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Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung
The future looks bright for John and Ruby. Johns business is growing, and theyre talking about starting a family. But when Ruby receives a life-changing diagnosis, and insurance wont cover the treatment, John steals a customers identity and files a false claim. The plan works perfectly - until the customer in question contacts John with a startling proposition. If John and Ruby play a little game hes devised, he wont report their fraud. The rules are simple: commit real crimes. But if they fail, there will be deadly consequences. With each round, the crimes get more twisted. John and Ruby cant disappear - and they cant go to the police. Their only option is to keep playing, while trying to outwit a psychopath who has no intention of letting them leave this game alive.
Rezensionen (4)
Publisher's Weekly-Rezension
Narrator Peter Berkrot throws himself completely into his portrayal of John Bodine, the book's narrator, a videogame creator who is desperately trying to hold things together after his wife, Ruby, is diagnosed with a devastating form of cancer. In an attempt to save her life, he concocts a scheme that involves cheating an insurance company out of the fabulous amount it will take to keep Ruby's cancer at bay. However, Ruby fears the scheme will result in bad karma. And so it does in spades, bringing the couple to the attention of an cruel genius gamer who forces them to undergo a series of increasingly sadistic "tests" of John's criminal aptitude. These range from simple theft to prostitution and, eventually, murder. Berkrot's performance captures John's desperation, as well as Ruby's weariness and despair and, of course, the smarmy, sarcastic, sinister telephone voice of their tormentor. This audiobook more than delivers suspense and thrills, but may not be suitable for the faint of heart. A Kensington hardcover. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus-Rezension
In Palmer's follow-up to Helpless (2012), an unseen killer with a penchant for twisted games forces John Bodine, creator of a popular online game, to commit a series of crimes. If John doesn't follow instructions, his ailing wife, Ruby, will die. A few years ago, John, 29, survived a harrowing ordeal in the mountains of Tibet: He had to cut the safety rope of a fellow climber and watch him plummet to his death during an avalanche or have everyone in their group die. But now, Ruby and John are supremely happy together--until he discovers a cancerous growth on her foot. Desperate for help after their insurance company refuses to cover the superexpensive drug she needs, he pulls off an elaborate scheme that involves hacking into the policy of one of his online game subscribers and moving into a new apartment under the name of the subscriber and his wife and receiving their benefits. Then, a man identifying himself as the subscriber calls and threatens to expose them unless John plays a game that first involves stealing expensive scarves from a department store, then escalates to robbing a liquor store and setting fire to a warehouse. Along the way, the killer, who follows John's every move with hidden microphones and cameras, brutally murders a female neighbor of his, abducts Ruby's mother and then Ruby herself. Is John's cop friend, a Tibet survivor, the tormentor? Palmer keeps things moving, but his lazy plot contrivances catch up with him. The reader, who is usually several steps ahead of John, won't have much trouble identifying the baddie. Suspending disbelief is a more difficult challenge. Never dull, but feels more forced with each outlandish scene.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist-Rezension
When John Bodine's wife, Ruby, is diagnosed with cancer and their medical insurance won't cover the drug she needs to save her life, John does what you or I probably wouldn't do. He steals someone else's identity and files a fraudulent claim with another insurance company. This isn't as far-fetched as it sounds. Palmer establishes that John operates an online computer game and that he sifts through his subscriber files to find a suitable identity to borrow for a while. But he doesn't count on the unwitting identity donor finding out, tracking him down, and threatening to kill people unless John plays along with his sick, twisted game, in which John is required to do increasingly illegal things. Someone like Gregg Hurwitz or Linwood Barclay would have hit this one out of the park, but as it stands, the book is more like a ground-rule double solid contact but not quite enough oomph to reach the fence. Helping hold it back is John's plan to extricate his wife from one of his tormenter's games, which, frankly, is so oh give me a break! implausible that it almost deserves to fail miserably. There is one pretty nifty plot twist about three-quarters of the way into the book, but by then we're starting to grow tired of John and Ruby and their plight they are committing major insurance fraud, after all and by the tormenter's increasingly unbelievable cat-and-mouse game. Definitely weaker than the author's excellent debut, Delirious (2011), and about on par with its weaker follow-up, Helpless (2012).--Pitt, David Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal-Rezension
In Palmer's (Helpless) latest, John Bodine, an online gaming software engineer, and his very ill wife, Ruby, are victims of an anonymous psychopath. When the Bodines realize their insurance coverage won't cover Ruby's drug prescription needs, John goes to desperate, at times hard-to-believe lengths to save Ruby's life as their puppet-master nemesis forces the couple to perform more and more objectionable and dangerous illegal acts. Peter Berkrot's gritty tone complements this suspenseful tale, although his attempts at a Boston accent are uneven. The author's efforts to parallel the situation the Bodines are facing with John's earlier climbing tragedy and John's musings on how much he loves Ruby and can't live without her feel redundant at times, but readers who love action with suspenseful new twists and settings will enjoy this book. Verdict Recommend to fans of thrillers.-Susan Herr, Bulverde/Spring Branch Lib., TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
