From the Publisher:
An extreme game of hide-and-seek turns deadly in this riveting new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger
When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?
Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.
Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.“Unger plunges the reader right into a sense of dread, then skillfully ratchets up the physical terrors of the challenge while revealing one disturbing secret after another. The perils of the real and virtual worlds collide effectively in this relentlessly paced thriller.” —Kirkus, starred review
“Twists arrive relentlessly, keeping readers on edge and guessing until the final, breath-stealing twist.” —The Seattle Times“Unger’s latest is a fast-paced, atmospheric, locked-room thriller…Readers of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware will surely enjoy this nail-biter.” —Booklist
This was an interesting premise for a thriller. Let me preface this by saying I don’t watch reality TV shows – I used to watch some, most recently “Love is Blind” and “Married at First Sight,” but I couldn’t get through their last seasons, so I just gave it up. I haven’t watched Survivor since the first season, or any of the Beast Games, or whatever else is out there, so I am not that familiar with how these things work lately. I pretty much went into this book just believing whatever the author told me, and that worked just fine. I also need to add that I really hated the title of this book; it’s too long, and while I understand the implication, I just didn’t care for it. On the other hand, I loved the cover.
Dylan Maverick is the star of the Extreme games that he produces for an online audience. He is a young white man, and his best friends and girlfriend all work with him. He cheats on his girlfriend quite a bit, and that becomes a problem. He slept with Chloe supposedly before he hooked up with Angeline, his girlfriend, but he actually slept with her a few times, ghosting her after each occasion. She ends up on one of his challenges, a Hide & Seek event where she hides and is never found. Chloe has gone missing, and while the Extreme team are all questioned, they are pretty much cleared of her disappearance. There are supposed sightings of the young woman, but none are proven, and she become fodder for a true crime podcast.
This new Extreme Hide & Seek event is set on Falcao Island, a fictional island owned by Portugal, loosely based on the Azores. There is an old abandoned hotel on the island, and that is where the event is taking place. There is an old woman who tries to warn them off, and they ignore her and her private security force. There are supposed to be four contestants: a wildlife animal TV star who has been canceled due to his supposedly killing a lion; a young woman with a large following on social media; a mystery contestant; and Adele, a single mom whose husband embezzled millions of dollars from his company and disappeared with all the money, abandoning his wife and children. Adele has created a social media channel following her rebuilding her life and her body. Her kids are in high school, and it is her son who finds out about the contest as he is a huge fan of Dylan and Extreme. He convinces his mom to enter the competition, and when she sees the prize is a million dollars, she decides to go for it. To her surprise, she is selected, and her kids convince her that they can take care of themselves for the few days she will be gone.
These characters are skillfully brought to life, and the setting is basically another character. There is a hurricane-type storm moving onto the island, making everything that much more difficult for the contestants and the Extreme team. Some weird things start happening, adding to the drama, and the tension becomes almost unbearable. There is a lot more going on than anyone realizes at first, and as the mystery deepens, so does the danger.
This is a fast-paced thriller with great characters and enough pressure and strain on them to take this to a very dark place. Fans of these types of reality shows will probably love this, and even if you aren’t (like me,) it is still an unputdownable locked-room thriller. Don’t miss it!
2/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO TEN by Lisa Unger. Park Row; Original edition (February 25, 2025). ISBN: 978-0778333364. 384p.
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