In this chilling, brilliantly plotted new thriller, Daniel Palmer explores the terrifying aftermath of a good man’s bad decision, the flip side of identity theft, and the lengths some will go to save a life—or destroy one…

The future has never looked brighter for Boston couple John Bodine and Ruby Dawes. John’s online gaming business is growing, Ruby is pursuing her dream career, and they’re talking about starting a family.

Then Ruby receives a life-changing diagnosis, and their cut-rate insurance won’t cover the treatment she desperately needs. Faced with a ticking clock, John makes a risky move: he steals a customer’s identity and files a false claim for Ruby’s medication.

The plan works perfectly—until the customer in question contacts John with a startling proposition. If John and Ruby agree to play a little game he’s devised, he won’t report their fraud. The rules of ‘Criminal’ are simple: commit real crimes. Fail in their assigned tasks, and there will be deadly consequences.

John assumes it’s a sick joke, until people start dying. With each round, the stakes are escalating, the crimes getting more twisted. John and Ruby can’t disappear—and they can’t go to the police. Their only option is to keep playing, all the while trying to outwit a psychopath who has no intention of letting them leave this game alive…