Esther Chilton

I met the very talented crime writer Clare Mackintosh at a book event in the summer. I found it fascinating to hear about her time as a police officer before she became a full-time writer. She also talked about her latest book, A Game of Lies. I was completely hooked at the premise and couldn’t resist a purchase (signed, of course).

The blurb:

They say the camera never lies.

But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.

Seven reality show contestants arrive in the Welsh mountains to compete for a life-changing prize, not realising what they’re truly signing up for.

Each stranger has a secret – and the show will force them to expose one another live on air.

It’s not long before things take an even darker turn, and Detective Ffion Morgan is summoned to untangle the truth behind the scenes.

And when a murderer strikes, every one of Ffion’s suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

Sound good? You bet it is. I’d read Clare’s first DC Ffion Morgan book, The Last Party, and had already fallen in love with her lead character and it was great to see her back. Ffion is a wonderfully flawed character who I couldn’t help but care for and it was very easy to get swept up in her life again and all that was going on. There’s a will they/won’t they thread throughout the story, with another police officer, and then, there’s the plot.

If you love game shows, then you’ll love this. I actually don’t watch many game shows right now, but I’ve seen plenty in my time and I liked the idea for Clare’s. During her talk, she explained the research she’d undertaken to check that her idea for a game show wasn’t too extreme. Surprisingly, to Clare, it wasn’t. She said there are some bizarre games shows out there!

So if you’re looking for a gripping read, with lots of twists and turns, interesting characters and a compelling game show, then give A Game of Lies a go.