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A review by kbranfield
A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah
3.0
A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah is a perplexing mystery within a mystery. Following their move from London to the bucolic countryside, Justine Merrison begins getting a series threatening phone calls she believes might be tied to her fourteen year old daughter Ellen's writing project.
Having recently quit her stressful job in television, Justine is looking forward to doing Nothing. The first few months of life in their new house are idyllic but the first disquieting phone calls occurs on the same day she finds out Ellen is upset about her friend George's expulsion from school. When Justine tries to intervene on George's behalf, she is stunned to learn there is no George so therefore, there was no expulsion. Despite a few doubts, Justine believes Ellen's story and she is determined to get to the bottom of what happened and find out why the school is lying to her. At the same time, she continues receiving telephone calls that are increasingly sinister. She is also growing concerned about Ellen's writing project about a murder mystery that appears to be based on real life events but her search for more information leads to one dead end after another. Believing all of these events are somehow linked, Justine begins her own investigation but will she uncover the truth before it is too late?
The premise of A Game for All the Family is certainly unique but the execution of the story falls a little flat. The chapters alternate between the present day events and Ellen's story and while, initially both story arcs are interesting, there is little progression in either storyline. The dual storylines are written in two distinct voices but Ellen's murder mystery is so incredibly implausible that it eventually detracts from the main storyline. With each incredulous plot twist, the novel becomes a convoluted mess of highly improbable coincidences.
All in all, this latest release by Sophie Hannah's is an entertaining but overly long and somewhat bizarre mystery that readers will have to suspend disbelief to enjoy.
Having recently quit her stressful job in television, Justine is looking forward to doing Nothing. The first few months of life in their new house are idyllic but the first disquieting phone calls occurs on the same day she finds out Ellen is upset about her friend George's expulsion from school. When Justine tries to intervene on George's behalf, she is stunned to learn there is no George so therefore, there was no expulsion. Despite a few doubts, Justine believes Ellen's story and she is determined to get to the bottom of what happened and find out why the school is lying to her. At the same time, she continues receiving telephone calls that are increasingly sinister. She is also growing concerned about Ellen's writing project about a murder mystery that appears to be based on real life events but her search for more information leads to one dead end after another. Believing all of these events are somehow linked, Justine begins her own investigation but will she uncover the truth before it is too late?
The premise of A Game for All the Family is certainly unique but the execution of the story falls a little flat. The chapters alternate between the present day events and Ellen's story and while, initially both story arcs are interesting, there is little progression in either storyline. The dual storylines are written in two distinct voices but Ellen's murder mystery is so incredibly implausible that it eventually detracts from the main storyline. With each incredulous plot twist, the novel becomes a convoluted mess of highly improbable coincidences.
All in all, this latest release by Sophie Hannah's is an entertaining but overly long and somewhat bizarre mystery that readers will have to suspend disbelief to enjoy.