Shell Game (Worldwide Mystery 2008)
Review by G.L. Giles
Story by Sarah R. Shaber

Shell Game: A Professor Simon Shaw Mystery is an engaging novel filled with multiple murders and a fast-moving plot. The storyline centers around Professor (and amateur detective) Simon Shaw solving the murder of his best friend, the archaeologist David Morgan. Fairly early on, readers learn that his death was probably pre-meditated and that the death blow resulted from his own geode. There are plenty of suspects as Morgan left his sister a sizeable inheritance, he was involved in the politics of deciding where the bones of a 14,000-year-old skeleton would be buried, etc. So, there were plenty of people that could have benefited from killing him. There was a good surprise ending, and the descriptions of the setting (various parts of North Carolina) were detailed and believable. The plot was pretty much flawless, but my interest was never entirely vested in any of the characters. In my opinion, this novel is more plot-driven than character-driven, but that’s not a bad thing as it works for this mystery with its own brand of horror in a sleeping with the enemy kind of way. It’s definitely worth picking up a copy for a late summer/early fall read. As touched on before, my only real criticism is that I found it hard to relate to some of the characters, as they came off as condescendingly highbrow at times. However, the novel is filled with many academic characters, so perhaps them being a little pedantic is acceptable after all. I give it a 7 out of 10.