Tag, You're Dead

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 *What really takes center stage in Tag, You’re Dead is how Laura, Tyrese, and Amanda can possibly win the game with the deck stacked so high against them. Once they realize what’s really happened, once they’ve calmed down, and once they begin formulating their own strategies, the book really takes off. – Cathy Cole * NetGalley *In J.C. Lane’s Tag, You’re Dead, we’re taken back to the world of playground antics, only this time, it’s a lot more sinister than merely shouting, “Tag! You’re it!”…As for the plot, it was action-packed, gripping, and kept me turning those pages. It was a race against time which only made me hurry onwards towards the finish line. – Rebecca Pugh * Becca’s Books UK *I consumed this book in one sitting. Overall, this was a very haunting story. However, I’m going to recommend this book to my readers and listeners. A very worthy effort from this author. * NetGalley *Six teenagers play a high-stakes game of tag through Chicago in this engrossing standalone from the pseudonymous Lane (Leave Tomorrow Behind and five other Stella Crown mysteries as Judy Clemens). Unattractive socialite Brandy Inkrott loathes naturally pretty, popular girls, so her wealthy parents gift her with the chance to kill Laura Wingfield, a stranger who’s everything Brandy isn’t. Robert Matthews, a politician’s son, believes he’d be the star of his high school basketball team with Tyrese Broadstreet out of the way. Brilliant Charles Akida simply wants a challenge, but to convince equally astute Amanda Paniagua to take the game seriously, he has to appear to pose a lethal threat to her. The “Its” know tagging their “Runner” means committing murder, but they don’t realize that if they fail, the game’s mysterious referee has a twist in store for them - and the hunters will become the hunted. Despite one-dimensional characters and a lack of development, readers will enjoy seeing how each Runner draws on his or her best qualities to try to survive the game. * Publishers Weekly *Three predators, three prey: six young people playing a high-stakes game of tag in which the object is for the predator (the “it”) to find and kill the prey (the “runner”). The novel is a well-constructed hybrid of the classic 1930s film The Most Dangerous Game (in which people hunt humans for sport), Stephen King’s The Running Man (featuring a murderous game), and, of course, The Hunger Games, but Lane includes enough original material to make the tale feel fresh. Its shifting point of view - the narrative jumps back and forth among the six players - helps keep us flipping the pages, and the big mysteries, including the identity and motivation of the people who are running the game, are appropriately difficult to penetrate (for us and for the players). Good reading for King fans as well as those many millions who secretly wish that Katniss Everdeen was still playing her own dangerous game. * Booklist *Tag, You’re Dead has a very interesting premise, reminiscent of The Hunger Games but using modern technology, it’s a rip-roaring read. I was so surprised, and drawn in so completely that I started and finished it in one day! – Kate Moloney * Bibliophile Book Club *Backstory: I’ve been stalking the publication progress of this book since I first read the pitch for it in a writing contest a couple years ago. Yes, I’m pretty shameless when it comes to books. So I was so excited when, after years of wanting to read it, I saw it available on NG to request! But with all that built up waiting, that always comes with an upcoming release I want to read, comes some pretty hefty expectations about hoping not to be let down….Luckily, TAG, YOU’RE DEAD didn’t disappoint!…Ever wonder what THE HUNGER GAMES would have been like if it had taken place in present day rather than a dystopian future? In TAG, rich people pay to play a game of tag during which they pick their unsuspecting target who is then kidnapped and forced to play. The “It” then gets to chase their victim all over the city (Chicago), and if they get within twenty feet of their victim before the victim reaches home base, they press the button on their special smart watch, and their victim gets killed (I won’t spoil the “how” in this, but it’s quite creepy). Every thirty minutes, the GPS on the smart watch the victims are forced to wear (and unable to take off) broadcasts their current location to their It. If the victim reaches home base before the It tags them, they become the new It, and the old It now becomes the victim with new home base coordinates. It continues until someone dies….TAG is told in six POVs (third person) of three Its and their three victims (all teens). Each It has a different reason for wanting to play….Despite the fact that there are six main characters - and numerous side characters - I never got confused as to who anyone was….I couldn’t put this book down and flew through the pages. The stakes are huge, the pacing is lightning fast, and by the end of the book my heart was pounding. This book requires some suspension of disbelief, but don’t let that stop you - it was a great read! * NetGalley *Tag, You’re Dead is a fast-moving thriller with a big cast of teen-age characters. I couldn’t read this fast enough. – Michelle Hauck * Goodreads *Wow….Just wow. I haven’t gotten any work done since the day I opened this book!!!!! This book has great flow. I love a book that doesn’t skip around and just goes from A-Z., TAG, YOU’RE DEAD did just that!!!!! It has a few main characters, but it is written so well that you know exactly who you are reading about. It just keeps you hooked all the way to the end. If the Hunger Games and The Purge had a baby, it would be TAG, YOU’RE DEAD. The suspense is super intense and Laura, Tyrese, and Amanda are all so different in so many ways. All from different walks in life….At times this book makes you ask yourself some really hard questions. What would you do? Would you press the Tag button? Would you honestly kill someone that was coming to kill you? Would you have done what Amanda did and just give trust out so freely? It makes you tap into that survival part of your being and places you right in the heart of all the chaos….I read this book in 3 days. That never happens! Bravo J.C. Lane! I am so pleased with this book beyond words. I can not wait to see what else you publish! – Trudy V BryantThis book stressed me out; exactly like psychological thriller should. If you like doing puzzles, than this is the perfect putting-together-pieces type of book. – Marcelina Meler * NetGalley *At points, it was sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat tense. I also loved the twists the story took throughout and at the end. – Heather McDonald * NetGalley *A game of tag being played throughout Chicago. I LOVED this book! It was my kind of book, a game being played out with deadly consequences! It was very fast paced and kept me interested from start to finish. I disliked the players I was supposed to dislike, rooted for the players I was supposed to root for and wasn’t sure about a few! I loved the personalities of all of them, they were so different and played the game differently….The characters were great, the story was great and the ending was satisfying! I’d recommend this book for any fans of reality tv, because though it wasn’t broadcast as such, that’s what it felt like. The cat and mouse game around Chicago was a ton of fun….Great great book!! LOVED it!! * NetGalley *

J.C. Lane is the author of Tag, You’re Dead, her first thriller. She also 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.

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