Book excerpt: PLAYING WITH DEATH is a gripping, edge-of-your seat contemporary thriller that marks a new direction for legendary historical novelist Simon Scarrow, writing with exciting new talent Lee Francis. Not to be missed by readers of David Baldacci and Michael Crichton. SOMETIMES, THE MONSTER WINS... And FBI Special Agent Rose Blake knows it more than most. Haunted by a failed undercover mission, she is finding it hard to shake the memory of her close encounter with a ruthless serial killer - one who is still free, and could come for her at any time. The call to investigate a suspected arson attack is a welcome distraction. It's not the kind of case usually assigned to the FBI, but nothing about this crime is usual. As Rose digs deeper, she finds herself confronting the kind of imagination her son might see in the fantasy worlds of his video games. And when your opponent is a killer, nothing feels like a game...