There’s something eerily compelling about a well-written psychological thriller—a fear that doesn’t rely on gore or sudden shocks, but on quiet goosebumps. The Unsold Games by Aman Gupta leans fully into that quiet unease, building a story that looks playful on the surface yet pulses with something darker underneath. It thrives on the tension of the unspoken, drawing readers into an atmosphere where the line between innocence and dread blurs with every page.
Book Details
| Detail | Information |
| Title | The Unsold Games |
| Author | Aman Gupta |
| Genre | Psychological Thriller, Suspense |
| Format | Kindle & Paperback |
| Publisher | Self-Published (Amazon & Pothi.com) |
| Release Date | July 2025 |
| Pages | 100 |
| Availability | Amazon (Kindle & Paperback), Pothi.com (Paperback) |
Review
A toy and game shop once stood as a promise—bright boxes, silent shelves, and the illusion of joy. But behind its untouched walls, two lives unraveled. One child entered with hope and left with heartbreak; another stepped in seeking wonder, only to find something far more sinister. What happens when innocence collides with betrayal, when trust becomes a trap, and when grief begins in a place meant for play?
This is the haunting stage on which The Unsold Games unfolds. At just 100 pages, Aman Gupta delivers a compact yet cinematic narrative that grips from the first line to the last. Rather than relying on shock value, the novel seeps dread slowly, allowing fear to emerge through familiar objects candles, shelves, toys that suddenly feel charged with unspeakable meaning.
The prose thrives on imagery that unsettles. Moments such as “The candle, long ignored, flickered harder—as if it had just remembered it was the only light in the room” or “Same plate. Where the meal is trust, and the knives are already on the table” linger like shadows, hinting at truths too dangerous to face head-on. Gupta excels at creating an atmosphere where the ordinary becomes uncanny, and where silence itself feels like a threat.
Unlike thrillers that race toward action, The Unsold Games moves with deliberate restraint slow, smart, and steady. The tension builds in layers, giving readers just enough breadcrumbs to follow, but never enough to feel safe. By the time the story tightens its grip, it’s no longer clear whether we are moving forward into discovery or being pulled back into something we never truly escaped.
What gives the book a fresh edge is the subtlety of its horror. Instead of loud terror, it delivers a soft, creeping dread almost feminine in its touch that slips into the mind quietly and stays there long after the last page. It’s the kind of story that doesn’t scream, but whispers and whispers can be far scarier.
About the Author – Aman Gupta
Aman Gupta brings over 18 years of professional experience in finance, valuation, internal audits, business consulting, and e-commerce management. Beyond the corporate world, he has cultivated a deep understanding of human behavior, emotion, and resilience insights that enrich his fiction with psychological authenticity.
Encouraged years ago by his manager, Simarpreet Singh, to pursue writing, Gupta finally embraced his creative side in 2025 with The Unsold Games. His storytelling blends analytical precision with emotional sensitivity, balancing corporate discipline with artistic vision.
Currently, Gupta is working on the next book in The Unsold Games series while also exploring adaptations for cinematic, OTT, and graphic novel formats. His aim is to expand the psychological universe he has created, reaching readers across platforms with layered, immersive storytelling.
Conclusion
The Unsold Games is not just a debut—it is a statement. Compact yet powerful, unsettling yet poetic, it proves that psychological thrillers don’t need excessive length to be impactful. For readers who crave slow-burn suspense, haunting atmospheres, and stories that linger like a whisper in the dark, Aman Gupta’s novel is a must-read.
It’s a reminder that sometimes the scariest games are the ones that are never played.
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