THE DEVIL’S GAME
Book two in the Daniel Bryne series
Sean Chercover
June 16th, 2015
Thomas & Mercier

Author Sean Chercover presents former priest Daniel Byrne with quite a moral dilemma in his new book, THE DEVIL’S GAME. How do you know you’re on the side of “right” when the organization you work for is trying to control world events… just like the organization you’re out to stop? What do you do when you realize you are, as one character says, one of the “less bad guys”? Daniel Byrne is fighting his way through shadows trying to do the right thing.

A man of faith, Byrne had investigated and debunked miracles for the Vatican for ten years. After his career came to an unceremonious end in THE TRINITY GAME, Daniel Byrne was recruited by the Fleur-de-Lis Foundation, a secretive organization fighting for influence over the world. The Foundation is in continual battle with the Council for World Peace, another shadow organization. In an imaginative twist of science, the Council has developed a new strain of the Plague that can dramatically change the future of mankind. This bioengineered bacteria can cause some of its victims to see the future. If the Council can unleash this new plague and develop its own army of prophets, then it can take control of the world.

This ability to see into the future is called Anomalous Information Transfer (AIT). The general public calls it The Trinity Phenomenon, named after Daniel’s uncle Tim Trinity, a tent revival preacher who gained the ability to see into the future and predict events. (You can read about Tim Trinity in the first book of this trilogy, THE TRINITY GAME.) The Foundation decided that Daniel’s experience with his uncle would make him the perfect person to investigate AIT. He teams up with former doctor Kara Singh, who has AIT, on a global quest to figure out what triggers AIT and to stop the Council from creating their army of prophets.

The creativity of the problem to be stopped, a biological agent, makes THE DEVIL’S GAME an enjoyable read. I haven’t read anything with this angle and I loved the fresh idea.(Anytime you can bring science and microbiology into a story, this former lab tech will read every word!)

Chercover has created a fast-paced, captivating book. While THE DEVIL’S GAME is Book 2 in the trilogy, it shifts its focus from the first book and is presented in a different manner. The previous book dealt more with phenomenon and faith. In THE DEVILS’ GAME, the focus is more on logic and science. Instead of questioning his faith in God, Daniel Byrne questions the actions of his new employer and if they truly are working for the greater good. I’m eager to see more of Daniel’s questions of faith and loyalty in Book 3.
Kate Malmon