Description:
Six young people play a dangerous Game of Tag in public, chasing through the crowds, streets, and buildings of Chicago. This secret, one-of-a-kind, wildly expensive Game offers a macabre twist to the childhood version...if you get Tagged, you get Dead.
Three "Its" have their reasons for buying a place in the Game. Surgically enhanced Brandy is obsessed with destroying a naturally beautiful girl. Untalented Robert covets his target's position as superstar of the basketball team. Brainiac Charles craves a battle against an intellectual equal. Given their elite social status, they reject any possible downside to the contest. Each expects the satisfaction of killing their prey, then walking away.
Hand-picked innocents play as "Runners," under threat to their loved ones should they refuse to participate: lovely, small-town Laura; celebrated athlete Tyrese; and Amanda, gamer extraordinaire. Alone, hunted by their adversary, each feels a single hope...to survive.
Technological wizardry controls the Game. As soon as Runners receive the "Go" signal on smartwatches locked to their wrists, the Game rockets them through the city, from the El to Michigan Avenue to the Lincoln Park Zoo. There is no time to rest. Every thirty minutes the Runner's location is transmitted to the It, which steadily diminishes the Runner's chance of ever reaching Home Base alive.
The Game will not end until someone is Tagged, so the Runners must choose how to play. Will they accept death? Murder their Its? Or find a way to use individual strengths to stop the Game before anyone dies?
Brief description:
Tag, You're Dead is J.C. Lane's first thriller. She writes mysteries as Judy Clemens, including the Stella Crown series, the Grim Reaper mysteries, and the stand-alone, Lost Sons. She lives in Ohio, where she shuttles her kids to events, loves cooking and baking new recipes, and is training for a half-marathon.
Review Quotes:
In a technology-infused game of tag to the death, six teenagers must use every resource at their disposal to stay alive.Coming home from a night of babysitting, Laura Wingfield is whisked off by a stranger who explains that her life is in danger. Apparently someone has paid a great deal of money to play hunt tag with Laura, though this game is to the death. Laura's outfitted with a specialized watch that tracks her every move and transmits her location to her It every half hour. Laura is shocked. She's never been in trouble and can't think of anyone who would want to harm her. She doesn't have long to think about it, though, because the game begins quickly and she has to concentrate on making her way to home base alive. Two other Runners, Tyrese Broadstreet and Amanda Paniagua, have different reactions to the similar instructions they receive. Tyrese is an all-star basketball player whose street smarts make his game of tag a challenge for his It. Amanda, on the other hand, is a geeky gamer girl who doesn't take the referee's threat seriously until her It finds a way to raise the stakes. The Its, Brandy Inkrott, Charles Akida, and Robert Matthews, all have specific reasons for chasing their individual runners. Everyone has something to gain by winning the game - especially the Runners, who'll forfeit their lives if they lose. A veteran of several genres, Lane (aka Judy Clemens, Till the Cows Come Home, 2004, etc.) talks tough tech. Though the sci-fi aspects of the plot may not have enough detail for true junkies, she still takes readers on a fun ride.
-- "Kirkus Reviews"