A Tricky Game by Seraphima Bogomolova – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘A Tricky Game is a psychological novella telling the story of a young enigmatic woman, who finds herself involved in an edgy game of three men, whose genuine intents, second agendas, and secret longings become closely intertwined with her own destiny, creating unexpected twists that place her in front of challenging life choices.’

A Tricky Game is a psychological thriller novella written by Seraphima Bogomolova featuring a young woman, Angela Moreaux, who is facing too many uncanny incidents in her life.

It begins with Angela entering into a professional agreement with Kazimir Stankevitch, a Russian aluminium magnate, who fancies the former. Little does she realise the dangerous game she is entering into and gets shot in the very same evening.  On the other end, a certain person is concerned only about her security and brings in more players into the game by summoning one of her former business associates to keep an eye on her. Eventually, as events unfold in the most drastic fashion, Angela is left with difficult choices to make, regarding her life. 

The diversity of the novel was the first intriguing factor – a troubled woman in the world of business, a clash between two billionaires, a pro-communist regime housekeeper still reminiscing the Soviet era, and an element of romance in between all these and all other aspects which intensified the tricky game. The concise, yet complex nature of this novel is another aspect of this novel which could be appreciated for wherein an average reader can finish the book in in 90 minutes with full concentration (since you’d need it).

 Unfortunately, there are some disappointing aspects about this novel too and I’d start with Angela’s character – seemingly arrogant and too confident of herself; not the best of characteristics you’d expect in an ideal protagonist. Also, the length of the novel is also an enemy, considering how, I felt the ending, while it was beautiful, it was also a little abrupt, closing out only one aspect of the game. Another rather trivial issue I had was with editing; where it had some obvious typographical errors (which I’m sure would’ve been corrected by now for the subsequent editions). 

On the whole, I’d say that this story is ideal if you want some good, quick read and especially if you happen to be a fan of psychological thrillers, I’d say this would be an enjoyable read and could also be used to kill time while waiting for flight, or appointments or anything else.  On the whole, I’d say that this book was a good read, and I’d award it a solid six on ten.  

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy