I was surprised to see this as the latest new addition to the database. It's listed as a magic book in the categories of Close Up and Gambling, but none of this information is correct. The Shell Game is a crime novel.

Carol O'Connell has written a series of novels featuring Kathy Mallory, one of the more original detectives in crime fiction. This one does have a magical theme, though we're talking stage illusionists rather than close-up and gambling.

This was my least favourite of the Mallory series, but all O'Connell's books are worth checking out, so I'm giving it three and a half stars. Some of the other books in the series would definitely deserve a five star rating. I should stress, though, that I'm rating the book AS A NOVEL. Anyone who buys it as an instructional magic book will be very disappointed ... because it isn't one.