Our Kind of Game

A Novel

By: Johanna Copeland

Narrated by: Megan Tusing, Leslie Howard, Nicol Zanzarella

“A riveting and suspenseful debut. Copeland’s contemporary take on the balance of power in relationships, and the desire for control, is not to be missed.”—New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Karin Slaughter

A gifted new suspense writer makes her sizzling debut with this serpentine tale exploring all the ways in which men enact violence on women, how women try to reclaim their own sense of self, and the lingering effects on their children’s lives.

2019. Stella Parker has the life she’s always wanted: a loving husband, two happy children that she gave up her thriving law career to raise, and a beautiful house in the tony suburbs of Washington, DC. But when her neighbor Gwen shows up at her door, claiming to know things about her, Stella’s life is thrown into turmoil and she’s forced to reckon with the dark secret upon which she’s built her life.

1987. Julie Waits yearns to be a cheerleader—a gateway to a world of normalcy with best friends and sleepovers, and an escape hatch from life with her widowed mother, the terrible men she attracts, and the upheaval caused by their abrupt and constant moves. But when her mother decides those relationships are over, the past becomes a forbidden subject that Julie can never revisit.

As Stella probes deeper into what brought Gwen to her door, the answer—and who Julie is to her—become increasingly, terrifyingly, clear.

Filled with shocking twists and turns, this is a book that both asks what it means for a woman to be in control of her life while also highlighting the impact of small daily violences upon women, and the connection between physical and psychological harm.

©2024 Johanna Copeland (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

She says it so well

Good storyline, characters and voice actor, but the best are the reflections and thoughts of the main character as she ping-pongs between grateful acceptance of her responsibilities with her family and teeth-gnashing anger at the unfairness of the inequalities of the same. Along with being a good listen, I really appreciated how well these perspectives were articulated. Well done all around!

Good, but drawn out with too many “inside thoughts” from the characters!

Holy moly! The story itself IS good. But it felt like half of the book is a never-ending hamster wheel of the characters neurotic overthinking, second guessing, mental panic, etc. I was conflicted because I wanted to know what happens next & how the book ends, but I had to stop and take breaks from this book or else I felt trapped in the dizzying whirlwind of the thoughts and emotions of the main character. It’s like, please dear Author, make things actually keep happening in the book… like, write that the character is driving her car to an ice cream shop so I can take a reprieve thinking about the ice cream flavor the character chose - all while you’re drowning my mental psyche with 45 minutes straight of the character’s neurotic thoughts….sigh. As my Hispanic Mother would say: Aye Yaye Yaye!!
Smh.

A twisty turny thriller that highlights the small and large ways women can be dismissed.

The story was compelling. I heard an interview with the author on NPR and added it to my TBR list. I listened almost nonstop to this one. It highlights how the many ways women are dismissed and overlooked and abused. The mother uses that to her advantage to protect her daughters from bad boyfriends etc. It caused me to feel frustrated on the subtle and not so subtle ways we give up ourselves for our children and family.

highly recommend

Very good, not your typical good wife bad husband drama. Great character development and the story was fantastic!

All-star cast and story! ⭐️

How can you go wrong with these three narrators?! All of them are my favorites and so fantastic that they can make any story good. But I have to say, I think this is a good story! Maybe be a little far-fetched at times, but unique & relatable, it definitely held my attention. Out of all the books I have listened to for a while, this is one I would wholeheartedly recommend.

Plodding, preachy and implausible

Child rape, exaggerated sense of victimization. Over-explains. Did not enjoy this book at all. Tiny twist at the end not worthy the wait.

Great Story!!!

I loved the characters, they kept me engaged! Thanks NPR for featuring the author on the radio!

Does not live up to the hype

Super predictable and formulaic. Way too preachy. Why do so many mediocre (at best) debuts get the hype machine? This was basically a rant against men with no subtlety or nuance in the telling. There were no male characters who were sympathetic. What happened to round v. flat characterization? Final twist wasn't surprising at all and the whole idea that the only way to get equality is to murder the men in your life is delivered seemingly without irony. Maybe it was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but I don't think so.
Disappointed, since it was featured on NPR.

Not for me!

Maybe my expectations were too high, but this one was predictable and boring. I DNF about 1/3rd of the way through.