Utterly absorbing, The Murder Game is another brilliant book from Rachel Abbott! A whole cast of characters with secrets, motive and lies are thrown together in a real-life version of a murder mystery weekend on the anniversary of the death of Lucas's sister, Alex.

The second in the DI Stephanie King series (but also can be read as a standalone) The Murder Game is a great addition to the series. I felt like we saw slightly less of Stephanie King's personal life in this book than in the first of the series but more of the investigation.

Rachel Abbott is an absolute master of the complicated interwoven whodunnit. I'd highly recommend The Murder Game and rated it as 4 stars (more like 4.5 to be honest!) as it is a really good, enjoyable read that will keep you guessing all the way through. I did guess one major part of the plot fairly early on but there's plenty of diversion and motive in Rachel Abbott's books which did throw me off the scent! Throughout The Murder Game, I thought this was going to be another 5 star read for me but I found it was slightly too complicated in the end and I struggled to follow what had happened and why. Maybe that's just me though!

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Abbott and Headline for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#TheMurderGame #NetGalley A bit slow to begin with and took me a while to get into it but once we got to present day it really started to liven up with plenty of twists and turns as you would expect. Not sure I would call it a DS Stephanie King book as she really played a back seat in this drama which is a shame as she seemed to be a character that I wanted to see more of and learn more about. Easy to read and plenty of action, will look out for the next in this series.

The Murder Game by Rachel Abbott

This is the second Stephanie King book set again in Cornwall, and like the first one, this is a great read.

It starts like a country house murder, with people arriving at a large house in Cornwall for the wedding of Lucas Jarrett. Some of the guests have known each other since their youth, and all have secrets that they don’t want revealed. This section is narrated by Jemma, married to Matt, one of Lucas’s friend, and we see the characters through her eyes, as she tries to negotiate and understand the dynamics of the group.
The wedding party ends in a death, which is where Stephanie becomes involved, and also Gus, her (maybe) partner.
Exactly a year later the same group return to the house at the request of Lucas, who wants to find the truth about what happened that night, and play a game called The Murder Game. As the secrets begin to be uncovered, Jemma places herself in danger, as she realises that she doesn’t even know her husband.
Stephanie and Gus are involved, investigating the disappearance of an East European worker who may have visited the house at the time of the wedding.
The climax is a rollercoaster, with unexpected twists, and a satisfying ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the opportunity to read this book.

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the opportunity.

First of all this book needs serious trigger warnings for rape and abduction, and some warnings also for alcoholic parents and financial child abuse.

Not having read any Rachel Abbott books before, and this being book 2 in a series, I prepared by reading book #1, ‘And So It Begins’. Both books are relatively self-contained and could be read as stand-alone if desired. There is a little life progression for ‘Stephanie’ but nothing that would ruin the story. More on that later.

I can’t speak to Abbott’s other books but the structure of both books in this series, is to focus initially on the main characters of the murder drama and bringing in the detective at a later point. The book begins, and for the most part continues, from the viewpoint of Jemma Hudson, arriving at a big country house, one year on from a wedding celebration that ended in murder. Host Lucas Jarrett, an old friend of Jemma’s husband, Matt, is determined to re-enact the night of his sister, Alex’s murder. Cue flashbacks.

Here’s where the trigger warning comes in because as a teenager Alex was abducted and raped. The culprit was never caught. Just before her murder, Alex seemed to have suspected that one of her brother’s friends, all present for the wedding, was responsible.

The aforementioned Stephanie King is a local police detective, who attended the murder scene one year ago and now returns on another matter. Like all good detectives Stephanie is like a dog with a bone. She doesn’t let go of this mystery until it reaches a solution.

There is a twist. Maybe I read too many Agatha Christies and know what to look for, as I guessed it early, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. What I do have an issue is that we don’t see enough of Detective Stephanie King herself. We are a good chunk of the way in to the story before Stephanie pops up and her character is not nearly so developed as others in the book. She almost feels like a plot device to provide the conclusion, rather than a character in her own right. Odd given her titular status.

