The Stranger Game

Peter Gadol

Oct 2018 · Sold by Harlequin

About this ebook

“The Stranger Game is a sharp-toothed commentary on the ways in which Ôfollowing’ can foster a pretense of intimacy between strangers, and how the falsity of this intimacy—its utter lack of substance—often creates a perilous hunger for more: more access, more communion, more knowledge. It’s also a fun, moody, twisty thriller, with a sun-touched, West Coast vibe...as much Joan Didion as Patricia Highsmith.” —Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins

A literary suspense novel in which an eerie social game goes viral and spins perilously—and criminally—out of control.

Rebecca’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Ezra, has gone missing, but when she notifies the police, they seem surprisingly unconcerned. They suspect he has been playing the “stranger game,” a viral hit in which players start following others in real life, as they might otherwise do on social media. As the game spreads, however, the rules begin to change, play grows more intense and disappearances are reported across the country.

Curious about this popular new obsession, and hoping that she might be able to track down Ezra, Rebecca tries the game for herself. She also meets Carey, who is willing to take the game further than she imagined possible. As her relationship with Carey and involvement in the game deepen, she begins to uncover an unsettling subculture that has infiltrated the world around her. In playing the stranger game, what may lead her closer to finding Ezra may take her further and further from the life she once lived.

A thought-provoking, haunting novel, The Stranger Game unearths the connections, both imagined and real, that we build with the people around us in the physical and digital world, and where the boundaries blur between them.

Ratings and reviews

4 Stranger Stars Review by Amy Late Night Reviewer Up All Night w/ Books Blog This book was a complete trip. A uniquely built story by Peter Gadol about The Stranger Game, a game that people play while secretly watching others, unbeknownst to the watched. But when the game gets a bit out of control, things go a little crazy. This was a standalone novel that was unlike anything I have read. When Rebecca finds her long-time boyfriend missing, she happens upon a new world called the Stranger Game. Curious to find out more about it, she begins experimenting and learning more about the game, but can secretly stalking others truly be as harmless as it seems? Pretty soon things get a little weird, and as she learns more about the game, she realizes it goes much deeper than most people realize. The game gets dangerous and she finds herself playing against some more experienced players, putting her directly in the line of fire. An innocent game, this is not. I was completely invested in this odd and unique world Gadol built. It had me considering what it would be like to follow people around and see how they live their lives. At one point in the book, Rebecca is watching some people in the middle of the day and wonders what they do for a living that allows them to wander around the city in the middle of a weekday. I have actually pondered that same question, so it, of course, had my mind veering off imaging what it would be like to secretly follow someone for a day or two, and see how their life varies from mine. What an interesting thought. Now, the interesting and thought-provoking aspect aside, this book was also plenty suspenseful. Rebecca found herself in some tough situations and dangerous scenarios thanks to this viral game that quickly gets out of control. I cannot think of any book I have read that was like this one. Quite realistic and believable in many ways, you could imagine how a simple concept would turn into a viral game quickly and get out of hand. What an interesting read!

About the author

Peter Gadol's six novels include Silver Lake, Light at Dusk and The Long Rain. His work has appeared in journals such as Tin House, StoryQuarterly, Story, Bloom and the Los Angeles Review of Books. A former NEA Fellow, Gadol lives in Los Angeles, where he is chair of MFA Writing at Otis College of Art and Design.