A husband confesses to his new wife Kate that he is a serial killer. Or does he? Her daughter’s husband, a doctor, believes that her mother has dementia. Does she? Or is something else going on? Something that may lead to the loss of Kate’s enormous self made fortune. That’s the premise of Shell Games, an incredibly twisted thriller with an ending you will not see coming!

Julie has always been in awe of her dynamic mother. A widow, Kate made her fortune in Florida real estate. Now in her 70s, she has reconnected with Charlie and the two have rekindled their high school love and married. After the secret he reveals to her on their wedding night pulls them apart, Julie sides with her mother. Then this already complicated mystery explodes into murder, a murder that only Julie can solve.

Shell games is full of threats, suspicions, investigations, politics, even a hurricane. It is full of both likable and unlikable characters, a vivid Florida waterfront location and impossible to put down! Put his on your TBR list now! 5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and Bonnie Kistler for this ARC.

Having enjoyed reading Bonnie Kistler’s previous novels, I was anxious to read Shell Games. The first 50 or so pages were extremely disappointing to me for the book seemed to be a romantic love story. I was glad I didn’t give up because it turned out to be an intriguing and interesting story about family conflicts, hurricanes in Florida, pre nuptial agreements, wills, environmentalists vs. capitalists, gaslighting (I am old enough to remember the movie) and, of course, murder.
I thank NetGalley and HarperCollinsPublishers for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

I found the characters to be very highly unlikely. Their development was non existent to me. I found the ending to be very predictable in many ways. This one just wasn't for me as a reader, as I read solely thrillers.

Julie’s mother, Kate, is a powerful and independent septuagenarian. Julie is happy for her when Katie married a long lost romantic partner, Charlie. Until their wedding night when Kate claims Charlie confessed to a decades old murder spree. He declines it. Julie doesn’t know who to believe.

I love any book with gaslighting so I knew I’d love this one. There’s so much more to this though because you never really know who is being gaslite vs who is gaslighting. There are so many twists that I was not expecting in this story, even up to the very last page. Typically I don’t like inheritance type stories, but this one was complex yet easy to read. I sped through it in just a few hours. I highly recommend this one

The Shell Games comes out 11/19.

I liked that Shell Games had an older main character Kate. There were a lot of plot twists throughout the book and some unlikeable characters which makes for a great thriller. I wish the ending had been a little better though. Overall a very good psychological thriller. 3.5 stars.

SHELL GAMES was a fascinating thriller with deeply unreliable characters that allowed for some interesting psychological games. The author did a great job twisting the narrative around so many times that it was easy to believe it could have happened multiple ways. The ending was a bit unsatisfying, as it felt like there was an opportunity for a more shocking finale, plus some loose ends were left unresolved. Even so, still an enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Books for the opportunity to read and review SHELL GAMES.

This book gave me all the chills and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. It was fantastic!! Loved the storyline and the characters

Thank you Harper Collins for an EARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

3.5 stars

This book was such a whirlwind. The entire book was about gaslighting and you had no idea who was the bad guy. Some parts were kind of confusing and I feel like the book would of benefitted from being a little longer with more detail. However I loved the twist and turns and liked how unpredictable this book was. Definitely recommend!

From the blurb this sounded exactly like my sort of book, inspired by the tylenol murders in the 80s. I liked that is involves older characters, was inspired by real murders and I was intrigued by the gaslighting themes.

One night Kate, who is drunk, hears her husband confess to the tylenol murders. He has an alibi and everyone thinks hes great.

Kates family believe she has dementia and is confused but Kate thinks her husband is gaslighting her to make everyone think this.

Sadly, I found this sorry quite repetitive and found most of the characters irritating and made very strange choices, especially Julie (Kate's daughter).

I don't want to giveaway spoilers but the ending isn't a surprise and if you think too hard about it doesn't make a great deal of sense.

Thank you to Harper perennial and netgalley for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️
a psychological thriller that follows julie as she tries to piece together whether her mom is the victim of an elaborate crime or suffering from dementia. for the majority of this book the main character is so frustrating and embodies so many of my pet peeves! she makes dumb mistakes, trusts very untrustworthy people, and believes obvious lies. at times it did feel like the author had just learned about gaslighting and decided to write a book around that concept. that being said, it all came together in the end and there some good twists throughout. overall, it was a good thriller and kept me guessing.

cw: suicide

thanks to netgalley and harper perennial for my ARC of shell games by bonnie kistler. all opinions are my own.

This book hooks you in right from the beginning - lots of plot twists and characters you aren't sure if you love or hate them. Also loved the Florida setting.

What a whirlwind of a story!

Shell Game, as it's title alludes to, is a game of chance, a slight of hand, a mysterious thriller with fabulous wealth and a hurricane thrown in.
Julie’s mother Kate is getting married to her high school sweetheart. Right away, the night of the wedding, Charlie reveals something that is too awful to repeat. But Kate is nothing but steadfast and she reports the revelation to the police.

What follows next is much like a hurricane - different strong story lines pulling the reader hither and yon. Each storyline is forceful and unique but all come back to the main idea which is what is happening with Kate.

While there may be a tad too many story lines, I loved the details and purpose of each. It's a great thriller filled with tiny thrills along the way.
Thank you to Netgalley!
h#harperperrenial #shellgames #bonniekistler