Game Face

Rating:
Summary: a compelling novel
Review: Desire. Dedication. These are familiar themes in sports. In the struggle to best their competitors, elite athletes look for every available advantage. With the advent of performance-enhancing drugs, the mantra of "mind over matter" has, for some, become "matter over mind"... but does it matter?

Game Face is an adrenaline-charged account of the modern mind-set in the world of sports and its consequences for those directly and peripherally involved. The reader follows forensic medicine specialist Mark McKenzie as he investigates a series of mysterious deaths surrounding athletes in the prime of their careers. McKenzie and his comrade Detective Sergeant Tim McGregor learn of a new wonder drug known as "Game Face." It gives its users artificial confidence, the winning attitude that separates the best from the rest. It's a godsend to athletes, a victory in a bottle; effective, but unpredictable - and occasionally deadly. Mirroring the drug's effect on its users, the line between right and wrong blurs as the reader is thrust headlong toward an exciting and surprising conclusion.

Dr. James D. Chlovechok has crafted a compelling novel that superbly showcases his background in forensic and sports medicine. Vivid, detailed visual descriptions combine with authentic dialogue to propel the reader into its world of personal records, high stakes, and enormous egos. The story forces readers to acknowledge the burden of success and splendor. It explores the essence of what motivates athletes to risk their reputations and their lives to win. The exposition is expertly crafted to reveal just enough information to keep one guessing throughout its pages, the hallmark of skillful mystery writing. Set aside a couple of hours to read Game Face in one sitting; you will not be disappointed. Chlovechok's freshman literary effort is a first round knockout.

Review by Jordan Peterson of BookReview.com.

Rating:
Summary: It's much safer to be a spectator!
Review: Game Face, in addition to being a terrific murder mystery, is an eye-opening introduction to the world of competitive sports, and the operative word is "competitive." Risking one's own life, and anyone else's if need be, to win, win, win is a scary proposition. This book reads like a movie - get the popcorn, kick back, and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Game Face
Review: Great read! Kept me in suspense from the front to the back of the book. The timing/subject matter of Game Face is eerily similar to the realities of drug abuse in sports today. Buy the book and you won't be disappointed!!

Rating:
Summary: Game Face Doesn't Choke
Review: Great read! Kept me in suspense from the front to the back of the book. The timing/subject matter of Game Face is eerily similar to the realities of drug abuse in sports today. Buy the book and you won't be disappointed!!

Rating:
Summary: Something To Keep Your Scratching Your Head Until the End
Review: Have you ever wondered how some athletes seem to have a personality transformation the minute they put on their uniforms?
It is as if mentally, spiritually and emotionally their psyche has been modified to such an extent that they seem to have a marked edge over their opponents.
Suppose we were offered a drug that could easily accomplish this feat. Would we take it not knowing its side effects?

With this in mind, first time novelist, James D. Chlovechok, M.D., author of Game Face, manages to combine his private passions with matters of a public nature.
Dr. Chlovechok is a board-certified emergency physician and founder of the Ohio Sports Medicine Institute. According to the information I gleaned from the author's description of himself, it is stated: "while writing Game Face, he also pursued fellowship training in forensic medicine."
After reading some of the book's descriptive crime scenes, I could see where this training must have come in very handy.

Focusing on the theme of drugs that are able to do wonders for athletes without even being detectable, Dr. Chlovechok crafts an exciting plot with a very surprising twist for an ending.

The beginning of the story finds the team of Mark McKenzie, who is a forensic medicine specialist and his boyhood friend, Detective Sergeant Tim McGregor, investigating the death of an elite woman athlete.
What follows is a series of scenes, characters and events that initially do not seem to be interconnected, and at times I felt like I was caught in "rumbling traffic." However, when you reach the last page, you realize how everything nicely fits in, leaving the reader with a memorable story that is sure to linger on well after you have put the book to bed.

As the novel progresses, readers are informed that a football player had seriously pummeled a policeman. The player's excuse was that he was taking a new potent drug that he described as "attitude in a bottle." Apparently, it has the power to transform your personality and is called "Game Face."
We later learn that "the drug is unpredictable and makes the people who take it unpredictable. But once they're taking it they may not believe that."

Following this event, an unexplained death occurs at a Sports Institute, where experiments pertaining to this wonder drug have been taking place.
At this same institute mysterious computer files, which are supposedly lost, are retrieved under the file name of "Game Face" exposing some very interesting findings pertaining to experiments performed here.
Thrown in is the rivalry between two of the principal scientists connected to the institute, and their breakup due to a difference of opinion as to how to best use the drug. And to add another dimension to the story, the reader also learns about the hostility between Tim McGregor and his twin brother, Carl, leading the reader to some very intriguing and teasing speculations.

What is noteworthy about the author's "gung ho" style is his ability to partially disclose facts and then gradually reveal them to his audience. In this way, the reader is kept off balance trying to figure out the "good guys" from the "bad guys."

Beyond doubt, in writing Game Face, the author perfectly exemplifies the old adage-you should write about something you know in order to create something that is not only believable but also memorable. Dr.Chlovechok effectively succeeds in leaving his readers with something that challenges and provokes thought pertaining to the world of sports and athletes, where winning seems to be the only thing that matters, no matter the consequences.

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

Rating:
Summary: Game Face
Review: This book is nonstop suspence. It truely makes you think about the professional sports world today. Everyone wanting to have the best competitive edge to succeed.