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Danielle Girard
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Ruthless Game: A Captivating Police Detective Thriller Kindle Edition

by Danielle Girard (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,323 ratings
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What would you do if you woke up in a nightmare? In her dreams, Rookie cop Alex Kincaid waits in a long line of children, waiting on her turn for something horrible she knows is coming. But when she wakes, she is in an unfamiliar location with no memory of what happened. Can she unravel the growing mystery swirling around her in time to avoid becoming the killer's next victim? Or will she fall prey to this Ruthless Game?

Rookie cop Alex Kincaid wakes up in a nightmare. The wet sheet slipped slowly from her face and she began to count. There were eleven, in all. She was last in line, but he was getting closer. He'd be to her soon.

She wakes, parked on an unfamiliar street, outside an unfamiliar home with no recollection of how she got there... no memory of the night before. Then her nightmare becomes reality. Alex's first call of the day takes her to the same street, to the same house, where a man has been brutally killed. Alex thinks the man is a perfect stranger--until she finds herself the main suspect in his murder.

And now, as she races to clear her name, she's haunted by memories of a horrific thirty-year-old crime--a crime that links her to the dead man...and marks her as the killer's next target.

Escape into this thrilling read by USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author Danielle Girard, that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Other Stand-Alone Books
Cold Silence: A Chilling Psychological Thriller
Chasing Darkness: A Taut Psychological Domestic Thriller
Savage Art: A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller
Previous page
  1. Print length
    462 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 27, 2015
  5. File size
    2197 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"High Speed. High Stakes. High Suspense."
-New York Times bestselling author Lee Child

"Utterly riveting [and] brilliantly plotted. A gritty new cop series that can beat out the "old boys network" any day of the week."-New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner
"Swift pacing and high tension... compelling."
-Publishers Weekly
"[Some] of the strongest female characters to have graced the genre in years."
-New York Times bestselling author John Connolly

"Danielle Girard knows how to rivet your attention."
-New York Times bestselling author Michael Prescott

"Gripping...[Girard] kept me reading until the end."
-New York Times bestselling author Phillip Margolin

About the Author

Danielle Girard is the USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author of fifteen novels, including the Annabelle Schwartzman Series, Chasing Darkness, and The Rookie Club series. Her books have won the Barry Award and the RT Reviewers' Choice Award, White Out was in the top 100 bestselling ebooks of 2020, and two of her titles have been optioned for movies. Danielle is also the host of the Killer Women Podcast where she interviews the women who write today's darkest suspense.

A graduate of Cornell University, Danielle received her MFA at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. She and her family split time between San Francisco and the Rockies.

Series Order

Badlands Thriller Series:
White Out
Far Gone
Up Close (coming 2023)

Dr. Schwartzman Series:
The Ex (prequel novella)
Exhume
Excise
Expose
Expire

The Rookie Club Series:
Dead Center
One Clean Shot
Dark Passage
Grave Danger
Everything to Lose
Too Close to Home (A Rookie Club Short Story, exclusive to Danielle's readers group. Join at daniellegirard.com/newsletter)

Standalone Novels:
Savage Art
Ruthless Game
Chasing Darkness (winner of the RT Reviewers' Choice Award)
Cold Silence (winner of the Barry Award)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00VC1JKX4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Saddle Peak Entertainment (March 27, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 27, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2197 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 462 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,323 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Danielle Girard

Danielle Girard

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Danielle Girard is the USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author of Chasing Darkness, the Rookie Club series, and Exhume, Excise, Expose, and Expire featuring San Francisco medical examiner Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman. Danielle's books have won the Barry Award and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, and two of her titles have been optioned for film. A graduate of Cornell University, Girard received her MFA at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She, her husband, and their two children split their time between San Francisco and the northern Rockies.

Danielle is also the host of Killer Women Podcast where she interviews the women who write today's darkest fiction. Find episodes on Facebook, YouTube or your favorite podcast provider.

Her latest release, Up Close, is available now. Visit her at www.daniellegirard.com.

