Let’s play a game.
You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.
Are you ready?
When Crystal Donavan gets a message on a mysterious app with a picture of her little sister gagged and bound, she agrees to play the kidnapper’s game. At first, they make her complete bizarre tasks: steal a test and stuff it in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.
But then Crystal realizes that each task is meant to hurt—and kill—her friends, one by one. But if she refuses to play, the kidnapper will kill her sister. Is someone trying to take her team out of the running for a gaming tournament? Or have they uncovered a secret from their past, and wants them to pay for what they did...
Author of All Your Twisted Secrets, Diana Urban’s explosive sophomore novel, These Deadly Games, will keep you riveted until the final twist is revealed.
About the Author
Diana Urban is an author of dark, twisty thrillers, including All Your Twisted Secrets and These Deadly Games. When she's not torturing fictional characters, she works in digital marketing for startups. She lives with her husband and cat in Boston and enjoys reading, playing video games, fawning over cute animals, and looking at the beach from a safe distance.
Industry Reviews
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A chilling and engaging thriller.
- Kirkus
Meet the ultimate psychological thriller.
- Seventeen
A propulsive mystery with high stakes and devious, masterful twists that will leave you guessing until the very last page. Diana Urban's latest had my jaw on the floor.
Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They'll Never Catch Us
A heart-pounding race against the clock filled with unexpected twists, betrayal and danger, These Deadly Games asks the terrifying question: who would you be willing to hurt to save your sister's life? Filled with Diana Urban's trademark morally grey characters and fast-paced reveals, this book is a must-read for fans of race against the clock thrillers that leave you unable to tear your eyes from the page.
Sophie Gonzales, author of Only Mostly Devastated
Ten points for twisted. Ten points for razor sharp. Bonus points for addictive. These Deadly Games is an expertly plotted, spine-chilling read that's wickedly suspenseful and shockingly relatable. Trust me, you've never played a game this devious, clever, or full of hairpin turn surprises. Urban elevates the YA thriller with her astute insights into friendship, guilt, and the secrets we compulsively keep...
Rebecca Hanover, New York Times bestselling author of The Similars
From nail-biting beginning to jaw-dropping end, These Deadly Games delivers an intense ride fraught with mystery and surprise. A tightly wound thriller that makes you second guess every character's motives, this book left me completely breathless by its final shocking twist.
Wendy Heard, author of She's Too Pretty to Burn