Tuesday likes to keep herself to herself. When the very wealthy Vincent Pryce dies, a mysterious game takes place. The winner was to be one of the heirs. A scavenger hunt takes place. Tuesday and her friends take part and soon find themselves sucked into a vortex of the unknown. Then throw into the mix murder, puzzles and ghosts.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book but when I did, I could not read this fun book quick enough. There are quite a lot of names to remember er. Theres another background story that's quite intriguing. There are some funny parts in this story. This is a delightful mystery within a mystery. A deftly written tale that's interwoven with suspense and humour.

I would like to thank Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author Kate Racculia for my ARC in exchange for an honest review .

Tuesday Mooney is a researcher in Boston General's fundraising office. However when a fundraising auction must be suspended, as silver-haired man wearing a cape suddenly screams and drops down dead, Tuesday's quiet life is turned on its head. The deceased Vincent Pryce has, in anticipation of his death, set up a treasure hunt, however neither the rules nor the final prize are entirely clear. But Tuesday is determined to play the game.

Nothing is quite what it seems in this story. Who is the handsome Nathaniel Arches who turns up to the fundraising auction? What is the real goal of Pryce's treasure hunt? What is the link between the Arches family and Pryce? Several stands of the tale are gradually woven together and secrets from the past are revealed.

I loved the idea of the treasure hunt in this story, but actually found it very hard to get involved in the book. There seemed to be a couple of clues, which lead to 'finds' for different characters and set up the 51 players who were to continue in the game, but at that point as far as I could see the hunt fizzled out and the focus was on the large funeral 'party' which Pryce had arranged before his death.

Several of the characters in this book are lonely and nursing the wounds of loss. Tuesday's best friend disappeared when they were 16. Certain that Abby is dead, Tuesday attempts to speak to Abby's ghost and converses with her. Meanwhile Tuesday's teenaged neighbour, Dorry is grieving for her Mum and Tuesday's friend, Dex, ends yet another relationship as he struggles to the find the partner and life which will make him feel whole. However, despite the fact we see a human side to these characters I found it hard to relate to any of them. There is also a host of minor characters who become involved in 'the game' and I rather stopped trying to keep track of them. I think I just found them all too quirky.

There are many nods in this book to Edgar Allan Poe who was born in Boston. The story moves at a fast pace. It is cleverly written and I am sure that there will be many who really enjoy it. It just wasn't for me, however, and I didn't feel engaged by it in any way.

With my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of the book.

This book took me somewhat by surprise as from the blurb I thought it was a book about a treasure hunt and imagined something like ‘The Amazing Race’. In a small way that’s what it is but that’s just one layer. It’s also about friendships, relationships, love and grief. Tuesday Mooney is a bit of an odd ball character (nothing wrong with that) and she was a great central character. While it’s an enjoyable read I did feel it was a bit long. I’m not sure what genre this will be classed as but I hope it draws the right readers.

Apart from the fact I was not enamoured by the title of this novel, I adored this wildly entertaining read from Kate Racculia, that teems and overflows with literary and cultural references to horror, the gothic, the spooky, ghosts, haunted houses, and witches whilst touching on the serious issues of loss and grief, set in Boston. 33 year old goth, the acerbic Tuesday Mooney is the sister Wednesday Addams never had, a self contained loner with her cat, with just one friend, the gay banker, Poindexter, aka 'Dex'. In her head, the ghost of her best friend, 16 year old friend, Abby Hobbes, who disappeared in Salem, is constantly engaging with her. It was with Abby that Tuesday went on night time forays with candles, revelling in their identity as witches, practicing spells, using ouija boards and so much more. When Abby went missing, Tuesday was left broken and guilt ridden, but her interest in horror, ghosts and death has remained, although she has been left with an inbuilt fear of becoming close to others, and an inability to trust.

The offbeat Tuesday was brought up by her unconventional parents with the radical dogma that permeated her childhood, that the 4th pig lived off the grid, which is why the wolf never bothered him. Which is why it is slightly ironic that it is online where Tuesday feels most at home, using her gift for finding out things, much like a PI, working at the Boston General Hospital, she profiles and researches rich Bostonians for the fundraisers to be able to push the right buttons to secure donations for the hospital. Which is how she comes to be volunteering at the The Four Seasons Hotel Auction, where the eccentric billionaire, Vincent Pryce (who else???), renowned collector of the weird and the haunted, dies in dramatic fashion. However, Pryce has not finished with the living world, in a obituary written by himself he instigates a city wide treasure hunt with clues inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. However, beware, nothing is as it seems as Tuesday and her cohorts, Dex, the rich Nathaniel Arches whom she finds herself strangely drawn to, and the young Dorry, harbouring her own loss, tutored by Tuesday, are to discover.

