The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver

November 12, 2025

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver

Colter Shaw is a reward seeker; not exactly a private eye, not exactly a bounty hunter. He makes his living by finding missing persons and collecting the reward offered by family, friends, or employer. He was raised by survivalists and has expert tracking skills, home-schooled and taught to observe the world around him and calculate the probability of events. For example, if a young woman goes missing, he figures the odds of an accident, a voluntary disappearance, or if her boyfriend or another predator is involved, then searches for her based on those probabilities. But when a second person goes missing, Colter finds himself deep in the sometimes cutthroat billion dollar world of video gaming, and he starts to wonder if he is in the middle of some video game brought to life.

This is the first book in the series that has been adapted for the television show Tracker. Not surprisingly, the book is better than the TV show. I was captivated by Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series with its unique protagonist, and here he creates another unusual MC. The look into the multi-billion dollar gaming industry as well as fake news and political manipulation (think: Fox News) was fascinating, especially since almost everyone plays some kind of online game. There are enough hints about family secrets and about Colter's own secrets (like the source of his income which isn't from reward collecting at all, his family, and who are all of his well-connected mysterious friends) to hook the reader in for the next book. I believe there are four books in the series now. Recommended for readers who enjoy a thoughtful thriller.

A geek festival, also known as a gaming convention