Audiobook Review: Game (Jasper Dent, #2)

Author: Barry Lyga
Narrator: Charlie Thurston
Series: Jasper Dent, #2
Release date: April 16th 2013
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Lenght: 13 hrs and 28 min
Buy: Audible

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jasper (Jazz) Dent, the son of the world's most infamous serial killer. When a desperate New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help with a new case, Jazz can't say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple - and its police force running scared with no leads. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer's murderous game. Meanwhile, Jazz's dad, Billy, is watching... and waiting.

Okay, time to fess up, people! Did someone steal the last hour of my audiobook? If it was you, please give it back. I like my books to have an actual ending, thank you very much.

Oh, Barry Lyga, whatever did we do to you? Apparently one cliffhanger wasn’t bad enough so Lyga decided to leave us with three – one on Jazz’s side of things, one on Connie’s and one on Howie’s – just to be on the safe side. While that might work for most people (book three will probably break some record in number of pre-orders), for me, that sort of thing is counterproductive. I’m not saying I won’t read it eventually, but I’m far less enthusiastic about it.

Writing this review without spoilers for either of the book is tricky, but I’ll do my best. After his success with the Impressionist, Jazz is called to New York to help catch a new, even more vicious serial killer. Obviously this is a very unlikely scenario, but I had no trouble suspending disbelief and enjoying this story for what it was.

Our Jazz grew up so much! Out of Lobo’s Nod and playing with the big boys, he suddenly started acting like a big boy himself. There’s so much he still needs to learn about his past and the pressure is tremendous, but he handles it all with courage. With Billy out, Jazz feels that each new death will somehow be his fault. It’s a great burden for a 17-year-old and I think Lyga handled the damages to his psyche perfectly.

In Game, disappointment came from a very unexpected direction – my former favorite, Connie. The girl gave a whole new meaning to the words ‘too stupid to live’. While I admire her loyalty and her strength, due to some of her choices in this book, my estimate of her intelligence dropped by about 70%. Clearly, when you start getting creepy instructions from a blocked number, the smart thing to do is follow them, even knowing they probably come from a serial killer. She kept making reckless and selfish decisions, and by the end, I wanted someone to kill her, just to show her that she’s way out of her league. I can be mean like that sometimes.

Howie, of course, couldn’t stop being his usual hilarious self even if he wanted to. He took Connie’s place as my favorite character in a heartbeat. Like her, he is unflinchingly loyal, but he doesn’t mind staying in the background in the least. His attempts to seduce Jazz’s aunt Samantha balanced things out a bit for me.

I was tempted to buy this the day it came out, but after a great experience with the I Hunt Killers audiobook, I decided to wait for my Audible credit and get this one in audio format too. I am SO glad I did. Charlie Thurston is a fabulous narrator. He brings a dose of humor to all the right moments using nothing more than the cadence of his voice. He makes Billy sound frightening, but also a bit funny, and his voice for grandma is simply fantastic. If I do decide to read the third book, it will be on audio yet again.