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A review by mysterymanon
A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge
4.0
The Cluesletter | @mysterymanon (IG) | @mysterymanon (TT)
A MURDER AT BALMORAL by Chris McGeorge is a twisty-turny whodunnit featuring members of the British royal family.
(Note: this is completely fictional royal family set in an alternate universe where King Edward never abdicated the throne in 1936.)
It’s Christmas Day at Balmoral, and by King Eric’s special request, no one is present but the royal family. The only staff is a security guard and Jon, the king’s chef. But then the king drops dead during the after-dinner toast—was the whisky poisoned? With the security guard missing, chef Jon becomes the only neutral third-party, and is quickly appointed detective, tasked with finding the killer.
This has to be one of the twistiest mysteries I’ve read. It starts slow, but after the 50% mark, it really picks up. By 80% I was reading obsessively, and by 90%, I was shocked. There are so many small clues scattered throughout the book, some that I recognized as clues and some that seemed unimportant, and they all are tied up nicely in the end. Family secrets and thirsts for power and revenge abound, and I never knew who to point the finger at.
I wasn’t a big fan of the writing, which tended to get bogged down by details, and the characters veered on cartoonish. As the protagonist, Jon started off almost pitiful—he’s an immigrant from Barbados, with a difficult childhood before working his way to the top of his career, and yet didn’t have the assertion or confidence I’d expect from a top chef. But by the end of the book, he’s a changed man, and I ended up loving his development.
My advice? Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
A MURDER AT BALMORAL by Chris McGeorge is a twisty-turny whodunnit featuring members of the British royal family.
(Note: this is completely fictional royal family set in an alternate universe where King Edward never abdicated the throne in 1936.)
It’s Christmas Day at Balmoral, and by King Eric’s special request, no one is present but the royal family. The only staff is a security guard and Jon, the king’s chef. But then the king drops dead during the after-dinner toast—was the whisky poisoned? With the security guard missing, chef Jon becomes the only neutral third-party, and is quickly appointed detective, tasked with finding the killer.
This has to be one of the twistiest mysteries I’ve read. It starts slow, but after the 50% mark, it really picks up. By 80% I was reading obsessively, and by 90%, I was shocked. There are so many small clues scattered throughout the book, some that I recognized as clues and some that seemed unimportant, and they all are tied up nicely in the end. Family secrets and thirsts for power and revenge abound, and I never knew who to point the finger at.
I wasn’t a big fan of the writing, which tended to get bogged down by details, and the characters veered on cartoonish. As the protagonist, Jon started off almost pitiful—he’s an immigrant from Barbados, with a difficult childhood before working his way to the top of his career, and yet didn’t have the assertion or confidence I’d expect from a top chef. But by the end of the book, he’s a changed man, and I ended up loving his development.
My advice? Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.