The Death Wish Game

By: Jonathan Chateau

Narrated by: Aaron Shedlock

A one-way trip to Florida offers Rodney Corso the chance at a fresh start from his dead-end life in South Carolina. Newly divorced, broke, and unemployed, a bus ticket gifted to him by his sister could not have come at a better time.

However, this bus would never reach its final destination.

Sometime during the 10-hour trek to Miami, both he and the rest of the passengers awaken to find themselves duct-taped to their seats and stranded in the middle of nowhere in the black of night. Their captor soon reveals himself, informing them that they are participants in a game of survival.

"The rules are simple," he tells them. "Follow the flares to reach the safe zone. Make it there, and you get to live. Stay here...and they will come tear you apart."

Chaos ensues, and the passengers are picked off one-by-one - slaughtered in their very seats by an unseen threat.

Who is running this game? What awaits them out there in the darkness? And will these flares lead them to freedom or straight into a trap?

If Rodney and the others want to live long enough to find out, they will have no choice but to confront the dark secret that has brought them here and face a nightmare unlike anything they have ever experienced before.

©2017 Jonathan Chateau (P)2017 Jonathan Chateau

Great horror story!

Great Horror Suspense! I must admit, I don't listen to horror stories anymore. I wanted to listen to this audiobook because of the narrator, Aaron Shedlock.

This horror story is fast-paced, intriguing, suspenseful, scaring, with some paranormal side and twists and turns. There are also some creepy sarcastic scenes. This book has it all! I'm always impressed by the strength to survive, even more when it comes to someone who was wanting to end his life.

The story is well written, the storyline is well built and absolutely breath taken. I like Rodney and Kylie, of course, but all characters are really interesting and they bring so much intensity in this story. Jonathan Chateau and Aaron Shedlock took me on this ride and I must say that I wasn't always willing to known what will happened next!

The performance of Aaron Shedlock is brilliant and magnificent! He brings this story to life and keeps us on the edge until the end. Bravo!

I received this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

A bit short, but enjoyable book

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I quite enjoyed this one. It was an intense, supernatural ride. I loved the gritty voice of the narrator and thought he did a great job of bringing the characters to life. I'd definitely be open to more from this duo.

Pretty good story bogged minus the padding

I've listened to short stories by Jonathan Chateau as well as a full novel (Faith Against the Wolves) and mostly enjoyed them. The Death Wish Game feels like it's stuck between the two -- that is, that it's really a long short story that got further elongated into a novel.

The premise is pretty straightfoward (and is summarized in the book's description -- no surprises there), what adds the "meat and potatoes" to it all is the action and mystery behind it all. When I first started the book, I was hooked and listening as much as I could in any given sitting. There's some backstory, but the ball gets rolling fairly quickly. Before you know it, our protagonist is in the game.

During the first couple hours I was hooked into trying to figure out what was going on and listening hard for clues. Is the game real? Are his fellow participants actors? By about hour 3-3.5 though, I started to feel that distant dread that a book may spoil itself by dragging on too long.

There are several times during the story where our protagonists narrowly escape danger, go on the run only to be thrown right back into danger, nearly die and be miraculously saved once again. There were also a few points where you felt the book could have ended (had the author not had the final resolution in mind -- which did work well btw). Adding that to the fact that the primary antagonist shifted quite a few times (you thought HE was the bad guy? Oh no, now HE is! Oh wait, nope, now HE IS!), I really began to feel the book was being padded out for length.

If we ignore the padding however, we have a solid story. There's action, intrigue and some emotional scenes that really put you in the moment. Characters are pretty well developed, and the plot came full circle in the end. While I felt the ending did resolve most plot points, I still walked away feeling there was much that could have been left out. I give the story 3.75 stars mainly due to this.

The narrator did an excellent job not only bringing the characters to life (he REALLY made me hate one of them, kudos), but also keeping the momentum going throughout. Would happily listen to another reading by Aaron Shedlock.

This book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

is a fast ride!

First I have to say that the narration was awesome! This is the 3rd book I have heard from Jonathan Chateau and he has nailed it every time!

The was very fast paced, right from the start.
This is thriller it is full of action, good characters and a bus ride from hell.
It has a ton of twists and turns. It always shows a few how great life really is!
I would recommend this book.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. -THANK YOU

Fantastic novel!

Once again Jonathan Chateau has surprised me as a reader. The thrilling story is a fast paced ride from beginning to end leaving you wanting to know what happens next. The voice acting of Aaron Shedlock is wonderful as he slightly switches voices for the characters. I cannot wait for the next book!