The Devoted Game

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first when I heard ‘disgraced FBI agent’—how many times have we heard that setup? But *The Devoted Game* disarms you fast. Knezevich’s performance as Agent Dan Burnes is a masterclass in restrained rage; he doesn’t shout, he *seethes*, and you can hear the years of bureaucracy and failure in every clipped syllable. Naeymi, though? She’s the real revelation. Her villain isn’t a cartoonish monster but a woman who sounds like she’s reading you a bedtime story—right before she describes how she’ll skin you alive. That contrast makes the audiobook *visceral* in ways the print version can’t match. The plot’s central conceit—a kidnapper who forces Burnes to “prove” his devotion through increasingly impossible tasks—could’ve veered into *Saw*-lite territory. Instead, Webb keeps it grounded in psychological realism. The victim’s backstory (revealed in fragmented, gut-punch flashbacks) isn’t just trauma porn; it’s the key to the killer’s motive, and the way Burnes pieces it together feels like watching a detective *think*, not just react. My two critiques? The mid-act twist involving a secondary character strains credulity just enough to pull you out of the moment, and the final confrontation, while satisfying, wraps up a touch too neatly for a story this grim. Still, the narration’s chemistry and the audio production’s atmospheric touches (that *click* of a lock turning will haunt me) make this a standout. If you like your thrillers cerebral but with a side of gut-punch tension, this one’s for you—just don’t start it before bed.