Review: Wow, I wasn't expecting this!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2014
I've enjoyed reading Jeffery Deaver, whose good guy Lincoln Rhyme is a brilliant quadriplegic detective.  In The Contestant, C.J. Lea turns that on its head and puts a brilliant psychopath named Raymond in the wheelchair.  The set-up of the novel grabbed me from the get-go, an on-line Games Club, populated by a bunch of other like-minded psychopaths. I know little of the online lottery game world, but that's one of the qualities of excellent fiction, introducing me to different worlds.Serial killer fiction is fat and bloated, but The Contestant is clever and original, a true standout.  As unlovable as Raymond is – and Lea depicts in loving detail just how unlovable the guy is – she also slyly manages to get me rooting for the sleazebag as he is initially outwitted at every turn by an even more brilliant mastermind psycho competing for the same online game prize.The plot twists and turns like a roller-coaster. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, reading late into the night, which I hardly ever do.  The ending is perfect, leaving my hair all blown to bits and my eyes sparkling from the sheer adrenaline fun of it.