Surprising Literary Fiction
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (August 31, 2022), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.

Shell Game was a surprising literary fiction addition to the long running Amazon Original Stories series of short stories which are usually based around genre themes such as crime, mystery, horror, comedy or memoir. It is literary fiction in the sense that nothing much really happens. We observe the vacation of an extended family centred around a sister and brother, their partners and their children. We follow the inner thoughts of Mark as he sees his wife's brother and sister-in-law's relationship while he doubts the former's money-making schemes. He is shocked to discover a racist tinge to his brother-in-law's ideas. Mark admires a young lifeguard's physique as we ponder his perhaps latent homosexuality. Then it ends, except for a sudden leap into the future, when the kids are grown-up and we suspect that nothing much has really happened in between. This is probable cause for an Ambiguous Ending Alert ™, but this was definitely something different from the usual run of the mill Amazon Originals. Polarized reviews seem to be the result.

Shell Game is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released on August 31, 2022 as part of the Getaway Collection of short stories where "Secrets follow you everywhere. Perfect vacation or last resort? In this collection of short psychological thrillers, bestselling authors bring trouble to paradise. Today’s itinerary: surfing, sailing, hiking, facing your worst fears... Most dream vacations never live up to expectations—but few cause this many nightmares."

Trivia and Link
You can watch for current and past Amazon Original Kindle short stories which are usually paired with their Audible Original narrations at an Amazon page here (link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region). ( )