Reviews

The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle

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cutenanya's review

2.0

The Murder Game is a YA mystery that follows Luke Chase, a student at a boarding school where a teacher is found murdered. Luke tries to clear his best friend Oscar’s name, who is accused of the crime, by using his survival skills and investigating the case himself. Along the way, he uncovers secrets, lies, and danger.

I was disappointed by this book. There are so many illogical points about this book I don’t know where to begin. As with the problem of most sleuthing novels, when there’s a murder, you don’t try to stick your noses into police business. Police is certainly not dumb and I think the characters interefering with police investigations is what makes a murder harder to solve.

Then, I have serious trouble liking any of the character. From the synopsis, I was picturing Luke as a great guy helping his friend but turns out he’s not very moralistic himself and I have a hard time following the decisions he made. Then, there’s Pippa, the mysterious British girl with a dark past and Luke’s potential love interest. She’s proably the only likable character in the novel with an attitude.

Perhaps the worst thing in this book is the staff of the school. They have the worst moral standards of all and I would never send my kids to a school that pick staff like this.

I would not recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a realistic and engaging mystery. It was predictable, clichéd, and poorly written. The title and the cover also have nothing to do with the plot, which is misleading and frustrating. This book was a waste of time and money.

mtayl341's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

temboidc's review

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3.0

i understand you were kidnapped luke shut up

ellaschupbach15's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

melbsreads's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content warnings: death, murder, kidnapping, violence, blood, animal death, cheating (in the past), stalking, gaslighting, emotional abuse

So here's the thing: I was far more interested in Luke's past than I was in his present. Like, the kidnapping stuff? FASCINATING. I wanted to know more. I wanted to read about it in detail. The murder in the present and the kids trying to work out who killed their teacher's wife and why? Eh. Like, I understand that it's a boarding school and all. But I genuinely *didn't* understand why these kids were SO invested in their teacher's private lives.

Anyway. This was FINE, but also I've already forgotten who the murderer was and I finished it five days ago. Wild.