Racculia writes a scintillatingly vibrant story of adventure, the supernatural, family, love, friendship, of the blackest of villainy, death and life altering challenges that beguiles with its colour, vitality and charm. The highlights for me are its quirkiest characters, Tuesday, of course, Dex, drag queen extraordinaire with his love of karaoke and Madonna, Dorry who so wants Amelia Earhart's haunted goggles, believing that she will once again be able to see her mother again, and Edgar, hurting with all that he is keeping secret and so many others. This may not be a book for all readers, but it was for me, I loved it, and its core theme and focus on the life you live, it just might be what you are looking for too. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

I had difficulties in reviewing this book.
The main characters were beautifully described in detail, the book has humour and the basis for the storyline is great and different.
However - I found the pace of the book to be too slow (for me, not necessarily every reader). I wanted to speed read pages. I was hoping for more treasure hunt clue solving but really this is not what the book is about.
I'm pleased to have read the book but it does not go down as one I will always remember

Thank you to Harper Collins and Kate Racculia for the ARC of Tuesday Mooney Wore Black. How much did I love this story? Quirky, unique, and choc full of twists and turns and ghostly elements. Entwined in all this fun is the serious subject of processing grief and there are some touching moments, beautifully observed. I also loved the relationships between the characters. A wonderful read. 5 super stars

I do love me a splosh of bonkers and this book was definitely of that ilk! Tuesday is working at a charity event when eccentric billionaire Vincent Pryce (with a y) drops down dead. It then transpires that his fortune is up for grabs; to the winner of a Edgar Allan Poe inspired treasure hunt. Think Gothic Ready Player One and you're kinda on the right trail. Tuesday is tipped off about the hunt by her best friend and teams up with the teenage neighbour she tutors to try and solve the first clue. It isn't too long before a facebook group crops up and many others join the hunt. Tuesday is one step ahead all the way as she follows the clues and pools her resources in a desperate attempt to get to the final stage. And what a stage that turns out to be - more of which I can't say here due to spoilers.
This book led me a merry dance all the way through with its eclectic cast of characters all a little quirky in their own ways, some of whom are also a little on the shady side. We have Tuesday who is still haunted by the disappearance of her childhood friend, Dex her best friend whose love life leaves a lot to be desired, Dorry her teen neighbour who is desperate to fit in at school, and Archie a reclusive millionaire with his own reasons for wanting in. An eclectic mix indeed which shouldn't work but does, it really does. It spins your head a bit but that's not always a bad thing.
As for the puzzles, well, I don't know enough about Poe to really comment so I'll have to take most of that as read. There are twists and turns aplenty along the way too, some of which will probably blow your mind and confuse the heck out of you as you go! Oh and obviously there is much more going on apart from just the treasure hunt but, again, you'll have to figure all that out for yourself.
The writing style and main story is in itself quite light but there are some quite heavy undertones throughout. Coming of age and dealing with grief are two I can probably safely mention but there are more but to list those might inject spoilers into my review and that ain't gonna happen. Suffice to say that the story is so much more than just what is going on in the foreground - well it was for me anyway.
It's fast paced and without any superfluous padding to distract. The plot is complex and multi layered but it all comes together very nicely at the end. And end that by the time I reached it I was already regretting having to say goodbye to some of the characters I had got to know and love along the way. Is this the last we are going to hear about Tuesday Mooney or will she return in a future book? I for one would love to reconnect with her, and others. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I thought that this book was funny and I really liked the characters. It is a bit slow in places but it overall it is an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Tuesday Mooney is an interesting character – working in an office researching rich people for charitable benefits. She’s a bit of a Goth, with very few close friends.

One night, at a charity function, a billionaire drops dead, and thus begins a game of his creation that spans the city, playable by anyone who can solve the clues… before she knows it, Tuesday Mooney is in deep, and solving a whole host of mysteries.

A cast of fascinating characters populates the story alongside Tuesday – Dorry, her teenage neighbour; Dex, an old friend; the super-rich Arches family – disappeared father, cruel son, estranged son, mother and daughter.

