Games People Play
4 out of 5 Stars
Michael Marshall's conspiracy theory novel looks at how life could become if a group of wealthy twits decided that the most fun thing they could do with their money would be taking some random associate and planting pitfalls to ruin his life. How far would you go? Who would you need? Who could you trust? Finally, what would you do if it was you who became the rat they decided to force into their maze?
Bill Moore, an ambitious real estate agent in Florida, is that man in the maze. He's an ambitious, if far too calculating, man with a five year plan to become a super-salesman. But he suddenly begins to receive emails that put his reputation into question. His wife confronts him with the discovery of scandalous pictures of a co-worker on his computer. Worst of all, a wealthy client he was courting for a sales deal turns up missing and quite possibly meeting with foul play. What none of them know is that a wild card has been dealt into this game. John Hunter, a man wrongly convicted of a crime connected to a previous "game" has been given an early prison release, and he's had over a decade to plan his revenge. By the time the wealthy manipulators or Bill Moore learn of Hunter's arrival on the board, the manipulations have already progressed too long and have gone too far.
Marshall has a lot of leeway, since anyone could be an actor in this maze. When Bill begins to suspect that he's being set-up, he can't be certain who is making these moves against him, and that leaves Marshall plenty of lines to write between. As a thriller, it gives both author and reader enough area to throw twists, and makes "Killer Move" (which I must add, is a wretchedly bland title for a book that could have easily been titled "Modified," a phrase used repetitively through the novel) a solid read.
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