Ruthless Game

By: Danielle Girard

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

The wet sheet slipped slowly from her face, and she began to count. There were 11, in all. She was last in line, but he was getting closer. He'd be to her soon....

As though stumbling out of a nightmare, rookie cop Alex Kincaid awakens in her car, dazed and confused. Parked on an unfamiliar street, she's outside an unfamiliar home with no recollection of how she got there, and no memory of the night before.

Then, her nightmare becomes reality.

Alex's first call of the day takes her to the same street, to the same house, where a man has been brutally killed. Alex thinks the man is a perfect stranger - until she finds herself the main suspect in his murder.

And now, as she races to clear her name, she's haunted by memories of a horrific 30-year-old crime - a crime that links her to the dead man...and marks her as the killer's next target.

©2001, 2016 Danielle Girard (P)2019 Tantor

Unrealistic in too many places

Alex character not well developed
Unbelievable reactions as mentioned previously
Unprofessional behavior as cop, hiding evidence, not communicating with peers/brother/partner
I Figured out Dr J way too early, couldn’t understand why she didn’t

There were other moments that were hard to consider as legitimate behaviors, reactions, thought process

It had potential but just seemed like the author rushed through it.

All this being said, I have listened to many of her books so far, and this is the first one that I didn’t enjoy as much as the others.

What a TWIST!

Did NOT expect THAT at all! Took me a little bit to get into. Had to restart a few times after the first few chapters, listening to something else then coming back. But once I really listened/focused on the story, I was hooked. 🤙🏻🤙🏻

Not impressed

I really tried to get into this book. I just couldn't finish it. The narrator was good though.

A drama with a little murder thrown in

Started out with murder and intrigue. The drama of the heroine distracts from the story. I am starting not to care about who done it.

Very Enjoyable!

I found this book to be very good. The story is one of Girards older works, back in the day of pagers and pay phones with few cell/car phones. There were some weak spots, few books do not. Overall it was satisfying from start to end. I found the narration very good.

Entertaining

Narrator is very good! Story line ok, hard to follow at times. I always enjoy stories narrated by Nicole Zanzarella.

Unbelievable

Aggravating MC, unbelievable story. Didn’t enjoy as much as other titles by same author. Good narration.

Unlikable main character

The book was OK until I hit a scene where there's a guy just innocently walking his dog (pit bull) down the street and the main character says, out loud, "Those things should be shot." I immediately lost any sympathy for the MC. I tried to listen for a while longer, but just couldn't get past that comment. I realized that I couldn't get past it because there was nothing good about the MC to balance it out. There wasn't anything particularly bad either, she was just kind of a boring, mostly blank slate. The main things of interest about her was something that happened in her past and mysterious things happening in her present, but the character herself had no depth whatsoever. Personally I don't enjoy a book much if there isn't a strong character to root for, so in the end I just couldn't engage anymore.

The heroine was ridiculous.

Alex Kincaid went to bed one night and woke up in her car on Yolo Street the next morning. She had no idea how she got there. Alex hurried to work at the police station only to be sent out to investigate a homicide with her partner Greg Robach. Alex is surprised when she learns that the murder took place on Yolo Street. As they look for evidence, some of Alex's jewelry is found at the scene. She explains it away, but more of her possessions are found underneath the body. Now everyone is asking if she had something to do with the murder.

I thought the premise of this story sounded like something I would enjoy. But this story just didn't work for me. I thought Alex was just ridiculous. At first, she tries to cover up the fact that it was her jewelry found at the scene. Then she believes that she is the only person who can find the person who set her up. Her brother works for Internal Affairs. Every time he asks her a question, she accuses him of trying to send her to prison. She assaults two cops and holds one at gunpoint. She also ignored direct orders from her boss. This lady should never be on the police force.

I also didn't believe the villain would be able to do all of the things that the villain did in this story. My eyes were rolling back into my head by the end of the book. Many people liked this book, so I may be way out in left field with my opinion. My rating: 2 Stars.

How are there good reviews?

Maybe I read a different book. Yes, it's that cliché. I am not really sure where the reviews saying that this was enjoyable even come from. First off, the main character, Alex, seems a little hard to connect with and like. There is not a lot that is redeeming about her. The way that she was described just really put me off. As for the story itself? The story was boring. I found myself constantly zoning out. The characters were not different enough for me to actually know them by name so when a name was mentioned, it didn't really matter. I had to back up several times for this story to even make sense and that did very little to help. It's slow, boring and if I had actually paid for this (instead of having it in the Plus library), I would be upset.

Do not recommend. The synopsis is about as exciting as the book gets.