Take a photo of a barcode or cover
helenfrench 's review for:
Let's Play Murder
by Kesia Lupo
Let's set the scene. There are rumours of a secret virtual reality murder mystery game on the dark web which you can only reach accidentally from another game. But once in, the only way out is by completing the story and hopefully picking up a large payout.
Let's Play Murder begins when Veronica, who hates VR, gets sucked in while she's playing a game to cheer up her sick brother. Her, and the other participants, are a bunch of young adults who by and large don't know each other - and by and large shouldn't be trusted, either. Can they work together to solve a murder mystery?
Tonally, it's a bit odd, and maybe it's meant to be. The first setting (ie the world the teens enter from) is 'near future' I'd say, but the murder mystery VR game is set in the 80s, complete with big hair, Walkmans, chunky cell phones and interesting fashion. But it's also set in a big country mansion with a butler and cook - where all the NPCs (non-player characters) they have to interview speak like they're from significantly older times. More Downton Abbey than 1980s.
As the game progresses, it also begins to break down around them. Everyone's in mortal danger - if they die in the game, they might die in real life! This adds a nice layer of tension, and a lot more action - but a part of me would've preferred more murder mystery or getting to spend more time with the individual characters.
There are twists and turns I think a YA audience will really like - whether it worked for me personally, I'm less sure. Ultimately there were lots of interesting things going on in this book, but I liked it rather than loved it.
Let's Play Murder begins when Veronica, who hates VR, gets sucked in while she's playing a game to cheer up her sick brother. Her, and the other participants, are a bunch of young adults who by and large don't know each other - and by and large shouldn't be trusted, either. Can they work together to solve a murder mystery?
Tonally, it's a bit odd, and maybe it's meant to be. The first setting (ie the world the teens enter from) is 'near future' I'd say, but the murder mystery VR game is set in the 80s, complete with big hair, Walkmans, chunky cell phones and interesting fashion. But it's also set in a big country mansion with a butler and cook - where all the NPCs (non-player characters) they have to interview speak like they're from significantly older times. More Downton Abbey than 1980s.
As the game progresses, it also begins to break down around them. Everyone's in mortal danger - if they die in the game, they might die in real life! This adds a nice layer of tension, and a lot more action - but a part of me would've preferred more murder mystery or getting to spend more time with the individual characters.
There are twists and turns I think a YA audience will really like - whether it worked for me personally, I'm less sure. Ultimately there were lots of interesting things going on in this book, but I liked it rather than loved it.