The Game You Played

While some of the characters were developed and it was interesting to hear from the character's perspectives, the story fell flat at the end. Once the characters all figured out what was happening, it was rushed to get all the ends tied up, and they were not tied up well. A bit more care could have been taken, especially with the main character as she went from falling apart and not handling motherhood well (resentment, blackouts, tantrums, loathing of her station in life) before her young son went missing to being OCD about who was living in her neighborhood and trying to control everything. And the psychiatrist's comment at the end seemed out of place. Was that an indication there is going to be a Part 2? I felt let down and a bit annoyed after completing the book.

Anni Taylor is absolutely brilliant in her debut book The Game You Played; an intense psychological thriller. I stepped out of my comfort zone of Fantasy and Sci-Fi for this and I am so glad that I did. The Game You Played opened up a whole new world for me. In The Game You Played, we are painted a picture of a happy family in Australia. Phoebe, Luke and their son Tommy are at the park, enjoying themselves, like any other normal family would. When Tommy suddenly disappears, Phoebe’s world is shattered into a million pieces. 6 months later and Phoebe discovers that someone is leaving notes for her, alluding to the kidnapping of little Tommy. As Phoebe races to find the source of the cryptic notes, as well as her son, the world suddenly doesn’t seem so black and white. The shocking discovery of the correspondent will leave Phoebe questioning everything she’s ever believed in. You too, will question everything as you follow Phoebe on her journey to discover the truth. The Game You Played kept me guessing until the very end. I had my theories and my queries but every time I got close to the answer, Taylor threw in another curve ball that shattered my ideas. If you are looking for an intense psychosomatic page-turner, I guarantee that this one is for you.

A Disturbing story of the disappearance of a toddler and the subsequent events and affects on his parents. The story is mainly told in the mothers voice alternating with the fathers voice. As the story unfolds 6 months after the disappearance details about the main characters lives become more chilling . Ones sympathies are constantly pulled from one main character to another. Ultimately I found neither of the protagonists very likable. There are ultimately some twists and surprises. This book was better than The Girl On the Train . It is hard to put down but much more disturbing. My one criticism is the ending leaves an uneasy feeling.

The book started off all right. Phoebe and Luke have a son named Tommy that they cherish. They are very much in love, as Luke even followed Phoebe from Australia to London to try and win her over. However, the tone of the book changes very quickly, Phoebe and Luke take Tommy out to play. As Luke steps away to buy ice cream for the family, Luke disappears.As months pass and Luke is not found, we learn more about Phoebe and Tommy. Phoebe seems resentful of being a full-time Mom. She was an actress in a previous life, doing mostly commercials, but now she is unable to get even commercial work because she is unable to travel for jobs due to a lack of childcare and Luke's judgment of her for leaving her child behind to pursue a career. In the meanwhile, Luke's career flourishes and the focus is all on his success. He neglects to care that his wife is unhappy and struggling as a stay at home Mom. Phoebe turns to the bottle, concerning Luke enough to ask his Mom to stay with them for awhile and help Phoebe out.After Tommy's abduction, Phoebe suffers a mental breakdown. Despite her struggles adjusting to Motherhood, she is crazy about her kid. She will stop at nothing to find him. In the meanwhile, we learn that Luke is not the doting, faithful husband we once thought he was. Phoebe is cast as a bad, unstable mother in the media. However, she will stop at nothing to find her son.There were a couple of things I didn't like about this book. Luke is portrayed as loyal and in love with his wife (since childhood, may I add). Yet, there seems to be quite a bit of sleeping around and infidelity on his part. Also, the ending was pretty predictable. I was able to figure out very early on who had taken Tommy.This book is worth your read if you have some time to kill. However, the fickleness of the character's personalities may be a turn off for some people, as it was for me.

The last twenty percent was actually good but it took so long to get there! I barely made through but only because I'm stubborn. Save yourself.

When I say strange, I mean I never really developed an attachment to any of the characters. All throughout the story, until just before the end, most of the characters were just a bunch of narcissistic, fairly young people who grew up as friends, but never really grew up. The book has quite a lot of unnecessary dialog and ramblings, in my opinion, that had no relevance to the story. That being said, toward the end, I was in tears. Boo hooing like a baby, and I'm a grown man. I never once had this one figured out, but I really couldn't since there were no hints as to what was happening. In spite of all this, turns out, I really enjoyed this book. Depressing at times, yes. Conflicts between past and present, yes. But I recommend this book, and after finishing it, it ranks pretty high on my personal list, for what it's worth.

