Clay is a good bartender. When one of his regulars, Emily Parker, is found murdered, he becomes the main suspect in the eyes of the police.

That’s because someone knows all his secrets and they’re using them against Clay. They’re setting him up. In order to prove his innocence and survive, Clay needs to beat the killer at his own game

No doubt this was a quick read because I really wanted to know who was the real killer and how he was always one step ahead of Clay.

But I didn’t enjoy the plot much and some parts in the middle of the book felt kind of off. The ending was definitely a twist but not exciting. I just couldn’t make sense of it.

Overall, an okay read.

Thank You NetGalley and HQ Digital for this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Deadly Games by Steve Frech. From beginning till the end, you will hold your breath reading this fast paced crime novel. YOu are in the head of Clay, a bartender, who lives a batchelor's life and likes it. Clay is having an affair with a married woman - and this works for him for now. So all is well - that's until he walks in and finds his lover with her throat slit and before long the bodies pile up. Clay is on the run from the police and the real killer.
He is being framed, but no one believes him and he is being hunted. But Clay won't give up and he will do anything to prove his innocence. This killer is playing a game with him and it is deadly.
5 stars....really good book.

OMG, I stayed up until the middle of the night to finish this - couldn’t put it down! Great story telling; I could feel the fear of the main character at various times in the story. I was fully immersed in his plight! 5 stars.

Intense and fast paced with no time to stop and take a breath!! That’s what it feels like reading this book. You will need to clear your diary as you will want to read it in one sitting.
It will keep you guessing from the very first page until the last!
Having read the previous book from Frech, I was excited to see this new one and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Clay, a bartender, suddenly becomes caught up in a murder investigation. Is he involved? Can he prove his innocence? Can the case be solved before anyone else gets into harms way?
I’m not going to give anything away as you just need to read this for yourself, but be prepared to loose sleep as you won’t be able to stop reading once you have read that first page!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Clay, a bartender at The Gryphon, being a suspect of triple murders as all leads pointing to him. A psycho put and arrange every leads to go to Clay and he definitely enjoys the "game" torturing Clay. The plot was ok, however it's a bit slow so the suspense didn't really have a full grip on me.

"My sweet little cupcake"

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQ for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is any thriller enthusiast’s dream! Known for his dark and creepy novels, Steve Frech produced yet another suspenseful and well thought out novel.

No matter where you go, you can't hide from the truth.

Clay is on the run, he's been framed for the murder of his lover and someone is out to get him - they want him to pay. I loved everything about this book, it was so twisty I just needed to know what Clay was going to do next! It seemed that no matter what the situation was - he could never get a break. I liked how he teamed up with Genevieve and how much tension they had, if anything I would have liked to see a bit of a romance bloom between them as they had gone through so much at that point.

I had no clue who the killer was, I was never able to make any assumptions so the ending was really well done as it's someone who you wouldn't have guessed! I read this book within a day, it was such a page turner and I couldn't put it down until I knew what was going to happen. I would like to applaud Steve Frech on another job well done, if you haven't read his books - please do. Deadly Games will be available December 4th 2020
-
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts/opinions are my own,

I have loved Steve Frech's other books and enjoyed this one as well. While it was missing the paranormal/ghost-y aspect of the others, this still pulled me in and had me pulling for Clay.

I will continue to read Steve's other books because he knows how to pull a reader in and then blow their minds over and over again.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Steve Frech for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A fantastic thriller of a bartender being framed for murder and trying to prove his innocence by any means possible. This was a totally wild ride that left me literally gasping for breath!

What a fast paced book! It draws you in from the first chapter and keeps you guessing to the end. Quite a quick easy to read book. Ideal for a short break.

Thank you to NetGalley & HQ Digital for the advance copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Starting off, I was REALLY excited about this book! I have read a few other books by this author and liked them. He has a way of developing the characters so you feel like you know them.

This book didn’t disappoint! It kept me guessing until the end. The killer wasn’t on my radar at all!

WOW! No lag time here. A concise story that is constantly unravelling.

Profound read about a bartender and his affair with Emily, a married woman. Found dead. Her husband is quite unbearable - yet he is rich. So Emily doesn't want to leave him. Katie (partner to Clay at the The Gryphon Bar) is Clay's best friend and has given a report already to the police.

Detective Mendez, who is now questioning Clay, is not very convinced with Clay's story about that night.

Tremendous read! HIGHLY Recommend!!!

Many Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for a superb read ! 10 stars!

Wow, this was another Steve Frech book that I just wanted to keep reading! I thought it was well written and different. I liked way the cat & mouse game was played out, with Clay trying to figure out who was behind it all - and I never guessed who that was!

I have read two other novels by Steve Frech. I found both Nightingale House and Dark Hollows to be very atmospheric and creepy and I love the covers of all three books. Deadly Games continues in Mr. Frech's usual vein of an absorbing, suspenseful writing. This particular story reminded me of The Fugitive and many times I caught myself holding my breath in anticipation.

This was a creepy, atmospheric thriller with a psychopath playing deadly games. It dragged in a couple of spots but most of the story was downright chilling. I especially liked the ending twist. I highly recommend if you like psychological thrillers.

While this is a well written, solid thriller (on the vibe of Harlan Coben) I must say it didn't engage me as much as Frech's previous novels...
I missed the paranormal hint the other ones had and that made them so unputdownable but also I felt like the mystery was a let down. In the end, when everything is solved, it was disappointing because it did not make much sense and also because it seemed a bit rushed.

I'll still read this author's next works for sure as I really loved his first two books but this one felt a little short for me.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a free copy of Deadly Games by Steve Frech for a honest review.
A bartender, Clay, framed for murdering his lover, a reporter working with him though not necessarily believing he is not the murderer, the killer who knows what Clay is doing, where he is. Overall the character buildup was done quite well but somewhere I felt that the story pieces were fitting too well together without taxing the reader in any way, the suspense and thrill was not there. It's a decent enough read and worth your time, would recommend this for a quick weekend read.

Oh my goodness this book was brilliant. Actually I don’t think I can do this book justice in my review. This book will suck you right in from the first page . An outstanding psychological crime thriller that I guarantee you won’t want to put down until you’ve reached the final page.

5 STARS!! I have read Frech's 2 previous books and gave them 5 STARS and was more than happy to give this book the same. This is a total edge of your seat thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. This is a must read!!

This was definitely a unique book. The protagonist being a barkeeper was different and the story itself was quite different from most books I've read before. I enjoyed the humor and characters a lot, I loved Genevieve a lot and I was kind of hoping for a little romance between Clay and her.
However, I didn't find this particularly suspenseful. The story itself was alright, but it felt really slow and at no point was I ever worried for the characters. The pacing was a little off during the middle parts, although I didn't mind that too much because I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters.
The ending was really predictable, it was totally obvious how it was going to end and the killer reveal sadly wasn't exciting at all. There was no real twist either, so I'm not sure why the book advertises that.

Excellent thriller/mystery from the point of you of a bartender named Clay. Clay had an affair with a married woman that comes up murdered. Determined not to take the fall, he enlists a reporter to help him solve the crime. I found Clay's point of view very humorous in sticky situation. Any reader that loves domesticate thrillers or mysteries will enjoy this story!