Play Your Cards Right

When is a card game too serious? This story made me nostalgic for family game nights. Good quick read.

Family fun vacation in a cabin. Family secrets might turn deadly. Game night and no service. Such a great fast paced read with an eerie feeling. What could go wrong

A must rest

“Play Your Cards Right” by Heather Chauvin is another excellent addition to the In The Cards series. A quick, gripping story centered on a carefully planned murder that delivers a shocking punch. Short, sharp, and impossible to put down.

"Family fun vacation in a cabin. Family secrets might turn deadly. Game night and no service. Such a great fast paced read with an eerie feeling. What could go wrong A must rest

This short story left me feeling underwhelmed. For a genre that relies on suspense, it unfortunately falls flat and didn't feel like a thriller. Overall, I found the plot to be boring and lacking the tension I look for in a good suspense read.

The most frustrating part of the story was the setup. Chauvin introduces a really interesting and unique family dynamic right off the bat, which gave the story a lot of potential. However, that dynamic doesn't end up mattering to the plot at all. The exact same events could have easily unfolded with any random group of friends or distant relatives, making the specific family ties feel like a completely wasted opportunity. It’s a quick read, but it misses the mark on delivering a gripping experience.

Thank you to the author for a copy of this short story! I absolutely loved this book in this series! When a family get together playing cards, turns into murder, who could it be?

ARC publishing June 8th. 2026.

Heather S. Chauvin brings you on a wild ride when 5 friends (family) go on a weekend getaway and someone is murdered. Love, hate, revenge, robbery and/or protection are all possible motives. Fast paced thriller with a twist you didnt see coming! Part of the 22 author collection of In The Cards Short Stories Collections

This short story was so much fun to read. It starts off feeling like a normal family vacation in Georgia with games, tension, and everyone just hanging out together, but the second the lights went out and someone ended up dead, the whole vibe changed. After that, I couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know who did it.

The way the story was written kept me suspicious of literally everybody. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something else happened that made me question it again. And when the truth finally came out? I honestly didn’t expect it. The ending was one of those endings that makes you stare at the page for a second because it leaves you wanting so much more.

I also loved the way the card game Pedro was tied into everything. It made something so simple feel tense and dangerous the entire time. This story really proves that things are not always what they seem, and the author did such a good job building suspense in such a short amount of time. Definitely one of my favorite reads from the In The Cards collection, and now I need more stories like this.

ARC publishing June 8th. 2026.

Heather S. Chauvin brings you on a wild ride when 5 friends (family) go on a weekend getaway and someone is murdered. Love, hate, revenge, robbery and/or protection are all possible motives. Fast paced thriller with a twist you didnt see coming! Part of the 22 author collection of In The Cards Short Stories Collections

I love this story so much! It's a great, fast paced murder mystery. It shows just how fast things can take a turn and how swift karma can take her swing!

A fast paced short story that turns a simple family vacation into a disaster. Great read with a ending you won't see coming!

“Play Your Cards Right” by Heather Chauvin is another excellent addition to the In The Cards series. A quick, gripping story centered on a carefully planned murder that delivers a shocking punch. Short, sharp, and impossible to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5-Star Review

A fantastic, fast-paced short thriller that pulls you in from the very first line. What starts as a simple weekend getaway quickly spirals into a gripping nightmare, and I loved how the tension built with every reveal. Demi’s realisation that the killer didn’t just act on impulse—but planned everything—gave the story an extra punch that kept me turning pages.

It’s sharp, unsettling, and exactly the kind of twisty, atmospheric read I look for in short-form thrillers. Absolutely deserving of five stars!

I have decided to review this story via the PEDRO method.

Psychological

Enthralling

Deceptive

Riveting

Original

It's no easy task to introduce so many characters into a short story but Heather mastered it! The ending I certainly did not see coming, I thought i had figured it out but it was way better than what I expected!!

A family that plays together…gets killed together? Or kills together?

They went on a family trip to reconnect. Little did they know that someone will die. For some reason, it was just them in the house. So they started pointing fingers as to who might’ve been the killer. How could it be one of them? They’re so close with each other and they love each other. Were they wrong? Or was it someone else whose goal is to tear their loving family apart by accusing each other while he waits for the right moment to strike again?