Suspense Filled Tale Filled With Pervasive Social Commentary Ends Explosively. This is one of those tales that is going to keep you on the edge of your seat with sheer suspense for almost the entirely of the tale… before ending in one of the more explosive endings I’ve ever seen in any book, particularly in any of Bratt’s books. But with this entire series, you really need to start at the beginning (Hart’s Ridge) and work your way to this one, as Bratt has truly mastered over the last few books in particular telling a singular complete tale per book yet having that singular tale both spring from the prior tale and explicitly set up the next.
There are a few different social commentaries in the book, including one in the final pages, but the dominant issue throughout the book is the dangers of online gaming – which have shifted over the past couple of years in particular in ways many likely aren’t aware of. While a child is still statistically more likely to be assaulted by a family member or others in close proximity to the child in the real world than by someone who found them inside a game, kidnapping via similar methods as Bratt shows in this very tale are actually heavily on the rise… yet still statistically near zero. (No more than 500 known cases of any non-family kidnapping by any method in 2024 according to FBI statistics across literally millions of gamers online at any given moment.) Indeed, while many forms of childhood death and trauma are actually plateauing or even declining, the threat posed by scenarios similar to what Bratt builds into this text are exactly what the FBI says is actually on the rise in recent years.
Apart from the specific discussion of how that particular element works within the story (extremely well, in case I haven’t made that crystal clear yet) and within the real world (more cautionary, yet absolutely illuminative and using information which will possibly/ likely be new to at least some readers), Bratt in this tale truly does one of the best jobs she has ever done in regards to keeping the reader on the edge of their seat reading with bated breath to see what exactly is going to happen next and whether everyone will come out as unharmed as possible.
And then that ending. Dayum. Without going into spoiler territory, let’s just say that for me personally, given my own history and favorite bits of pop culture… yeah, that ending was *phenomenal* in so very many ways and levels, and I truly can’t wait for July to get here so we can see where this series is going next!
Very much recommended.
This review of Ticket To Ride by Kay Bratt was originally written on March 14, 2026.