Overall this is good solid ‘locked room’ mystery. The characters are interesting if rather rich and successful (no mere office clerks here). There is enough menace to give readers a thrill. Perfect for whiling away a long day on lock-down.

I was a big fan of the first book in the series And So It Begins so I had huge expectations for the newest release. I must admit I had a great time reading the story.

A group of friends meets to celebrate a wedding of one of them but the gathering is brutally stopped by the horrible tragedy. Twelve months later the same people are invited back to the newlywed’s luxurious house but this time the host has a different plan in mind.

The Murder Game was definitely on the lighter side. There was no gruesome crimes and manic killer chasing their victims. The novel was a unique and interesting take on the locked room murder mystery which I really enjoyed. The choice of characters was brilliant - each of them had dark secrets and motives to kill, I wasn’t sure who to trust and kept guessing which one of them was a killer.

Although I guessed the main twist of the book early on I still had a lot of fun reading the story and the ending was very satisfying to me. I wished we could see more of Stephanie as I feel like her part was pushed back to the side a little bit.

Overall the book was fantastic: full of secrets, clues and variety of characters. It was a totally gripping story that kept me entertained till the last page. Highly recommend.

Eight guests. One killer. No escape.

A year ago today, we gathered for Lucas and Nina's wedding at their glorious Cornish home overlooking the sea.

But no one was married that day.

Last year there were nine of us. Now there are eight. And Lucas has invited us back for a macabre anniversary.

Tonight, he's planned a game for us: we each have a costume and a role to play. The game, he tells us, is about to begin.

What does Lucas want? What are we not being told? And how will this terrifying game end?

This is the second in the Stephanie King series, I loved book one, And So It Begins and was looking forward to sinking my teeth into this one. I was drawn in right from the prologue where we see Lucas's friends all invited back to his beautiful home, Polskirrin in Cornwall, where tragedy struck a year ago when they were all there to attend his forthcoming wedding to Nina, but what has Lucas got planned and why would they all be coming back to celebrate the anniversary of a wedding that never happened? Stephanie and Gus feel there is more to this tragedy than people are prepared to admit, but are determined to get answers.

The Murder Game is told across two timelines, the present day and one year earlier, mainly from the perspective of Jemma Hudson and the third person narrative but there are sections in italics told from Alex's perspective. It's a compelling murder mystery that feels a lot like a game of Cluedo, it's full of lies, secrets and the all important question; whodunnit? The plot is very cleverly crafted and kept me coming back for more. It can be read as a standalone but I recommend you read the first one to understand Stephanie King's background.

I'd like to thank Headline and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

This book did not disappoint and had plenty of twists and turns throughout. It was great to have a copy before publication and It was a great bank holiday read. Rachel did not disappoint and had me guessing right until the end. I would recommend for a holiday read.

I usually really like Ms Abbott's books, but was disappointed by this one. It's a well worn genre - group of people gathered in a remote location one of whom is a murderer - with nothing new or surprising to make it stand out, and, as I'd guessed the twist fairly early on, it felt a bit of a chore reading to the end.
I'm still looking forward to her next one though!
Thank you to netgalley and headline for an advance copy of this book

I always look out for Rachel Abbott books and this one was a great read. The characters were well crafted and the plot had many twists and turns. The story line was fascinating and the ending was unexpected. I would recommend this book.
Thank you Rachel Abbott, the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased review.

I found this book a bit slow and difficult to get into. I usually love Rachel Abbott’s books, but this one wasn’t for me.

This is a great mystery thriller.
The story centres around Lucas and his huge house by the sea.
The story starts a year ago where his friends all meet there to celebrate his wedding. On the eve of the wedding someone dies and everyone is in shock.
A year later Lucas invites them all back to the house and when they arrive, it seems a lot has changed for all the people that were there a year before.
A lot of the story is told from Jemma’s perspective and she is far from happy to be going back again.
Jemma is married to Matt who has known Lucas since he was at school but Jemma hardly knows anyone there.
On the eve of the death, a year later, Lucas has devised a game for his guests, to try and establish who the killer is.
Jemma is appalled that they’re expected to play along but Lucas seems to have a hold over the others, so they all go along with it.
This is a great mystery thriller which really gets you thinking and trying to guess who the killer is.
As it’s centred around one location, there’s no escape.
Thanks to Wildfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Absolutely loved this and couldn't put it down. Class plot which kept me guessing right until the end. A different approach to usual which was refreshing and tantalising 😊

