This was such a great read for me. The idea that a former CIA agent who was too detached from her emotions to do fieldwork, ends up learning how to empathize with those needing assistance having a loved one extracted from a dangerous situation, is amazing. It was so nice to see Roxanne's growth during the book. She went from being all business to becoming personally invested in the cases.

I enjoyed the parallels between the case Roxanne was working on as well as the mass murder investigation that was happening in the background. It was a quick and well-rounded story.

4 out of 5 stars.

I received a free ARC from the publisher and NetGalley; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

Thomas & Mercer, as well as NetGalley, provided me with an electronic copy of Guilt Game. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Roxanne MacFarlane is a former CIA agent who specializes in rescuing people trapped in dangerous situations. When she is hired to extract a young woman from a cult, will Roxanne's complicated personal situation put her in danger?

Rox has a backstory that is not all that unique in books similar to this one. She is a private investigator with some form of autism and the only thing that sets Rox apart is that she is trying an experimental treatment. Getting either positive or negative feedback about the treatments, depending on which person she talks to, Rox is determined to work on her issues. The biggest problem that I had with the whole side plot was that it did not seem realistic. The treatment starts to work too quickly and the author is not convincing enough that it would work in the first place. Police departments around the country have their eyes pealed on cult activity, so it did not seem realistic that Sister Love would fall under the radar. Overall, Guilt Game was a quick read, but there were too many plot holes that ruined the total effect.

Great thrilling read by L.J. Sellers. Highly recommend to fans of thrilling, turn the page, keep you up all night reads!!

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I have read a few of this authors books before, and I’ve enjoyed them all. I can’t really say the same with this book. Not really sure why, but I really didn’t like the main character Roxane, so I found this one hard to read and enjoy. It was a quick read but I can’t say I really enjoyed it I just read it to finish it. I will say that I did not suspect the mystery until it was revealed. Not this author’s best for sure.

This one started off really fast paced for me and caught my attention right away, but I felt like it fell off in the middle a little bit. The whole premise was great and I love the idea of Rox and her job of "extracting" kidnapped victims to return them to their parents. I feel like there were quite a few things going on that I wanted more detail on (Rox's treatment, her relationship with her boyfriend, etc.) but I did still enjoy the story. I hope the series continues and the character development goes just a little deeper.

To me the sign of a good book is one you can read in only two sittings and spend the time you aren't reading it thinking about it, and Guilt Game for me was just that book. I was completely intrigued and hooked from the second I understood just what Roxanne's job was, to the moment it finished.

In fact I'm already hoping that this is the first of a new series, as I would love to see more from Roxanne. For she is an Extractor - someone who tries to extract people either from abusive parents, or from cults, or other dangerous situations. She needs to come up with a plan that gets her into as little trouble as possible, while fulfilling the wishes of her client, to get a loved one to safety.

The case this book focuses on is tricky as its trying to get a young girl away from a cult. The cult seems to prey on women which suffer from huge amounts of guilt and thus Emma was a prime target for them. Her parents just want her home safely, and its up to Roxanne, or Karina as she is known for work, to try and find out everything she can about the cult leader and how it operates.

Rox isn't on her own completely she has a step dad who is an ex-cop and her currently boyfriend is with the police working on a large case of his own. Rox is also slightly different from "normal" people and has just started a magnetic therapy treatment to try to get her brain patterns to become more regular. You can see after each session slight changes in her personality, which I found quite interesting.

Guilt Game is certainly a different take on a thriller, but it is now less compulsive. I was really concerned for the cult members, curious as to the sections focusing on the leader, and generally loved the investigating and thought processes Roxanne had.

I thoroughly enjoyed Guilt Game where the action ramped up as the story progressed leaving me surprised with the direction of the ending. Yet another great book from the talented L.J. Sellers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Sellers new series is off to an outstanding start with the introduction of Roxanne, ex CIA, and her stepfather, retired cop, Marty. Many complex characters, intriguing subplots, and more plot twists than a roller coaster, keep this book moving at a fast clip keeping the reader engrossed to the very last word.

A good page turning thriller. Rox and Marty make a terrific team and they're also good characters. Some of this is unrealistic but golly, it's all for a good cause. FYI- CIA employees are officers not agents. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good beach book.

