Skip to product information
1 of 1

The Pain Game

Regular price $17.99
Regular price $0.00 Sale price $17.99
Sold out
The police say overdose, but one man knows better Disgraced Chicago detective Sam Laska thought he was done with murder. But when he agrees to investigate the suspicious death of a friend’s grand...
Read More
  • 17 February 2026
View Product Details

A disgraced detective's investigation into a suspicious death plunges him into a deadly conspiracy that threatens everything he holds dear.

Sam Laska, a former Chicago Police detective, thought he'd left the murder business behind. But when a friend asks him to investigate a questionable death, he finds himself drawn into a treacherous web of drug dealers, hired killers, and political puppet masters.

As Laska unravels the conspiracy, he's captivated by an alluring medical examiner's assistant. But with each step he takes, the danger grows, and his mistakes put those closest to him at risk.

Faced with an impossible choice, Laska must sacrifice himself to bring the killers to justice and protect the ones he loves.

Can Laska untangle the web of deceit and corruption before it's too late, or will he become the next victim in this deadly game?

______________________________________________________________________

Praise for the Sam Laska series

5.0 out of 5 Stars …grabs me from the opening pages and entertains throughout…

5.0 out of 5 Stars …you get so involved you can't put it down.

5.0 out of 5 Stars - I read it in one day and afterwards, I immediately purchased the next book in the series.

5.0 out of 5 Stars - I couldn't put it down!!

5.0 out of 4 Stars - I found it hard to put the book down. I burned my dinner reading. The suspense goes on page after page.

files/i.png Icon
Price: $17.99
Pages: 218
Publisher: Vinci Books Ltd
Imprint: Vinci Books Ltd
Publication Date: 17 February 2026
Trim Size: 7.80 X 5.10 in
ISBN: 9781036705695
Format: Paperback
BISACs: FICTION / Thrillers / Crime, Thriller / suspense fiction, FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural, FICTION / Thrillers / Medical, FICTION / Crime, Crime and / or mystery fiction
REVIEWS Icon

Richard Rybicki, a former detective, retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2006 and moved to Florida’s gulf coast. The Pain Game, his first work of fiction, was published in 2016 and debuted the Sam Laska Crime Thriller series. Where the Road Leads and Bottom Feeder Blues continue the series. The Green Line, a Royal Palm Literary Award semi-finalist, is the fourth book in the series. He has also published a collection of short stories, The Suits, available as a Kindle ebook. Learn more, connect with the author, and sign up for the author’s newsletter at www.rrybickiauthor.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RybickiAuthor, and X, formallyTwitter, at @rybicki_richard