Why I picked up this book:

I’ve been with this series since the beginning, cheering on India and Matt while I fell in love with the entire ensemble cast. Somewhere in book 6, the series began to lose its magic. I didn’t feel as connected anymore, and to be honest I was pandering on whether or not to continue. But the amazing S. M. Roffey saw my struggle and sent me a sneaky kindle gift to settle the debate and I will forever be grateful.

This review may contain spoilers.

The Cheater’s Game (Glass and Steele #7)

The arrival of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in London brings trouble. When the sharpshooter who beats Willie at poker is murdered, Matt and India investigate. Willie is convinced the victim cheated, but no one knows how until India discovers his secret – he was a paper magician. When their list of suspects grows to include a member of the mysterious magic Collector’s Club, they uncover a spy. But who is he working for? And what does his employer want? As danger circles, secrets are revealed, and India struggles to keep her own secret hidden from Matt. But when her grandfather introduces her to a man who can change her life, India must decide if she wants her life to change at all.

What I loved:

I was really, really excited to (hopefully) see more of Matthew’s world collide with India’s in this story. There have been hints throughout the series about his former life in America and some of the antics he got into in the past, so pulling a glimmer of that into England was great.

Areas needing a touch of refinement:

The unfortunate dark side to the Wild West Show was how it was handled. I suppose there’s a conflict between the era of the book and some modern philosophies on the subject, but it still felt a little off-center.

I think my biggest struggle with this book was that the beautiful mystery of whodunit woven throughout the story takes a hard left turn at the end. I wouldn’t really call it a twist, it felt more like let’s pin the tail on the other donkey–the one that had almost no role in the story.

Overall:

Another enjoyable read, but I didn’t love this one. There were things I liked about the story, but like book 6 in the series, it felt like this one lost a bit of its sizzle compared to the other stories.

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