Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Christmas Murder Game

Welcome to Endgame House where Lily and her cousins will take part in their old tradition of a cryptic treasure hunt, only this time the prize is slightly more coveted than a pile of Christmas presents! It is the game to end all games!

I really liked the premise of this book and was looking forward to it as our December read for my in-person book club as it was Christmassy, but not one of those cheesy romance Christmas books (not that there is anything wrong with those, I have enjoyed a few over the festive period!). As the title suggests, there is murder as the game unfolds, with the not so surprising reveal at the end. I have to say I think the motive was weak and shallow, I would have preferred something a bit more deep rooted to ‘justify’ all the bloodshed.

On top of the treasure hunt itself, Lily is searching for the hidden clues in the cryptic sonnets her Aunt has left them, hoping to find out more about her Mother’s death at Endgame House when she was a child. Why her Aunt didn’t just tell her earlier in her life, we will never know! The reader also has some hidden clues to look out for, though I did not realise this until I got to the end and it gave you the answers 😂

It’s an OK book, nothing to shout about, but is a quick and easy read if you have it and like a murder mystery.

Content Warnings

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved the characters, the creepy house and its rich history, and the extra puzzles dotted around the book (even though I didn't solve a single one). Liliana's Christmas game and the way it changes with her death is so clever and I was utterly intrigued how things would resolve.

I have to say the whole thing was a bit of a bloodbath. No one was safe, and while that added to the mystery and fun, it was bordering on the ridiculous. Liliana's clues were insanely complex, to the point I didn't really take them in and enjoy them. And I'm still undecided if the reveal was rushed, far-fetched, disappointing or actually quite pleasing!

It's certainly a clever, festive mystery. Not as cosy and a little more gruesome than those classics Benedict so loves, but it was a fun read for the Christmas period.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was gifted to me by a family member as I was feeling festive this year. I was hoping to feel more festive reads and I was excited going into this and I love a mystery and I love Christmas so it was a perfect mix.

This book is based on Lily Armitage. She never intended to return to Endgame House, the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deed to the house. Lily has no desire to win the house, but her aunt makes one more promise: the clues will also be revealed who really killed her mother all those years ago. So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just the family home, but to the family’s darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house and not all of them are playing fair. As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life. This Christmas is to die for . . . let the game begins.

I love a good mystery and the build-up and the twists and turns. I loved Lily and Isabelle and the aspect of the Christmas Game every year. I always love reading or hearing about people’s traditions. I loved the games that Alexandra has within the book though I could only do the wordsearch because I'm too stupid for anagrams. I loved reading Lily’s story and getting to know her even though it was mainly focused on Lily’s grief which can affect a lot of people are Christmas plus she was going through a lot of life changes during these twelve days. I loved Mrs Castle and Isabelle and was hoping they were popping in more, but they weren’t family, so they only showed up during the end. I love the LGBT relationships in these, and I wanted to hug them all.

I would have loved for this book to be bigger to get the full back story on some of these members, I was forgetting some of them because they were forgettable. I managed to guess the killer quickly but I'm putting that down to me reading a lot of thriller and mystery books. I would have loved this book to be multiple POV to see what everyone else was thinking. I wasn’t thrilled with the pregnancy aspect either, but I just don’t like pregnancy in books.

Overall this was an intense Christmas mystery and would recommend it to anyone who likes the game Clue or Knives Out.

Content Warnings

readingtotravel's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The book had a slow start and I felt like there was an overuse of similes in the beginning. However, it picked up by page 60, and from then on, Alexandra Benedict was IN HER BAG.

The mystery and story were well written and plotted out, and I love that there were games for the readers to okay along with.

I do wish we got a short epilogue or time jump to see what Lily did with Endgame and what became of the family that was left. I also wish we got to delve into the Mom's murder more at the end. We did get the why but the why felt kind if surface level.

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suey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book would be great for people who love to solve the puzzles along with the characters. That's a main focus of this plot... the clues they have to solve.

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cassie7e's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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sophiepearson's review

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was fine. It was a fun concept and I enjoyed reading it as I wanted something festive. However, the characters were quite 2D and I felt it was a little obvious about halfway through who the culprit was. Some of the emotional responses to the murder of family members was weird - everyone just carried on as normal the next day.

Also, incest that never got called out?? A bit messed up..

But if you can get past some of this and are looking for a light-hearted non-serious festive crime novel, this will do the trick.

Content Warnings

larareads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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