Review: Bad Games: Psychopath - A Dark Psychological Thriller

Bad Games: Psychopath - A Dark Psychological Thriller by Jeff Menapace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After nearly two years without a Bad Games book, Menapace returns to the perpetually unlucky Lambery family to share where they are, ten years after the original events. While the Fannelli brothers have long since perished, their twisted spirits live on...

The Lambert family members have had an extremely hard time adjusting to life, and a new set of killers find themselves following in the sadistic footsteps of the brothers. I enjoyed the plot device that allowed the Fannellis to be a part of the novel and it reminded me of the Saw series, which is another guilty pleasure of mine.

I also thought the new antagonists were very appropriate in this climate of bullying and the newer "dark side" to Caleb, which was seeded a few books ago, was intriguing. It's hard to tell specifically who is the Psychopath from the book's subtitle, though this is definitely intentional and makes up a key component of the story arc.

The author's note at the end suggests this may be the final book in the main series, and I sincerely hope that it's not true. However, I do see how this could be a fitting end to the main plot, and will keep my fingers crossed for more Caleb centric spin offs, something Menapace teases for us.

The world needs more Bad Games. They're such an addiction and I can't stop reading them. Sick and twisted? Maybe. Endlessly entertaining and impossible to put down? Absolutely.

Jeff has knocked it out of the park yet again and I highly recommend this book (after reading the rest of the series) to anyone who enjoys a good psychological serial killer thriller.

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