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A review by bookishraccoon
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Hmm, so there’s a lot to say about this one!
I was really hoping to love this story, and had high expectations… But this book honestly didn’t deliver.
I thought the format choice of the book was an interesting choice- cool idea but took away from the story itself. The author includes a game for the reader, where you need to identify the ‘twelve days of anagrams’. But due to this, the wording or formatting at times is unusual & throws the reader off when trying to just read the story itself. I didn’t partake in the challenge, and while it was a nice touch- I thought it could’ve done without. Maybe that’s just me?
Back to having high expectations- maybe that’s my fault once again? I always get too hopeful for a good story, and get incredibly disappointed (far too often).. Regardless, I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries! So when I saw this on Amazon, a Christmas Murder Mystery.. I thought initially, Sign me up!
The premise itself is intriguing, relatives getting together for an annual Christmas competition game- but this year ALOTS changed! This year they’re competing for the manor that their dear Liliana had owned. And what thickens the plot? Our main character Lily receives a letter from her Aunt Liliana before she’s passed away.. insisting that she attends the games, and promising information about her long deceased mother. But can she face her estranged cousins, and her past that she’s tried to lock away?
So, the premise/location definitely hooked me in- but I found the characters even completely lacking.. As the reader, I feel like we barely even know anything about our main character Lily.. I understand she’s quiet, & tends to not show her emotions.. But after reading all of that, I still feel like I barely know anything about her! Lol Her love interest (I won’t spoil) seems forced in my opinion, and the back story there seemed rushed. Sara (ironic as I have the same name) is just a mean girl, which just makes the story annoying. Some characters they barely touched base on.. With that said, the only characters I liked were Gray & Mrs. Castle - people that I actually would’ve loved to learn more about! Lol
Next part is a total spoiler if you plan on reading the book(heads up)!
Maybe I watch too much horror.. lol But I knew the Killer situation early on in the book as well! Tom gives total Matthew Liliard Scream vibes. And I remember pausing for a moment (way before the idea was introduced about there being more than 1 killer). I was disappointed to hear about the dynamic triage they had going.. There was so much more that could’ve been done with that in my opinion. So that was a major disappointment (hate to gripe here).. lol
And the whole reasoning they did it??? The whole story could’ve been reworked.. ugh, disappointing but this book wasn’t ‘terrible’, it was just okay in my opinion.
As somebody that finally got over being sick, & looked forward to finishing this book.. it was just disappointing.. but CHEERS to the next Christmas book on our TBR!!
2.75 Rating ⭐️⭐️+
I was really hoping to love this story, and had high expectations… But this book honestly didn’t deliver.
I thought the format choice of the book was an interesting choice- cool idea but took away from the story itself. The author includes a game for the reader, where you need to identify the ‘twelve days of anagrams’. But due to this, the wording or formatting at times is unusual & throws the reader off when trying to just read the story itself. I didn’t partake in the challenge, and while it was a nice touch- I thought it could’ve done without. Maybe that’s just me?
Back to having high expectations- maybe that’s my fault once again? I always get too hopeful for a good story, and get incredibly disappointed (far too often).. Regardless, I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries! So when I saw this on Amazon, a Christmas Murder Mystery.. I thought initially, Sign me up!
The premise itself is intriguing, relatives getting together for an annual Christmas competition game- but this year ALOTS changed! This year they’re competing for the manor that their dear Liliana had owned. And what thickens the plot? Our main character Lily receives a letter from her Aunt Liliana before she’s passed away.. insisting that she attends the games, and promising information about her long deceased mother. But can she face her estranged cousins, and her past that she’s tried to lock away?
So, the premise/location definitely hooked me in- but I found the characters even completely lacking.. As the reader, I feel like we barely even know anything about our main character Lily.. I understand she’s quiet, & tends to not show her emotions.. But after reading all of that, I still feel like I barely know anything about her! Lol Her love interest (I won’t spoil) seems forced in my opinion, and the back story there seemed rushed. Sara (ironic as I have the same name) is just a mean girl, which just makes the story annoying. Some characters they barely touched base on.. With that said, the only characters I liked were Gray & Mrs. Castle - people that I actually would’ve loved to learn more about! Lol
Next part is a total spoiler if you plan on reading the book(heads up)!
Maybe I watch too much horror.. lol But I knew the Killer situation early on in the book as well! Tom gives total Matthew Liliard Scream vibes. And I remember pausing for a moment (way before the idea was introduced about there being more than 1 killer). I was disappointed to hear about the dynamic triage they had going.. There was so much more that could’ve been done with that in my opinion. So that was a major disappointment (hate to gripe here).. lol
And the whole reasoning they did it??? The whole story could’ve been reworked.. ugh, disappointing but this book wasn’t ‘terrible’, it was just okay in my opinion.
As somebody that finally got over being sick, & looked forward to finishing this book.. it was just disappointing.. but CHEERS to the next Christmas book on our TBR!!
2.75 Rating ⭐️⭐️+