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baggedmilk's review against another edition
writing style is super pretentious! was looking for something with some dark humour but this book probably likes the smell of its own farts.
lozzypop1998's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
treytreyy's review against another edition
4.0
A Christmas murder mystery set in the countryside during a snowstorm. lt’s a locked room mystery that becomes a bit unhinged, but it is ultimately entertaining.
themysterymaven's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Anagrams, clues, hidden keys, secret rooms…all to whittle down one family and declare an heir to their famous mansion and all its fortunes. And by whittle down, we mean murders of course…
This novel has me divided down the middle. It’s a locked-room mystery that’s inventive and interactive: the author offers the reader hidden puzzles to ponder while in the grips of the story! The setting is secluded, snow swirls about adding to the isolation, and there’s a The Shining-esque hedge maze to add to the ambience. It all adds up to set us off on a thriller of an adventure, engaging readers in their own games in parallel to the cast of characters who are vying to win an inheritance against a backdrop of family drama, suspicious deaths, and deadly dysfunction.
But, for me, the plot slowly starts to slide downhill in a disappointing way. Character development becomes underwhelming, and there’s a complete lack of context given surrounding some of the circumstances that I frustratingly cannot divulge without spoiling the situation. But here’s a clue for you: Proceed to the Goodreads page and unspoil the first hidden Reader’s Question, and all shall be revealed
Anagrams, clues, hidden keys, secret rooms…all to whittle down one family and declare an heir to their famous mansion and all its fortunes. And by whittle down, we mean murders of course…
This novel has me divided down the middle. It’s a locked-room mystery that’s inventive and interactive: the author offers the reader hidden puzzles to ponder while in the grips of the story! The setting is secluded, snow swirls about adding to the isolation, and there’s a The Shining-esque hedge maze to add to the ambience. It all adds up to set us off on a thriller of an adventure, engaging readers in their own games in parallel to the cast of characters who are vying to win an inheritance against a backdrop of family drama, suspicious deaths, and deadly dysfunction.
But, for me, the plot slowly starts to slide downhill in a disappointing way. Character development becomes underwhelming, and there’s a complete lack of context given surrounding some of the circumstances that I frustratingly cannot divulge without spoiling the situation. But here’s a clue for you: Proceed to the Goodreads page and unspoil the first hidden Reader’s Question, and all shall be revealed
viana_dream's review against another edition
1.0
Me es imposible terminarlo, lo he intentado pero es que no me llama para seguir con él
jessica_reading_writing's review against another edition
3.0
Overview: I'd seen this book around a lot and it sounded like the perfect Christmas whodunnit so I joined in on the book club read. It started out full of promise but unfortunately it fell flat for me pretty quick. I didn't find any of the characters very interesting and they lacked depth. The clues were clever, but the characters seemed to work them out within seconds! I didn't find it very believable and the ending was a bit.. meh. But overall it was an ok read, but not great.
Good Points: The setting of the house was pretty interesting and I did enjoy the sonnets and clues, but they just got figured out too quickly. I didn't guess the killer (but then again I didn't particular care a great deal about who it was!) Lily was the only character I liked, but even then she was a bit annoying ag time.
Not so Good Points: I think I've mentioned most of them already. It was just a bit disappointing and I didn't find myself itching to pick it up to read. I was expecting it to be some clever Agatha Christie type book, but it wasn't the case.
Good Points: The setting of the house was pretty interesting and I did enjoy the sonnets and clues, but they just got figured out too quickly. I didn't guess the killer (but then again I didn't particular care a great deal about who it was!) Lily was the only character I liked, but even then she was a bit annoying ag time.
Not so Good Points: I think I've mentioned most of them already. It was just a bit disappointing and I didn't find myself itching to pick it up to read. I was expecting it to be some clever Agatha Christie type book, but it wasn't the case.
abalderson's review against another edition
3.0
My first Alexandra Benedict book and I did thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a cosy murder mystery that made for a really good alternative Christmas read to the traditional christmassy romances.
While I did enjoy the plot and grew to love each of the characters in their own way, I did find parts of the book a little confusing and repetitive. There are a lot of characters to get your head round at first and it didn’t help that two of the main characters have very similar names; Lily & Liliana. It then became very repetitive throughout the storyline which was a little annoying.
The plot was very cleverly written with each of the different riddles and also the riddles for the readers to find but that started to make the book harder to follow and made me loose a bit of interest. The writing also flips between 3rd and 1st person a lot adding to it not being an easy read.
Whilst there were also intriguing twists and turns, I did find the main ending quite predictable and was able to guess the outcome early on. However, there was a secondary twist in the ending which did catch me off guard and I found shocking, hooking me till the end. I do also think the ending could have answered more questions as I did feel like there was still a lot to resolve and it was left quite open ended with no hint as to a second book.
Overall it was a good murder mystery Christmas read which I would recommend, but it is one you have to really pay attention too rather than an easy to follow along traditional Christmassy read.
While I did enjoy the plot and grew to love each of the characters in their own way, I did find parts of the book a little confusing and repetitive. There are a lot of characters to get your head round at first and it didn’t help that two of the main characters have very similar names; Lily & Liliana. It then became very repetitive throughout the storyline which was a little annoying.
The plot was very cleverly written with each of the different riddles and also the riddles for the readers to find but that started to make the book harder to follow and made me loose a bit of interest. The writing also flips between 3rd and 1st person a lot adding to it not being an easy read.
Whilst there were also intriguing twists and turns, I did find the main ending quite predictable and was able to guess the outcome early on. However, there was a secondary twist in the ending which did catch me off guard and I found shocking, hooking me till the end. I do also think the ending could have answered more questions as I did feel like there was still a lot to resolve and it was left quite open ended with no hint as to a second book.
Overall it was a good murder mystery Christmas read which I would recommend, but it is one you have to really pay attention too rather than an easy to follow along traditional Christmassy read.
ageekmimi's review against another edition
4.0
Ero indecisa tra le 3 e le 4 stelle, il libro è ben scritto, scorrevole e coinvolgente... peccato per il fatto che sia un po' prevedibile. In generale è una lettura piacevole e lo consiglierei agli appassionati di enigmi e gialli.