (and pages) would have made it a much better book. Every loose string was tied up nicely but one and it makes sense since it is the first book of the series. The author tells us about the inner working of the FBI and their underhanded tactics and I found some of it hard to swallow. The protagonists irritated me at times and I wanted to shake them both and bring some sense into them.

The story didn't grab me right away, but from a certain point in the story I was hooked. Despite the above reservations overall it was an enjoyable read, so I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The story has lots of deceit, love and heartache intertwined among its pages. It also has some interesting plot twists and was intriguing enough to keep me eager to find out what will happen next. I recommend this book to those who like to spice up their suspense with a heavy dose of romance.

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Buy "The Killing Game, Part One" on Amazon
Buy "The Killing Game, Part One" on Barnes and Noble

[theblackrose]

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your time and this wonderful review!

No matter how a novel is categorized by a reader, The Killing Game is a story about the interpersonal relationship between the hero and the heroine, then all else that comes their way. The character’s romantic involvement sets the standard for their relationship, and their commitment to each other, as well as their obvious determination in outwitting the story’s villain.

As for flashbacks: Flashbacks in real life are quite distracting. How many people can actually control when their memories come to the forefront, interrupting their train of thought, and stopping them dead in their tracks at whatever they had just been doing? This story’s flashbacks are strategically placed at the moments when items, words, sound, smells, or places brought them to the character's mind, making their appearance natural and not forced into a chronological pattern, which would be a misrepresentation of real life. The use of flashbacks in this story is priceless, keeping the reader perfectly informed as to what the characters are feeling at that moment in the story, while at the same time, providing the reader with a bit of back-story so the reader will better understand the characters.

This is a wonderful review; however, there are a few typographical/grammatical issues, and a wrongful quoting of a book name in the review itself. Prior to it actually being published, it should be cleaned up a little. Since I am not the author of the review, it is not my place to physically edit it, yet I felt it was worth mentioning.

Again, thank you for your valuable time and your review of The Killing Game, Part One, The Blood Negotiators!

Best regards,
The Black Rose

[gali]

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your time and this wonderful review!

No matter how a novel is categorized by a reader, The Killing Game is a story about the interpersonal relationship between the hero and the heroine, then all else that comes their way. The character’s romantic involvement sets the standard for their relationship, and their commitment to each other, as well as their obvious determination in outwitting the story’s villain.

As for flashbacks: Flashbacks in real life are quite distracting. How many people can actually control when their memories come to the forefront, interrupting their train of thought, and stopping them dead in their tracks at whatever they had just been doing? This story’s flashbacks are strategically placed at the moments when items, words, sound, smells, or places brought them to the character's mind, making their appearance natural and not forced into a chronological pattern, which would be a misrepresentation of real life. The use of flashbacks in this story is priceless, keeping the reader perfectly informed as to what the characters are feeling at that moment in the story, while at the same time, providing the reader with a bit of back-story so the reader will better understand the characters.

This is a wonderful review; however, there are a few typographical/grammatical issues, and a wrongful quoting of a book name in the review itself. Prior to it actually being published, it should be cleaned up a little. Since I am not the author of the review, it is not my place to physically edit it, yet I felt it was worth mentioning.

Again, thank you for your valuable time and your review of The Killing Game, Part One, The Blood Negotiators!

Best regards,
The Black Rose

Thank you for your comments and your compliments.

Sorry about the misquoting, I have corrected it.

Good luck with this book and the next one!

[theblackrose]

Thank you very much! This is a great site and I'm very happy and proud to have become part of it!

[gali]

Thank you very much! This is a great site and I'm very happy and proud to have become part of it!

Thank you. I really enjoyed your book and I am looking forward to the next one.

I am glad you enjoy the site and I feel the same about it. Welcome abroad!

[TrishaAnn92]

This sounds like a very good book gali! I may have to check it out!

[gali]

This sounds like a very good book gali! I may have to check it out!

Thank you and it is.

[Cool Books]

sounds good. Thanks gail.

[gali]

sounds good. Thanks gail.

Thank you

[kio]

Great review

[gali]

Great review

Thanks

[theblackrose]

Great review

Thanks

Great review from a phenomenal reviewer!

[gali]

Great review

Thanks

Great review from a phenomenal reviewer!

Thank you

[ALRyder]

Not my type of book, but as always great review.

[gali]

Not my type of book, but as always great review.

Thank you for the kind words.