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pumpkin_am's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
djreads's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was fun. Just the mood I needed.
daisyday's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My rating is 3.5 ⭐. For my first Alexis Hall book I very much enjoyed it! Clue vibes with a modern twist! This book follows Liza and Hanna as they navigate a ruff patch in their marriage, with a getaway turned real life murder mystery night! I did find the writing a little confusing once I'm a while but I will 100% be checking out more books by this author!
bboduffy's review
A cozy mystery leaning into all the genre tropes and set in the Scotish highlands during a holiday getaway. What's not to love? (The part where it's not available on Kindle)
hedonicbooks's review
4.0
Ok, listen up, this book was such a treat!
Among thrillers, detective and police procedural type books, murder mysteries are my jam! I love a good mystery and I love a good murder. Uhm, let's rephrase that. I don't love murder, but I do enjoy reading about it. Nope, still not better. Let's move on.
I've been a big fan of Columbo, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes ever since I was a kid, so this book was just up my alley.
Murder mystery + a bit of domestic drama + Alexis Hall's writing = a fabulous time.
I loved the structure of the book, even the chapter names were brilliant. The pacing is quite perfect, the characters are a bunch of ridiculous individuals, and those things combined made the entire experience so much fun.
However, murderous aspect aside, what I liked most was the portrayal of Liza and Hanna's relationship. Ah, that got to me on a very personal level because, you know, married life really is hard. Life in general is hard. I don't know, I got extremely emotional reading those parts because I could see myself in so many of them.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Rakuten Kobo for giving me a copy of this book. I am extremely grateful.
Among thrillers, detective and police procedural type books, murder mysteries are my jam! I love a good mystery and I love a good murder. Uhm, let's rephrase that. I don't love murder, but I do enjoy reading about it. Nope, still not better. Let's move on.
I've been a big fan of Columbo, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes ever since I was a kid, so this book was just up my alley.
Murder mystery + a bit of domestic drama + Alexis Hall's writing = a fabulous time.
I loved the structure of the book, even the chapter names were brilliant. The pacing is quite perfect, the characters are a bunch of ridiculous individuals, and those things combined made the entire experience so much fun.
However, murderous aspect aside, what I liked most was the portrayal of Liza and Hanna's relationship. Ah, that got to me on a very personal level because, you know, married life really is hard. Life in general is hard. I don't know, I got extremely emotional reading those parts because I could see myself in so many of them.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Rakuten Kobo for giving me a copy of this book. I am extremely grateful.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
I was totally here for this over the top, funny and snarky modern take on the classic "Clue" style murder mystery. Trapped in a remote Scottish B&B as one by one guests start getting murdered, married couple Liza and Hanna work together to figure out what's going on. Ostensibly there to work on their marriage, the two actually grow closer as they have to communicate and band together before the murderer comes for them next.
The cast of characters are hilariously colorful and the sarcasm and witty dialog was 10/10. I LOVED every second of this murder mystery, especially that Liza was a true-crime podcaster. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a fresh take on a classic plot. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.
The cast of characters are hilariously colorful and the sarcasm and witty dialog was 10/10. I LOVED every second of this murder mystery, especially that Liza was a true-crime podcaster. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a fresh take on a classic plot. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.
katie_2711's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lesbrary's review
I completely understand the Clue comparison: this is a murder mystery that is more wacky hijinks than serious drama, and there are also more direct references to the game/movie. The writing also reminds me of the wit and weirdness of Clue dialogue. Hanna remarks, "It’s like she’s come to a costume party as the abstract concept of heteronormative sex.” An awkward moment is described as: "the words still hung in the air like really unwelcome snowflakes." All together, these elements make it feel like a murder mystery party performance.
There's an interesting contrast between this theatrical setting and characters with the sometimes painfully realistic depiction of a marriage on the rocks. The know each other deeply and care about each other a lot, but every disagreement is connected to every other argument they've ever had. There are layers of subtext to conversations. They walk on eggshells and take offence easily with each other--while also being protective of the other to anyone else. I think it worked well to ground the story and it gave it stakes, even when the murders don't have that same gravity.
There were lots of elements I loved, but I did feel like the middle dragged a bit. I was expecting to rave about this, but I didn't connect quite as much as I expected to. That's an intangible, vague complaint though, and I still liked it overall and had fun reading it.
Full review at the Lesbrary. (Review goes up Dec 31st.)
There's an interesting contrast between this theatrical setting and characters with the sometimes painfully realistic depiction of a marriage on the rocks. The know each other deeply and care about each other a lot, but every disagreement is connected to every other argument they've ever had. There are layers of subtext to conversations. They walk on eggshells and take offence easily with each other--while also being protective of the other to anyone else. I think it worked well to ground the story and it gave it stakes, even when the murders don't have that same gravity.
There were lots of elements I loved, but I did feel like the middle dragged a bit. I was expecting to rave about this, but I didn't connect quite as much as I expected to. That's an intangible, vague complaint though, and I still liked it overall and had fun reading it.
Full review at the Lesbrary. (Review goes up Dec 31st.)