DEADFALL

The deadliest game comes to a head in the sequel to Blackbird (2014).

The continuation of Sunny’s story begins where Blackbird ended: she discovers the boy from her dreams isn’t a figment of her imagination but a part of her past. Rafe knows Sunny’s real name is Lena Marcus, and they fell in love while fighting for survival on the island where the game began. Lena and Rafe go to New York City, where they locate surviving victims of the game and find that several of the targets have been tracked and murdered by hunters who pay to play the game. Ben, Lena’s love interest–turned-betrayer, returns to proclaim his love for her and to convince her he’s on her side. Unsure whether or not she can trust Ben, Lena struggles with her feelings for him and her slowly returning feelings for Rafe; however, Lena doesn’t let a love triangle stop her from turning hunter herself, relentless in her pursuit of the game’s sadistic leader. Throughout the novel, the action rushes forward at top speed toward the breathtaking conclusion. As with Blackbird, the narrative is in the second person, with several chapters switching to the third-person points of view of secondary characters. This is a major disruption of the narrative focus, negating the immediacy and mystery created by positioning readers as Lena.

A gripping, female-centered thriller for readers who can ignore the distractions.