Master Of The Game

Rating:
Summary: Mind boggling!
Review: Let me start off this review by saying once I started this book, I could not put it down.
I have read and reviewed countless mysteries, filled with murder, gore and the likes, but never have I read a work quitelike this one, which brought forth the very essence of the killer, the torment that was deep within him, and the hideous actions that were birthed and unleashed upon humanity through his hands. Shocking!

The author takes you into the mind of this serial killer, and despite the hatred and sickening feelings that flood your soul towards him, you are totally memorized at the workings of his mind. You know there is an evil that possess this inhuman man to give him the cunning skill that he uses to outsmart the authorities and capture his victims. You will not believe the way he outwits those that are relentlessly pursuing him. Chilling!
Mr. Tepper introduces you to each of this killer's victims allowing you to know them making the torture and killing of each one personal. Believe me you will feel their terror as this madman carries out his devious plan using them as ploys, while enjoying his demonic passion of torture, sexual perversion and finally murder.
The conclusion is bittersweet and unsettling. Although the killer definitely gets his just reward, the twist at the ending leaves you wondering if this really is the end.
I do not want to give the storyline away, however you are somehow aware that this evil has only been transferred and will live yet another day, to torture, torment and kill. The thought is mind-boggling.
If you are looking for a work that will keep you glued to its pages; a work that will challenge your mind, leaving you thinking, could this happen? Has this happened? If so, this book is for you. Bone chilling, thought provoking, a one of a kind read! Skillfully written in a way that you will never forget, even though you wish you could.
Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review
Denise's Pieces




Rating:
Summary: Reviewed by Narayan Radhakrishnan, New Mystery Reader Mag
Review: Remember the Kurt Russell thriller movie The Mean Season? Well, Master of the Game follows a close path, and without mincing words let me say it- the book is stunning- really, really S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G.
I have been a fan of psychological thrillers for long- and have devoured the Alex Cross novels of James Patterson and Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.

But I generally view new authors with caution and am highly reluctant to read books by novices in this field. But Master of the Game has proved me wrong- and it is a wonderful, wonderful psychological thriller.

Through `Simon'- a serial killer, more genius and ingenious than Hannibal Lecter, William Tepper presents a novel that is a page-turner, rather a page-burner, in the truest sense of the term in Master of the Game.

FBI Agent John Hightower is towering high (Pardon the cliché, but I couldn't resist it), he has successfully tracked down a serial killer, a person who had created a mass hysteria not only among the town residents but also in the media. Frank Wycheck who was covering the case for the media also is relaxed following the arrest of `Jaws'. But all this changes when `Simon' enters the fray. Not only does he informs the FBI before each murder, not only does he gives clues, but most frustratingly he is always one step ahead. And the killings are done with precision, and the killer is ruthless, intelligent and above all remorseless. Wychek and Hightower join hands, but each has a separate goal in mind, and what follows is psychological suspense at its finest, culminating in a finish that's literally spine chilling.

Move over James Patterson and Thomas Harris...Psychological suspense has a new superstar- William Tepper- the real Master of the Game.

- Narayan Radhakrishnan




Rating:
Summary: Simon says, "no body, no crime scene, no witness = no murder
Review: Reporter Frank Wycheck's big break comes with "Jaws" murders. After the killer is captured and media dies down Wycheck receives a phone complimenting him on his coverage of the case. The caller identifies himself as "Simon" and immediately invites Wycheck to play a part in a game.

Using disguises Simon is a shrewd, calculating individual who like a well-played game of chess - meticulously plans his every move. Carefully selecting his victims. The game, like baseball: 9 innings, and 9 victims. His rules for Wycheck: tell no one and quit your job. His role in all of this is to write a book, chronicling what will soon take place.

In the meantime the FBI has received several faxes signed by "S", which at first Special Agent Mark Berlanger assumes are sick joke. For Simon, the game has already begun.

Once all the players have been selected and in place, Simon initiates a riveting game of cat and mouse mimicking the infamous Zodiac killer. Taunting authorities to catch him, while ridiculing their intelligence.

After the FBI's regional director, Kevin Fitzpatrick's wife and secretary is abducted, Assistant Director Tim Dawson, places the distraught man on medical leave. Dawson following chain of command gives charge of the investigation to high-profile FBI investigator John Hightower.

Hightower is an intelligent man who has solved many a case, and a "worthy" opponent for an "invisible" killer. But like all serial killers, Simon makes a move that will open his own eyes.

The questions that will haunt readers are: With an impressive lineup, which of the players will emerge as Master of the Game? Can Hightower's mental approach prepare him for when he steps up to the plate? Can he swing, realistically? And what will rewards; will Wycheck's book bring him?

