Member Reviews
Dawn T, Reviewer
Book Review: Endgame by Jeffrey Round
Review by Dawn Thomas
232 Pages
Publisher: Dundurn
This story is a similar retelling of Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None (also known as Ten Little Indians). Harvey Keill was the manager of the punk rock group, Ladykillers. Max Hardcore, Spike Anthrax and Pete Doghouse are the remaining members of the band. A reunion is planned on Shark Island, a remote island off the coast of Washington state. Harvey believes this could revive his career. He hopes the band members can get past their resentment towards him.
Many years ago, Sarah Wynberg (Janice Sandford) hosted a party. A young fan, Zerin Ames, died of an ecstasy overdose. Everyone involved failed to get her the help she needed and were responsible for her death. One by one, we learn about each character and the part they played in Zerin’s death. In addition to Harvey and the band members, the following were guests at the reunion.
• Nomi Embrem was their attorney.
• Jack Edwards drove Zerin to the hospital in his taxi.
• David Merton was the drug dealer that provided the drugs for the party.
• Crispin LaFey was a journalist and punk rock writer.
• Sami Lee was Max’s girlfriend.
• Verna Temple, a transsexual, was the band’s biggest fan.
• Sandra Goodman was a registered nurse that worked in the emergency room.
None of the people was innocent and the murderer made sure each paid for their sins. Each death coincided with a verse from their popular hit, The Twelve Days of Shagging. After a death, a piece on the chessboard was knocked off the board. The ending has a twist that leaves the reader wondering who the killer is. I expected some type of twist but I did not see this coming. I thought I would get confused with the number of guests but it was easy to keep track of them. I like the author’s writing style. The story moved quickly and had a good flow. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes locked room mysteries.