A bit slow and silly to start with, but soon become adrenaline-fuelled and adventure-packed. A nice quick easy read.

Well, that was an interesting read!
I'm not usually one for picking up mystery/suspense filled reads, but the blurb for Tuesday Mooney Wore Black intrigued me.
I have to admit it took a little while to get into the story, but by the second half, I was in there, intrigued by the whole premise, and wanting to know what happened.
The book follows Tuesday Mooney, a researcher in Boston who gets caught up in a rather macabre game, set up by the late, and very rich Vincent Pryce. She and her friends begin to play and find themselves sucked deeper and deeper into a vortex of the unknown.
There are puzzles, murder, mysteries, and ghosts!
A fun read if you have the time to get into it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, only really socialising with her ex colleague Dex, and only begrudgingly.  When billionaire Vincent Pryce dies at one of Tuesday's work fundraisers, a chain of events begins that sets her on a totally new path.  Vincent has left behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, open to anyone and everyone, for a chance to win a share of his wealth. Tuesday loves solving puzzles, and with the help of a ragtag crew she follows the trail, testing their knowledge, morals and mettle along the way.


This was a NetGalley book that I stumbled on and thought sounded really interesting.  I generally enjoy puzzle solving, treasure hunt sorts of books, so I thought I'd give this a try.  It proved to be a good call, this was a fun and enjoyable read, with various literary and musical references thrown in.

I really liked Tuesday, she made a great protagonist.  Yes she's a loner, but she's a loner by choice, not because she is socially awkward or unable to make friends. She's a strong character, and a capable one. She's very good at her job, and generally has her life together.  She also doesn't seem to feel any pressure to find a boyfriend, she's happy as she is.  It was great to read about a character like this and for all of these aspects of her character to be perfectly normal and widely accepted. 
Dex, Dorry and Archie made a great selection of supporting characters too.  I liked all of them, especially Dorry.  I thought the bond between her and Tuesday came across reslly well, without the author having to explicitly explain it.

The plot for me was interesting, and I liked the idea.  There wasn't quite as many puzzles as I was hoping for, but by the time I realised this I was invested in Tuesday and some of the other story aspects.  It wasn't a big issue, but it would have been nice to have more.  I suppose in some ways the mystery of the Arches' family is one long big puzzle.  It was a refreshing take on the treasure hunt story arc, and I actually enjoyed it not being too heavy or having too much educational information laced through.

There was some heavier stuff in the book, although I can't say too much without giving some key details away.  It's nothing too graphic, and it fits in well with the rest of the book.  There's a lot of focus on death and what happens afterwards (both to those who die and those left behind), but it's all written in such a way that it doesn't become all bleak and gloomy.

The only negative thing I did notice was that Tuesday uses some odd turns of phrase every so often (e.g. 'to confront Archie senseless), which for me did impact the flow of the writing as I had to try and decipher what she actually meant.  They could be colloquial phrases that I just didn't get with not being from Boston, or they could be changed during the editing process, so might well not be an issue for other readers.  I just found it a little strange.

Overall I enjoyed reading this one, and will be very likely to read more by Kate Racculia.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I received this as an advance copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tuesday lives in Boston, she is a hospital researcher looking for potential financial donors and lives on Google and other search engines.
She finds herself at a benefit at which a wealthy Boston philanthropist unexpectedly drops dead.
The story tells of a challenge he has set - open to all but with a particular focus for people from his part.
The book tells of Tuesday, her relationships, their lives together and apart. There is a supernatural element, we learn of tragedies and dramas in the pasts of the main characters as get follow the trail of clues and evidence to find the solution. The characters are appealing, there are goodies and baddies. The story is written in the present day and is up to the minute and relevant.
The ending of the book is unexpected, the story well devised and I thoroughly enjoyed it even though it is not a book I would normally have selected. Highly recommended.

Tuesday Mooney is a character-driven mystery with an eccentric cast.

The beginning drew me in quickly and I thought this was being set up to be an engrossing, dark mystery. It evolved into something a bit quirkier, weirder and slightly convoluted. Not quite what I'd hope for, but certainly a bunch of fun.

Recommended for readers looking for a humorous mystery filled with over the top characters and quirk.