I believe that I read my first L. J. Sellers book, THE SEX CLUB, Book 1 In her Detective Jackson series, in 2014, and she has been on my 'if-she-writes-it-I-will=read-it' list from about half way through that novel. The characters in her books are real flesh and blood people that draw you into their lives. As you read, you care about the things that happen to them and the things that happen around them. Every recurring character has a story, and it is keeping that backstory for each of them moving forward that makes me need to know what happens next.

GUILT GAME is book one, in a new series, with new people to meet that each have their own story to tell. Like her predecessors, Roxanne MacFarlane, AKA Rox, is flawed. A perfect protagonist always comes off as plastic, foibles and quirks add reality and humanity. I am intrigued by the premise of an analytical mind desiring the action of field work. Rox is an ex-cop and ex-CIA agent that has struck out on her own because at both jobs she found herself at a desk crunching data.

GUILT GAME is a story within a story, a protagonist within a protagonist, and both of them have unexpected twists and turns. At times, the stories seem like two, independent cases, but, at times, you will wonder when they will intersect. That's the thing with Sellers' books, you might think you know where the plot is headed, and then, in the end, everything changes.

I am looking forward to the next chapter in the life of Rox MacFarlane to see where the action takes her.

I am a big fan of this author's Jackson series, one of the first I read on my Kindle way back when and have also read her Dallas series and several stand alone books so I was quite excited to see that she has started a new series to add to the mix.
In this book, we meet Roxanne, a former CIA agent who has taken the skills she learned there and is now working privately as an extractor. Together with her step-father, Marty, they now work, often on the wrong side of the law, to rescue people who are deemed to be in peril - sometimes against what they themselves believe. We first meet her at the end of her previous, successful assignment but it isn't long before her services are called upon again; to extract a young woman from a cult.
One of the things I really love about this author is her main characters. You usually get them wounded or afflicted in a certain way, but here the author makes them a little bit different. Roxanne here has a very interesting disorder with her brain patterns and emotions and she has just started undergoing some treatment that changes the way she looks at things; the way she acts and behaves. I found her journey here to be an interesting addition to the main story, complementing it very well. She also has her own personal reasons for doing what she does and so her emotional awakening is especially poignant at times. It always helps when I click with the main character from the off and I definitely did that with both Roxanne and Marty. I especially loved the relationship between them.
The action comes thick and fast at times, at others it is slow and calculating, reflecting on the situation at the time. I found this to be very balanced. The slower times giving me food for thought and respite from the fast frenetic moments. The cult itself is very well described. The reasons for how and why they target vulnerable people was especially chilling, as were their ulterior motives for doing what they do. Scary stuff indeed.
All in all, a very good series opener which left me totally satisfied at the end and has me eager for book two. Can't ask for anything else.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I don't have a whole lot to say other than this was basically your average thriller. I liked the book and I like Rox and Marty as a team. I probably will read more of the series as the books come out. There were some things that I wasn't sure why they were in the story - like the father of a previous extracted boy calling and threatening Rox out of nowhere, which was then resolved without the reader's involvement or any details given...I didn't know the point of even bringing that up in the story.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.<i/>

I was given an advanced copy of Guilt Game in exchange for my honest review. This was my first book by this author but it will not be my last. I thought this book had a great concept and good fallow through. I have a weak spot for cult stories so this was right up my alley. Rox is the “extractor” she is a former CIA agent who removes people from abusive situations. You connect with the character of Rox because her motivation for helping these broken people from these situations is the fact that her sister was brainwashed and killed because she belonged to a cult. She enlists the help of her stepfather Marty to take on a new case to extract a young wealthy woman named Emma from a cult. The only thing I could not connect with in this book were the treatments that Roxanne has started to undergo to change her brain patterns to make her more in-tune with her feelings. I feel while those treatments may be real that it did not really add to the story I would have read the book regardless. I think everyone is born with the ability to feel so it was hard to wrap my mind around the concept. This is a good quick edge of your seat read and you will not see the ending coming. Overall a 4 star read, I look forward to seeing how it will progress.

