Book Review: The Assassin Game, Kirsty McKay

Title: The Assassin Game
Author: Kirsty McKay
Published: 02/08/2016, Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley
Format: Ebook
Rating: 2/5
Who will be left after lights out?

At Cate's isolated boarding school, Killer is more than a game - it's an elite secret society. Members must avoid being "Killed" during a series of thrilling pranks, and only the Game Master knows who the "Killer" is. When Cate's finally invited to join the Assassins' Guild, she knows it's her ticket to finally feeling like she belongs.

But when the game becomes all too real, the school threatens to shut it down. Cate will do anything to keep playing and save the Guild. But can she find the real assassin before she's the next target?

The Assassin Game is an interesting enough read that did hold my attention. And, weirdly, it sort of reminded me of Midsomer Murders with all the creative "kills".

The Assassin Game is set on a small island off the coast of Wales where the only residents are the students and teachers of a boarding school. It's a pretty unique setting if you ask me, and it did relate well to the outcome of the story. The story wouldn't really have been able to play out the way it did if it wasn't for this setting.

The characters were an odd bunch each with their own amazing, and special, talents. But they do attend a school specifically for talented kids. All except the main protagonist Cate that is. Cate is apparently normal (though she is quite arty) and only attends the school because her parents own the island.

Now Cate is a nice enough protagonist. However, she does tend to be quite jumpy and jumps to a lot of conclusions. I honestly found her quite a forgettable character, but at least she wasn't annoying.

The Assassin Game is told from Cate's perspective and as she's doesn't know who either of the killers are this makes the story fairly unpredictable. I was never sure of who either of the killers were and I kept jumping to different characters just like Cate. I was pretty close to the mark with one, but the other jump came out of the blue almost. I also didn't quite understand the real "killers" motive. It was really quite a pathetic reasoning to go on a killing spree.

I did find the first 60% or so of The Assassin Game quite slow. Nothing really happened other than the setting up of the Killer game. And because of this I didn;t really find it as thrilling as it had the potential to be. However, the last 30% really picked up the pace and I couldn't put the book down.

The Assassin Game was an okay read that did keep my attention, but it didn't blow me away. It isn't a book I would go out my way to recommend, but give it a go if it seems up your street.

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