The Stranger Game is the latest novel from author Peter Gadol. This is an inventive and intuitive story that explores a creepier side of socialising when a viral game goes from something interesting to something more criminal - out of control.
Rebecca's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ezra, has gone missing, but when she notifies the police, they seem surprisingly unconcerned. They suspect he has been playing the 'stranger game' a viral hit in which players start following others in real life, as they might otherwise do on social media.
But as the game spreads, the rules begin to change, and disappearances are reported across the country.
Hoping that she might track down Ezra, Rebecca tries the game for herself. Here. she meets Carey, who is willing to take the game further than she imagined possible, and soon she finds that the life she once lived has become a distant memory . . .
Set in Los Angeles, we are first introduced to Rebecca when she is describing following someone, a little boy, and I'll admit in this first chapter, I wasn't sure quite which direction this book would take. Was Rebecca a criminal? A stalker? Or merely a lonely person seeking comfort in others interactions?
Rebecca has found herself trapped within 'The Stranger Game'.
