Penguin LLC US The Never Game

"A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Crime Novel of the Year From the bestselling and award-winning master of suspense, the first novel in a thrilling new series, introducing Colter Shaw. ""You have been abandoned."" A young woman has gone missing in Silicon Valley and her father has hired Colter Shaw to find her. The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a ""reward seeker,"" traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America's tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry. ""Escape if you can."" When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past--The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life? ""Or die with dignity."" Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims even as he pursues the kidnapper across both Silicon Valley and the dark 'net. Encountering eccentric game designers, trigger-happy gamers and ruthless tech titans, he soon learns that he isn't the only one on the hunt: someone is on his trail and closing fast. The Never Game proves once more why ""Deaver is a genius when it comes to manipulation and deception"" (Associated Press)." ...