In a Nutshell: An intriguing short story collection that matches the tagline perfectly. Varied storylines, layered characters, insightful commentary on human behaviour. Recommended!

This collection of twenty-four stories has no introductory note. But the tagline promises us “Tales of Intrigue and deception”, and that is exactly what we get. Considering how the themes are a reflection of the darker side of human nature, this is not a book you would pick up to be uplifted about humankind. Rather, it is a great option when you want a darkly introspective work that highlights how humans aren’t exactly as they appear.

The twenty-four tales herein span varied characters and situations, but they all hide a twisty secret. Every story involves some or the other kind of deception, but it doesn’t just stick to this titular theme. There is a focus on several difficult topics such as mental health, abusive relationships, hidden crimes, addiction, adultery, and so on. The range of human emotions and human nature on display in these tales is striking. I love how the stories didn’t feature hardened criminals or alcoholics or rapists despite the dark theme. All main characters were ordinary people hiding extraordinary secrets.

As is common with short fiction collections, not all the stories function not the same level. The endings were a mixed bag. Some of the twists were foreseeable (but still good), some of them came out of nowhere, and a few didn’t make any sense, at least to me.

My biggest struggle was with the language used in a few of the stories. It seemed to be some local vernacular (Perhaps an Irish dialect, as the author is from N. Ireland?) so it was very tough for me to understand. The distracting lingo made me unable to focus on the actual plot. Thankfully, this wasn’t applicable to a majority of the book.

Another issue, again applicable only to a few of the stories, was that the characters weren’t very clear at the start. There needed to be either a better introduction of the characters so that we knew what was happening. The confusion is more as there is no gradual beginning to the story; we dive in at the deep end of the action.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twenty-four stories, ten stories reached or crossed the four-star mark. The rest were spread across 1-3.5 stars, so quite a wide range of experiences for me this time. These were my top favourites with 4.5+ stars:
🌺 Memory Tap - An old man with memory issues recollects his days with his late wife as he's struggling with his current daily routine. Don't forget to read between the lines as you go through this tale. It reminded me of Claire Keegan's So Late in the Day. Would have been an easy five star had it answered all my questions. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌺 Bobby-Dazzler - Never thought such a fun title would be home to such a bittersweet story. Loved it! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌺 Miss Win - A long but deserving title story. Don't want to reveal any spoilers, but this fits the theme to the core. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌺 'Bad Boy' Blade - The “narrator” made this dark tale special. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌺 Scar - When your memory doesn't cooperate with you, whom can you trust? Loved how the uncertainty of the narrator spills out in the writing. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
🌺 The Spare Room - A bittersweet story about an old woman who is desperate to be robbed. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Honourable mentions with four stars:
❀ Angel - Whether we admit it or not, we judge by appearances, at least to some extent. This story proves the flaw of this habit.
❀ No One Will Know - Having this come from the first-person narration of a teenager makes it stronger. I wish the foretelling at the start could have been avoided. The shock would have been greater in that case.
❀ Perfect Day - A little guessable and yet engrossing.
❀ Beautiful - A portrayal of what being a vulnerable person is actually like. Love the realism of this one.

All in all, I mostly enjoyed this thought-provoking reflection on the darker shades of humankind. And I would have loved it even more had I been comfortable with the dialect used in some of the tales.

A shout-out to that stunning cover! The minute I saw it, I knew I was a goner – no way I could resist getting this book! I love it when indie authors invest in their book covers.

Recommended to short fiction lovers looking for twisty tales of twisty humans.

3.3 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.

My thanks to BooksGoSocial for providing the DRC of “Miss Win: Tales of Intrigue and Deception” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I really enjoyed this one! Rosemary Mairs masterfully gives as a compilation of shorts stories, varied writing style and very memorable stories and characters, even in the short space of a few pages. It was a pleasure to read, I found it refreshing, fast and challenging that uneasiness in the most delicious way. The morally grey characters, the circumstances in which we don't really know what choices we would make until we're faced with those choices, highly recommended, very enjoyable indeed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.

One of the best collections I have read in a while. Every story complemented each other so well, even though they were all so distinct and unique. You never knew what the outcome would be and the ending was always surprising (at least to me). Funny, witty and difficult to put down!