Review: The Dying Game by Asa Avdic

Anna Francis has been propositioned with an unusual request. Back in her office job after spending time on n aid mission in a war-torn country, the celebrity that once followed her has died down. After months of no sleep, heightened stress, and constant bombing, Anna is struggling to slip back into her old habits and life. Enter the Chairman, with an offer.

The highly trained, and highly secret, RAN group is recruiting, and given Anna’s history of observing people in high-stress situations, the Chairman requests that she oversee the recruitment process, to give a full report on each candidate. The observations will only take a few days, on an island equipped for the purpose. However, it’s not as straight-forward as watching others; Anna is going to be killed.

The Chairman has decided that a faked death, removing Anna from the presence of others, will heighten tensions and allow her to observe unnoticed, gathering valuable information. The only problem is that Anna is not the only one to disappear, and things on the island begin to go awry from the moment Anna sets foot on it.

The Dying Game is nothing short of brilliant. Asa Avdic is a master at creating tension, and sending the reader’s heart rate through the roof. The Dying Game is completely gripping, with a horde of unexpected twists, red herrings, and a host of protagonists with hidden agendas, it is entertaining and unpredictable. As Anna tries to distinguish between reality and pretense, the reader has no choice but to follow her through a maze of lies. This is a brilliant book, and I doubt that anyone will disagree.

The Dying Game by Asa Avdic is published by Windmill Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.