This was only my second Faith Gardner book after Amen Maxine (which was a cracker!) and I very quickly and easily fell in love with Leela and Teddy, their shared grief and wisecracking relationship. Another great dystopian thriller, this time “whodunnit style” and also centred in the Jolvix universe. I love their immersion of futuristic tech and hard boiled mystery. Now off to download the all the others. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

As I feel like I say in every review for Faith Garder, this book was AMAZING. Her Jolvix series is so addictive and creative. I especially liked how characters from the previous Jolvix books were included in the Slaying Game. Eagerly awaiting the next in the series!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. I always recommend these books whenever I get the chance.

Oh my gosh! This book was something else! And in all honesty, it freaked me out! It was sooooo good!

I love that the story starts will something you would never think could happen, only to continue on multiple times. I loved how Leela was always honest and didn’t try to hide the crappy life situations she’s been through. And as always, for every negative Nancy, you have to have a positive Polly (aka Teddy in this story). Their characters had a unique relationship with the right amount of tension.

Overall, just an amazing plot with lovable characters and plot twists to keep you guessing! I will definitely be buying the hard copy once it’s published!

Thank you Net Galley and Mirror House Press for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leela is a former PR executive for Jolvix that now makes her living at the Feline Fine cat rescue. It may sound like a step backwards from her high flying executive days but she'll take cats over people and AI any day.

One day she receives an email from her former nemesis in high school apologizing to her for the way she behaved toward her. She then finds out that right after sending the email she committed suicide by a gun shot to the head.

Then she receives another apology email, and another, and another - and all of these people have taken their own life soon after sending them. What is going on?

With her panic and anxiety cranked up she enlists the help of her dead fiancé's twin brother, Teddy, for help in solving this mystery. She believes VixSpex, a virtual reality slaying game, is behind the *suicides* and since Teddy is COO of Jolvix he seems like the only viable option to help her.

Will Leela and Teddy agree to not butt heads long enough to succeed in taking this perpetrator down? You'll have to read this to find out.

I had a lot of fun with this one as I have with all the other books in the Jolvix series. I just get Faith Gardner's humor and I feel like she and I are kindred spirits in that regard. A few early reviewers didn't take to Leela but I actually liked her a lot. Though, I admit, it's Teddy that really stole the show for me. He's just so perfectly, dorkably (new word?) loveable. Did I mention he has a dog named Pickles? His little gherkin? Swoon! 😍 The banter between the pair of them was just so smile worthy. So not only did I enjoy both characters individually but together they are the bee's knees. So cute!

Like all the other books in this series this can be read as a stand-alone but on this occasion I am going to recommend reading Eve in Overdrive first because she makes an appearance here and to know her background will be helpful. Not totally necessary but definitely helpful.

If you subscribe to Faith Gardner's newsletter you can receive a free copy of the epilogue for this which is written from Teddy's perspective. And it was fantastic! A perfect ending and even an Easter Egg or two for us faithful readers to enjoy. 😉 Faith Gardner you slayed it! 5 stars!

My only niggle is the expression "Arms akimbo" was used 6 different times throughout the story which was enough times for me to take notice. Maybe switch that descriptor up next time.

Leela has a problem. A big one. People she knows keep dying. But before they do, they send her an apology note, as all of them are someone from her past that she had beef with. But are they really all committing suicide, or is something more sinister going on?

I loved this book! Definitely one of my favorites so far this year. This book is part of the Jolvix universe, all written by the same author. Each book revolves somehow around a different piece of technology made by a company called Jolvix. This one happens to involve an interesting twist on VR.

I don’t want to give away anything about the story, but I do enjoy how the characters are well-developed, including both Leela and those around her. There are some tidbits dropped early on that we aren’t given information about until later in the book, but that’s what kept me hanging on to find out more. I needed all the details in addition to finding out how the story was going to end!

Faith Gardner is quickly making it to my favorite author list. If you are into thrillers, she is definitely an up-and-comer to add to your reading list, including The Slaying Game, out next month.

This is the first book from Faith Gardner that I have ever read or reviewed. The Slaying Game is part of the Jovlix Series. However, many reviewers stated that these are all stand alone novels. (close call for me)
Jolvix designed the VixSpex.. It is a virtual reality game with a 3D gun attached to the headpiece. When a player loses, the gun discharges and kills them. I had no idea what I was getting into and to be honest I am way behind on technology, gaming and basically all of that stuff - which really makes this an on the edge of your seat, mysterious and disturbing fast paced book. Thank you to NetGallay and Faith Gardner for an ARC of this book in return for a review! I will add the other Jolvix books to my TBR

3.5 Stars. I have read the entire Jolvix series and enjoyed them. This one had a mystery based on a high-tech game, a mysterious killer, and much human drama and intrigue. I found this one the least enjoyable of the series due to my dislike of the protagonist Leela. Leela once held a responsible position in Jolvix but quit and is now working in a cat shelter. I found her rude and crude. Her mother attempted to make Leela into a child actress and star, which Leela hated. She had been engaged to the reserved, moody Jack. While drinking heavily with his cheerful twin brother, Teddy, Jack commits suicide, and she carries the guilt of his death. Teddy has always supported her through her bad moods, and she resents his optimistic nature.

It is a mystery why Jolvix designed the VixSpex Slaying game unless it was just to prove they could. It is a virtual reality game with a 3D gun attached to the headpiece. When a player loses, the gun discharges and kills them. Leela realizes that her perceived enemies from the past are being listed as death by suicide. They have gunshots to the head. They were forced to play the game and lost. Eve from a previous book, Eve In Overdrive, wants to cooperate with Leela and is writing a book exposing Jolvix's dark secrets. Her self-drive car was hacked, and she is lucky to have survived. How does that work out for her? A CEO removed the prototype of the VixSpex, but there are many copies to be found on the dark web with instructions on how to make them functional.

Leela and Teddy decide to try to stop the killer, who seems to have an unhealthy interest in Leela. They have no idea of his identity. Teddy works for Jolvix, and Leela reluctantly returns. It is evident that Teddy is in love with Leela and devoted to her. He sets himself as bait to expose and stop the killer. Despite Leela's sharp insults toward Teddy, she decides to go along with the plan to capture and kill the man forcing victims to play the Slaying game. She announces publicly how much she hates Teddy, and now the killer will come after him. There is action and unbearable suspense as they carry out their plan.
After reading this book, the author offers an extra chapter to be downloaded. It is an epilogue told from Teddy's perspective. The publication date is September 6.

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, Action, intrigue, mystery, revenge, murder, serial killer, great who done it, great plot twist, and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!