This is the first of her books I have read and I can safely say it kept me gripped. I agree with the psychological thriller the basis of the story is the kidnap of a two year old child and how the mother is implemented in this. I won't give anything else away as this is truly worth a read I liked the way the chapters were told as the individual characters story which made the book flow well. I got so hooked that I got to 70% of the book read on my kindle and couldn't stop till I'd finished it. It's written so that you can imagine yourself in the scenarios of the chapters and has some nice little twists that surprise you but make the story very addictive. Great ending too if you like edge of your seat thrillers the last few chapters will more than keep you hooked. Characters are believable and you find yourself empathising with the mother. Can't wait to read her other books.

Lately I've become more into these psychological thrillers. This is the first novel that I've read by Anni Taylor and I know it won't be the last. I loved it and couldn't read it fast enough. Even after working a 15 hour day I couldn't put this book down.It kept me captivated in the storyline and on edge through parts of it. It fully immersed me in the plot and the characters are so well written. I don't want to give any of the plot away but this book wasn't what I expected. The twists and turns actually left me gasping and scared at times. It sent shivers down my spine.The characters are very well written and reminds you that human beings are complex creatures. It's not all black and white. We're by and large multi faceted. Do we really know another person well? Do we even know ourselves?This is a story that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I would definitely recommend it and already have done to family and friends!

I got to the end of this but only by speed reading from 50% onwards.**SPOILER ALERT**I won't mention too much detail - but the 2nd half is a bit far fetched. For example - Phoebe's finger prints were the only ones on 4 letters and 4 envelopes. This was explained away by her picking up some stationery that had been knocked off a desk in someone else's house (won't say who). If you pick up spilled paper you tend to pick most of it up by the edges, tapping it on a solid surface to straighten it out - and even the sheets that you touch - how would the other person know which ones had your prints on?The bit involving Dash was all over the place and I don't understand why it was necessary. Seemed like padding.There were other plot holes - but I'm trying not to give too much away. I also didn't really like Phoebe or any of her friends (or husband) so there was no one that I was rooting for.Basically it started off as a good idea but was WAY too long winded. The timescales often seemed too "quick" in that, once they'd split up, a certain two people seemed to move on to other people within a day or two. Perhaps needed a professional editor to tighten it up - might then have made a cracking read.

A new author to me and I downloaded this as a freebie. It has a lovely cover as well.Now, for me, it started very slowly and I did almost pack it in a few times as I was getting a bit bored but then it woke up and it all happened. So do stick with it. There are so many twists 'n' turns and things happening all around you just don't guess at !! I was shocked a few times in it and pretty much every direction I just "knew" it was heading we learn it isn't ! We learn lots about all the characters featured as we go along and see a lot of different versions as to what might or might not have happened on the day Tommy disappeared. Most intriguing. Those you think you know you find you don't at all, etc...She did have a really odd repeated mistake all the way through, only on the very odd occasion getting it correct and that was writing "i'll" or "i've" with no capital letter. Someone should've spotted this !! There were a few missed apostrophes as well. Then Dickenson written instead of Dickensian, mcdonald's and not MacDonald's and for some reason she capitalised Black when she wrote Black American !I did find it got a little laboured with all the constant weather checks all the way through then toward the end everything seemed to be getting a bit too rushed. However, I enjoyed it and was pleased I stuck with it and will certainly read more by her.

This is the first nook that I have read by Annie Taylor it most certainly will not be the last. I enjoyed it so much I read it in one sitting its starts well and just gets better and better all the way through. It's gripping does not give anything away too soon I am pretty good at figuring out the culprit about half way through a book, however I had not figured who it was in this book also when it did become apparent its through the authors doing you don't have to guess, the author takes you there. I definitely recommend this book it's great absolutely, I like the characters involved, how everything is tested on a emotional level of Frieda enemy's family. With some very surprising twists that you just did not expect. The twists and turns start to come early in the book, it's a question of what to believe. It certainly as you on the end of your seat just literally hoping for the truth then you have to question the truth.amazing. book. This is a must read a genuinely emotional ride that it takes you on you really should read this. You will be missing out on not just a good book but also on a emotional journy.