Rating: 
Summary: The best Mallory book yet.
Review: I've read in some of the other reviews discontent with this book and I find it perplexing. This was, by far, the best book of the bunch. The main characters have been developed, the "mystery" of Mallory's past revealed in Stone Angel and, finally, Ms O'Connell can just spin out good stories without the soap opera nonsense of a "mysterious" past (which I endured because the rest of the stories were so very good).This book is a deliciously interesting story of magic, madness and betrayal in the very best tradition of classic Doyle and Christie. If you are looking for a 90210 script dealing only with the love-life and past of the protaganist with story as a very minor background note you will want to look elsewhere. If you want a rich story that will captivate you and surprise you ... this is the one.
Rating: 
Summary: The best part was when it ended............
Review: Shell Game was not what I expected at all. I have read several other O'Connell novels (Mallory's Oracle, Stone Angel, Judas Child, and Killing Critics) and have really thoroughly enjoyed each of them!! I did not enjoy this novel. Kathleen Mallory a detective investigates the deaths of several people, all of them connected through mysterious events in WWII. She is convinced that the deaths are not tragic accidents but murders. The usually aloof and emotionally detached Mallory shows emotion in a confusing plot, that seemed trite and unbelievable at times. All the suspects belong to an aging group of magicians, and at times there is so much focus on the tricks/illusions they constantly create that the plot seems to get sidelined. While I love all of O'Connell's novels and will read the next one whenever it appears, the best thing about this book was being finished with it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a disappointment at all!
Review: I did not find this installment disappointing like the other reviewer. Kathy Mallory is one of the most interesting protagonist I have every read. Carol O'Connell has created a hero that you want to dislike, but you can't help but feel sorry and like her. Mallory brings out all your emotions. I thank the author for not changing Mallory too much after Stone Angel. The changes are there, you have to remember, Mallory would not be able to change too much quickly. Thank you, Ms. O'Connell for staying true to Mallory. In Shell Game, Mallory has met her match. With a personally that sees in black and white, what does she do in the world of magic? With magicians as foes, Mallory becomes a fish out of water, or is she? Ms. O'Connell creates a world of illusion in Shell Game. The villain(s) has spent his life practicing misdirection, trickery and lies. Mallory has too, but is 50 years short on experience against these guys. Oh, what a tangled web they can weave. I couldn't figure out what was going on till the very last few pages. What a wonderful read, Ms. O'Connell's pose is top notch. I love the way this author writes. So different, yet flowing and easy to read. I always set aside blocks of time to read her books. You'll not want to put her down. You will want to stay with it till the end. I would suggest that if you are interested in this series, start with the first one, Mallory's Oracle. Ms. O'Connell develops Mallory over the course of all her books. To miss one, means not understanding a portion of Mallory. Mallory is the most complex character I have ever read. So, get started and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Not her best work
Review: I have been a fan of O'Connell's and have read and enjoyed most of her books. This one was an unexpected disappointment. Besides the tedious detail of hard-to-picture magicians' illusions, its worst failing was the most basic: making the reader care about the victim and solving the crime. Oliver Tree, the magician who dies performing a dangerous trick, never becomes a character the reader knows or cares about. Mallory's passion to solve the crime (not to mention another magician-murder that happened 50 years ago) is inexplicable. Tree never becomes real and his murder is almost a trifling event surrounded by a bunch of other unlikeable characters. Forget this one; not worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: SLOW, SLOW, SLOW
Review: I kept thinking the pace would pick up in this book. I was wrong. Another reviewer used the words "plodding" and "hard to finish." I can only say "Ditto."
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I have read all the previous Mallory books and found this one to be very disappointing. Too much unnecessary (and boring) detail about magic props and equipment and not enough attention to the story itself. At several points, interesting activities were abruptly cut off and there was no follow-up later to tell the reader what happened. This was a very slow-moving, plodding book. Not at all what I have come to expect from this author and definitely not up to the quality and interest of the previous books. It was a struggle to wade through it to the finish.
Rating: 
Summary: A break from the norm.
Review: Thanks Ms. O'Connell for a breath of fresh air! Her detective Kathy Mallory books are a refreshing change from the typical detective novel. The books are just as much about Mallory as they are about the mysteries she solves in her own unconventional way. If you are new to this series, I recommend reading the previous books first. They build upon each other, revealing Mallory's character in increasing depth. Can't wait for the next one!
Rating:
Summary: B O R I N G
Review: This is the first O'Connell book I have read and it will be the last. Trying to keep all of the characters seperate was very difficult. Trying to understand this wordy book was even more difficult. There was no depth to the characters and they wre all flighty. This story was suppose to be a murder mystery. the mystery to me was how it got published.....
Rating:
Summary: Mallory Gets a Sense of Humor
Review: Carol O'Connell continues to focus on her "sociopathic" detective, Mallory. Ms O'Connell, while still giving us views of Mallory through the eyes of others, begins to take us more into Mallory's mind. As in, Mallory's understanding of humor, her understanding of obsession, her moral values. Ms O'Connell has, throughout the series, has used magic as a metaphor for deceit -- both as an act by others and as something we willing accept being done to us. In "Shell Game," she strips away more of the mechanics of magic; the arrow didn't fly, it was ... You'll have to read the book. I hope that Ms O'Connell continues to develop Mallory as a person -- challenging our sense of what is normal and moral.
Rating:
Summary: Magic and Murder Anyone?
Review: The author has given us another Mallory mystery, set in Manhattan just before Thanksgiving, as the retired master magicians gather to preform in the Holiday of Magic celebration. Someone in this group of eccentric magicians has murder on their mind. Malackhai is back, bringing the phantom Louisa with him. If possible he is even more eccentric then when we met him in 'The Man Who Casts Two Shadows'. Is her presence just a part of his act or is he really crazy. (And who is always drinking her drinks and smoking those cigarettes without anyone noticing.) Like the game it is named after we get tantalizing glimpses into the past of Uncle Max, Charles, and the other characters. Did the magicians die due to "misadventure" or murder? What does a bunch of older magicians, and the French Underground have in common? Mallory even has trouble figuring it out. And you'll have to read it if you want to know. This author is a master at creating beliveable personalities, illusion, and misdirection. You will be guessing all the way to the end.
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