I received this in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely freaking loved it. Rox is an amazing character and I really enjoyed her chemistry with Marty, her stepfather. The story seems to be the first in a series and I can't wait for the next one. It follows Rox, a former CIA analyst who runs a PI business and occasionally employs her stepfather, Marty, who is a retired police officer. Together they take on cases involving girls who need to be extracted from dangerous cults. This is a personal mission for Rox and Marty, as Rox's sister Jolene was killed by a cult leader after being sexually assaulted repeatedly by him, years ago. She is tasked with extracting Emma, a girl who is struggling with her own guilt following a car accident, which resulted in the death of her friend, from Sister Love. Sister Love is a cult that preys on girls like Emma, who are suicidal and struggle with guilt. They take everything from them and bleed their families dry. Rox makes it her mission to both extract Emma and shut down Sister Love for good.

The thing that makes this story so intriguing to me is Rox and her personality disorder. She doesn't sense emotion and does display emotion or affection, but she is undergoing treatment for it and it starts to show. It makes her happier and it shows in her relationship with her stepfather. Unfortunately it also causes a rift between her boyfriend and her, but in the long run, it is a great thing. I can't wait to read more of her story and see where she goes.

I loved this mystery/thriller. It is well written with a super good plot with many twists and turns.

A real page turner, I love the extractor concept and once again LJ Sellers has such likeable characters and a well flowing storyline.. I found it hard to put down and read it in just two sittings.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

From the first page of this book, the story hits the ground running. I actually had to make sure I didn't miss a chapter because it seemed to move so quickly!

The pace stayed consistent throughout the entire book, which kept the story interesting.

It looks like this may be the first in a series - I will be reading the next for sure!

I'm a big L.J. Sellers fan and this didn't disappoint, what a great book! I loved everything about it, the characters, the story line and the twists and turns. This book kept me engaged all the way through, a well deserved 5 stars.

GUILT GAMES by LJ. Sellers the first in her new series The Extractor. Published by Thomas - Mercer. Release date June 6
Rox, as The Extractor, will only do a service if you don't mention where her office is, or what her services are. She also is expensive to hire. She only wears blue, and has a boyfriend who has made it past her quirks for 6 months. Her past was with the CIA, she lost a sister to the cult, now having treatments to alter her brain waves. New client / case find Emma Carson, is she in the cult, alive, parents just want to know. This is what Rox does, find missing people, with help from Marty. Well written, keeps the edge to the story, of how she, The Extractor works. As to the brain treatment,to notice what other people are thinking and feeling is that working for her. Then her boyfriend Kyle is he still in the picture. Another great series by Seller's. Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion .

3.5 stars

Meet Roxanne (Rox) McFarlane ... ex-cop, ex-CIA agent who now owns and runs her own private investigator business. Mainly she specializes in rescuing people who have been recruited into cults, or children kidnapped by non-custodial parents. She didn't save her sister who was in a cult and this is her self imposed atonement for that. Her stepfather, Marty, who is a retired cop is her assistant when needed.

Rox is trying to improve what she sees as her issues. She has just started an experimental treatment to improve her atypical brain patterns. She doesn't always identify emotions in other people ... and she has problems expressing her own. These treatments may even help her in her chosen profession. The only person who is not so happy with the results are her boyfriend of sorts...Kyle.. also a homicide detective.

When Rox is contacted by the Carsons, she learns their daughter, Emma, has joined something called the Sisters of Love. Emma caused the death of her best friend while texting and driving and she really wants/needs to atone. Sisters of Love promises to give her that. It doesn't hurt that Emma's parents are also very rich.

While Rox and Marty are plotting and planning how to extract Emma, Kyle is dealing with an investigation into several murders of young women ... young women who resemble Emma.

As their cases start to meet, Rox finds herself facing a more dangerous situation that she had bargained for. And the deeper she gets involved, the more she faces a personal danger.

This is a new series by this author and it looks like it will be a compelling one to read. I really enjoyed the character of Rox and I hope she becomes more fleshed out as the next books are done. Very interested in her brain treatments and how they affect her personal and private life. Marty is a great second character and I would love to see more of him. I would love his backstory.

The only con I came across I thought was a big one. At one point Marty confesses that he has a terminal illness. Yet closer to the end of the story, he mentions his health .. but a completely different problem. Minus a point for that one.

Otherwise, the story premise was a good one with an interesting take on cults and how young people are sucked in. Looking forward to the next book.

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Negalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Rox the Extractor is a bit rough around the edges but I expect her to win me over as the series progresses. I enjoyed the unique story-line and the various characters we meet along the way.