Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing Step Backwards for Mallory and O'Connell
Review: In _Mallory's Oracle_, Carol O'Connell introduced us to a unique detective - Mallory, a beautiful, near-sociopathic genius with a mysterious past. Somehow, O'Connell made the character and her friends really sing, and the series took off. Book by book, Mallory tracked down a series of eccentric, exceptional criminals, either from a sense of tidiness or possibly some buried sense of justice. Book by book, Mallory gave some of the people around her, and the readers, small hints into the trauma that shaped her. (Again, it sounds corny when I write it, but it was great. I can't explain it - that's just O'Connell's gift.) In the previous Mallory book, _Stone Angel_, Mallory and several of the supporting characters end up in her home town, confront her past, and bring justice to the people responsible for her childhood. The book was terrific, second only to _Judas Child_, and seemed to open up the possibility of some kind of radical character growth for Mallory. Now, we get _Shell Game_, and it turns out that the shell O'Connell picked was empty this time. This reads like a Mallory idea from three books ago. Mallory is back exactly to her old self - cold, remote, merciless, brilliant. Ok, fine, but it's not mysterious anymore. We know why she is the way she is, and if she can't change or grow, even a little, then why read more books? With all that said, the book is still far better than most mysteries, and draws on the typical O'Connell bag of tricks. Mallory must solve a murder/accident involving a magic trick gone wrong, and matches wits with an exotic group of magicians hiding a secret from the distant past. She confronts the possibility of romance with one or more men almost her equal, and manipulates people to solve the mystery. In fact, this book is almost an exact copy of _Killing Critics_, with magicians substituted for the artists and art critics in the prior book. That is probably the core of my dissatisfaction; Mallory had the chance to incorporate the events of _Stone Angel_ into her persona, but instead took two steps back, and had the same almost-romance with a potential killer and the same "stay away from me" relationship with her friends as she had several books ago. In the end, _Shell Game_ is a well-written disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Even the slightest differences mean a lot
Review: Carol O'connell has shown subtle new shadings in Mallory's character directly related to her personal journey in Stone Angel. As always, O'connell uses a suggestion here--an inference there, playing an incredibly skillful game of slight of hand with the reader. This is Kathy Mallory is a new phase--someone facing the consequences of her actions instead of indifferently shrugging as she turns away. Great job, well executed. Marvelous read.
Rating: 
Summary: truly terrible
Review: A tedious, tiresome, terrible book. Mallory is completely unlikeable and I just couldn't find a reason to care less about her. She does not elicit interest, empathy or sympathy. Where did her interest in oliver tree and the WWII murder come from anyway??? The story was bogged by technical details about magic tricks. At one point I found myself wishing that there were explanatory illustrations so I could figure out what was supposed to be happening. The magicians were equally as tedious. By the end I couldn't care less who had killed whom for what reason. My only goal was to just get the thing finished and shelved in a dark, forgotten corner where it belongs.
Rating:
Summary: No Stone Angel, but a great read nonetheless!
Review: I've read the entire Mallory series and, without a doubt, Stone Angel is the best. Still, Shell Game was extremely interesting, the storytelling up to O'Connell's usual standard. The new twist in showing Mallory's emotions, albeit sparingly, is perhaps the opening of a door to a side of Mallory we've been told has never existed (i.e. the child without a heart, a soul, etc.) Looking forward to future Mallory stories!
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