Author William Tepper should be commended on well-developed novel with characters, as intriguing as the plot. Master of the Game has all elements of a blockbuster thriller so perfectly entwined that one can't wait to turn the pages and before realization it dawns on one, the book is finished!

Reviewed by Betsie


Rating:
Summary: Master of the Game
Review: Simon is a serial killer who thinks it all just a grand game. He chooses his victims carefully. He watches them for months and knows all about his targets before he silently takes them. He is a friend to the ladies and no one would ever suspect him to be a killer. He challenges the FBI, John Hightower, in his "Master Game".

Simon has a reporter, Frank Wycheck, typing it all up for a future book. Simon wants fame. Simon never expects to get caught.

**** In my opinion, the author, William Tepper, captures the character of a serial killer very well, down to Simon's idiosyncrasies. I got chills while reading. I did not fully understand everything that was going on until I reached the middle of the novel, due to a few surprise twists. Good reading. ****

Reviewed by D. Wilson.

Rating:
Summary: Throught provoking, intense read, well worth the time
Review: Title: Master of the Game
Subtitle or series and number: None
Author: William Tepper
Publisher: Synergy Books
Release Date: June 2004, Copyright 2004
ISBN: 0-9747644-0-X

Excerpt: It only took a minute for Janet Bultaco to regain her equilibrium and to comprehend the situation. Simon was not downstairs. Clarence was Simon. How is it possible? Clarence has worked here for decades. No time for that now. Keep your wits! I'm the target, inning nine, the Queen B. Janet Bultaco knew she was fighting for her life.

She saw agent Tom's body with its cut throat gushing blood on the floor. No help there.

Bultaco was calm, focused, as she always was. Across the room, Clarence slowly put down the coffee cup. He put his toothbrush back into his pocket while removing a pair of latex gloves. Slowly, deliberately, practiced like a surgeon, he put on the gloves.

Genre: Mystery, Suspense; could take place at any time

Reviewer Notes: Violence, language and explicit sex scenes, drug use, brutality abound however, it goes with the territory of the book, and does not cross the line to being overdone or gratuitous. It has to be there in the ways it is for the story to flow, and it is necessary to bring realism to the characters and the formation of what takes place inside the story.

Reviewer: Claudia Turner VanLydegraf, MyShelf.com

Age Group~~ Not recommended for YA, Children-Teen reading, to much graphic sex, language, violence, from this reviewers perspective.

Holiday? Could be a vacation read, if you are not looking for a very light fluffy mystery. This one takes thought and introspection into the human condition and that takes the reader into another realm, away from the lightness of it.

This is the first book I have had the pleasure of reviewing, and was a good way to start. The book is an inside upfront look at the mind of a Serial Killer. It takes you on a ride with those that are trying to stop him, one that is trying to be a writer and publish a book about him, and the Special FBI Serial Killer Units that get involved with and torn to shreds by this man. He is ruthless and highly intelligent and shows all of the most base characteristics which but for his obvious intelligence, would turn him totally, brutally savage. His truth is not in the obvious, rather in the revenge from a horrible start.

This book is gritty, believable and a fascinating look at the behind the scenes of the FBI that most will never get the chance to see. To say I enjoyed the book, would not be right. But that is not because of the writing, which is masterful, or the storytelling, which is genuine and will leave you wanting to know more. By the way this author goes into the details of his story and goes into the mind of this killer, by that very depth, you cannot really enjoy this book. It gives so much insight and painful truths, that it is not a really comfortable read, but one that everyone who wants to understand men like Dahmer and others of that ilk, should read. Forget being comfortable with the outcome, it leaves you turning and looking beside you to see who is sitting next to you on the bus, or is beside you in the movie theater, or looking at you a bit to closely at you when you are at the store. It leaves you wondering who that person next to you really is, and what they might be capable of.

The style is there, and well done, it keeps you coming back for more. I would put the book down, because it was a bit to graphic for me at times, and I am not used to that type of story, but I would pick it up again, for just the same reasons, and because I had to find out what the final outcome was. Killers kill because they are driven to it, readers read because they want to finish and find the truth to the reasons.

This is William Tepper's first book, and he started his writing career with a real good start. I feel that he can follow up with another book, one that will be as well written as this. He leaves you wondering about his next work, and where will the Master of the Game fit into it. There is a catch to the ending of The Master of the Game, that leads to future speculation and more horrendous lines for another master story of intrigue.

Thought provoking read, a good book. Could be a Master of the Game for the author.