The opening chapters of this book completely gripped me. An insanely wealthy and equally eccentric business man drops dead at a charity auction and sets in motion the most intriguing treasure hunt open to anyone who wants to play the game. Tuesday Mooney is working at the auction and with her background in research, a tragedy of her own that haunts her, a life long love of puzzles and a best friend that eggs her on to join in the game it is inevitable that she falls hook line and sinker for Vince Pryce's treasure hunt. It is a delightful mystery within a mystery within another mystery. There is a great cast of characters, a mysterious feud between two wealthy families, a missing teenager, some delightful nods to Poe and a wonderful ode to retaining a sense of joy and sharing that joy with the world. Whilst the tone of the book is generally light and cheerful, there is also an undercurrent of characters dealing with grief, learning to let go and accepting yourself. All in all, it's just a wonderful read and I loved it.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Tuesday Mooney works as a fundraiser for a Boston Hospital. At one fundraising event, one of the guests, Vincent Pryce, drops dead. The next day it is announced that there is to be a treasure hunt (pre) arranged by Pryce.

I didn't like this book. First of all the title isn't great. What is it meant to convey? That because the eponymous heroine wore black she is unusual, non- conformist? I don't know. It didn't seem to really relate to the themes of the story at all. I liked the idea of a treasure hunt which is the main point of the book, but found the characters extremely hard to relate to. They were all trying so hard to be quirky and extraordinary that I wanted to shout at them: 'Do something ordinary for once! Get out of that coffin and order a pizza!!' This was the heart of the problem for me. Nothing felt natural, the novel was as much of a put-on show as the treasure hunt. All style and no substance. It's a shame because the writing is good and there are some excellent one-liners in there. It seems to me that this is perhaps a bit of a marmite book and that you will either love it or hate it. I think you'll know by now how I feel about it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book but for some reason I found it took me longer to read than usual. It was very easy to put down and pick back up again a few hours later and get straight back into the story. I think I enjoyed it more for taking my time with it. I actually wanted to be in the book taking part in the hunt.

There’s a lot of grief in this book. Grief that is underlying from years before and I liked that. I like that the story shows different aspects of grief and that it does surface years after a loss. It never goes away. I found it quite a beautiful story underneath the treasure hunt.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I don’t think I have ever described a novel as “Quirky” but this is what this novel is.

Tuesday is “Quirky!” she dresses all in black, looking like Wednesday Addams, despite being called Tuesday, include with her a Gay Best Friend Dex, a treasure hunt, a dress up funeral, haunted house and very rich and eligible millionaire as a love interest then it ticked all the boxes.

I even downloaded an Edgar Allan Poe anthology such was the literary references.

I really enjoyed this roller coaster read. The plot is fast moving and engaging, not to mention very witty at times. A wonderful story about love and life that is quite emotional at times, with some wonderful characters (a lot of characters. I whizzed through this brilliant book and loved every page of it :)

A Quirky Murder Mystery with a Ghost

An old, dilapidated and reportedly haunted house (old for Boston anyway) is unexpectedly sold to a mysterious Mr Usher. He knew the house in it's heyday, when the house was the centre of the Boston social scene, filled with dancing and life.

It's 2012. Tuesday Mooney is a researcher and volunteer for the Boston Hospital charity. Her job involves researching wealthy Bostonians in order to persuade them to donate large sums to the hospital. Her job is described as "one part private detective, one part property assessor, one part gossip columnist and one part witch". As a volunteer, she gets to meet these rich clients at events. Her best friend is her co-worker, wannabe-singer Dex, who has boyfriend troubles. Tuesday's other best friend is Abby, who died when they were both 14, but still communicates with Tuesday. Dorry is Tuesday's teenage neighbour, a girl who comes from Salem (famous for witches), is fascinated by ghosts and hopes to see her dead mother again one day. She is a fan of Tuesday, thinking her a witch because she always wears black.

At a fund-raiser, Tuesday meets wealthy, charming Nathaniel Arches (Archie), whose father was lost at sea and whose younger brother disappeared shortly afterwards. Dex, meanwhile, sits at a table with Lila Pryce and her husband, Vince. He outbids Archie on a star lot, then suddenly drops dead.

An ad appears in the local paper, offering an obituary treasure hunt to find Vince's fortune. Both Tuesday and Dorry compete, along with half of Boston. Who will win and what will they learn along the way?

A light-hearted read, despite the deathly theme. Not one I would have read unless invited by Netgalley in return for an honest review, but very enjoyable in a macabre way.

This book was quite quirky. An original plot of a treasure hunt to win a millionaires fortune.
It took me a little bit of time to get into as there are quite a lot of characters but I did enjoy it.
Interesting
And an original story line