Series Order

Badlands Thriller Series:

White Out

Far Gone

Up Close

Dr. Schwartzman Series:

Exhume

Excise

Expose

Expire

The Ex

The Rookie Club Series:

Dead Center

One Clean Shot

Dark Passage

Grave Danger

Everything to Lose

Too Close to Home (A Rookie Club Short Story, exclusive to Danielle's readers group. Join at www.daniellegirard.com/newsletter)

Standalone Novels:

Savage Art

Ruthless Game

Chasing Darkness (winner of the RT Reviewers' Choice Award)

Cold Silence (winner of the Barry Award)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
2,323 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Olivia Redding
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2023
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I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire book. This plot was well thought out and interesting. The subtle interplay of romantic interest was just enough to make me think it would end well for the couple. The author brought out some very interesting psychology questions.
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Kaela_K
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023
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I enjoyed it, thought I had the killer a few times and was glad when I was wrong. Means it's a good book.
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Jan Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars psychology mystery
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2024
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It was a very interesting read with so many people with very different backgrounds and aims. I really liked the way she would go back in time and then the future
One person found this helpful
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MW
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024
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I couldn't put it down! Love her books!
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LM
4.0 out of 5 stars pretty good
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2023
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A few loose ends in the story and a few difficult leaps or suspensions of reality, but overall, pretty good.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic tead
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
I read average 40 novels a month, what retirement boredom does. This is outstanding in originality, intrigue and great characters. Few editing errors but not distracting.
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Diana M. Hockley
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and suspenseful novel
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2013
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I was a little surprised to realise that this novel wasn't as good - for me - as the first I read (Chasing Darkness).

The plot was good and the writing tight and fast-paced, however the heroine didn't do it for me this time. Whether I have this right or not - and I don't know anything about the American justice system, except to find it very confusing - but the "I can do it all by myself" action and rushing off to interview witnesses sounded to me "way over the top." This is obviously fiction and much licence is expected and used, but I got quite irritated with Alex. I seriously question whether her brother, James, would have been allowed to get involved with the case, regardless of his personality or ambitions career-wise.

Having said all this, I did enjoy the story and didn't "suss" the perpetrator until quite late in the piece. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series later today.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic story
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
This was a twisted, intense, and suspenseful story that will have you guessing until the very end. It's definitely not a story that you'll want to miss.
I would definitely recommend this book and outstanding author.
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Top reviews from other countries

Sarahandherbookshelves
5.0 out of 5 stars So good!!!
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn’t know what would happen next! I also could not guess the culprit and was Surprised
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Father Ted
5.0 out of 5 stars "Superb thriller"
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
When they're as good as this I can forgive the odd typo, but then I read for pleasure not to score points. Fast-paced, great characters, thought-provoking, page-turning. If you weren't grabbed by this one then there's no hope, you may as well try reading cook books. Highly recommended.
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Dorothy Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read but very interesting
Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2019
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I like the way she writes but it is distracting when things were highlighted in some chapters. It was used for personal benifit as I am an author too.
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Lynda Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars Some Mistakes But a Great Story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2013
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I marked this down as I did the previous one I read by her due to errors, only there were more in this one !! Careless ones, too, that should have been spotted in any editing process. Such as AH replacing all, using whirl(s) when it came to the science of fingerprinting which is spelt whorl(s), was replaced by way and someone was described as looking like an intellect. I would have said he had intellect or looked like an intellectual. Then where was substituted for were. All very tiresome.
Parts were a little hard to believe, I found, but it was a very good story indeed. For a police lady I did think Alex could be a little dense.
She wakes in her car outside what transpires as a home where a murder has taken place. She doesn't remember a thing or how she came to be there as she doesn't know the area. Luckily her cop partner Greg believes in her and chooses to help her find out what's going on.
I felt a bit cheated as this story ended at 83% into the book itself and the remainder was ads for the author's other books !!
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Angela
5.0 out of 5 stars Ruthless Game & Danielle Girard
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2013
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Love this author's books but this one, can't understand why, I had to restart because I could not seem to get a grip on the story but once I did, as per usual, I could not put the book down ...... another enthralling storyline from a brill author.
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