I really like Stephanie King and enjoyed book 1 very much. The Murder Game starts very unusually, as for the first approximately 20%, Stephanie King doesn't even get a mention. Instead, the scene is set for a disturbing, possible murder. We are introduced to a cast of characters, who between them don't possess very many redeeming features. However they are all interesting people in their own way, it appears that being in close proximity to each other brings out the worst in this group of 'friends'. When Stephanie and Angus make their appearance, they add another thread of 'what if?' in their personal lives, running alongside the murder/suicide story line. As always, Ms Abbott takes the path of least expected and everything is turned upside down and inside out. We are always spoiled by her quality of writing and the convoluted and intricate plot both absorbs and entices in equal measure. At 03:50 in the morning, when I finished, I was glad it was a Friday night/Saturday morning scenario and nobody would be expecting me to be up all bright eyed and bushy tailed. You've been warned - The Murder Game will keep you reading way past your bedtime. It's paradoxical that Ms Abbott can be completely relied upon to serve us a story that is totally unreliable and full of deception.

Stephanie King #2

Lucas had invited all of his friends to his wedding. Everything was going smoothly until the night before the nuptials took place. Thenstory then picks upma year later when they are all invited back to Polskirrin, Cornwall. Lucas's troubled young sister had tragically died just hours before the wedding was due to begin. The wedding hadn't taken place. The invitation said to celebrate the anniversary. But what was there to celebrate? Lucas insisted that they take part I a murder mystery game. But will the friends go along with it?

The story is told from multiple points of view. All the characters seem to have a secret. There is quite a lot of characters to try and remember. The story flips back and forward between this and the previous year. This is a well written who-did-it mystery with plenty of good twists. The first part of the book is slow but the second part certainly made up for it. A story that revolves around grief, jealousy, secrets and lies.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Headline and the author Rachel Abbott for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Abbott is a talented & great writer. She gets under your skin & makes you forget all about what is going on around you. If you need a distraction from the Corona Virus look no further. You will love this thrilling book from this brilliant writer

I enjoyed this book but felt it could have been shorter. At 50% it felt like it was at the denouement! Overall, a good read, but a cast list and map would have helped me!

Lucas Jarrett is getting married and invites a group of childhood friends to stay at his sprawling country house in order to celebrate the festivities. Alex is his sister who remains traumatised by an event in her teens where she was kidnapped. The night before the wedding, Alex kills herself. Convinced that all is not what it seems, exactly one year later, Lucas invites them all to stay again in order to ascertain which of his friends killed his sister. Stephanie King is given the task of investigating a number of linked events. Can she find the killer before anyone else comes to harm? Excellent as ever, Rachel Abbott never disappoints. Her characters spring from the page, the twists and turns just keep coming and the final twist is sheer genius. This is the second "Stephanie King" book and in my opinion is better than the first (and that was good). Rachel has become one of my favourite authors. As soon as I finish one of her books I find myself looking to see when the nest is likely to be published. Highly recommend this book.

Oh wow!
What a gripping story. My mind was coming and going with who I thought it could be right up to near the end - and a twist ...
Great to see Stephanie King and Gus Brodie working together too!

Rachel Abbott does it again. No it’s not a DCI Tom Douglas book. In my opinion it’s better than that series.
I’ve always loved Rachel’s books. They are well written and well thought out. The Murder Game is all that.

Friends gather for the wedding of Lucas a wealthy man who has everything and his fiancée Nina. However on the morning of their nuptials, Lucas’s elusive sister Alex is found death in the cove of Polskirren.

One year later the friends that stayed in the house are called back to Polskirren. Unknown to them all, Lucas wants them to take part in a game. The murder game. We discover things about this group and whether things are as they seem.

I did as it happens figure out the plot but that certainly did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc in return for an honest review.
#rachelabbott #themurdergame #netgalley

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I have been a big fan of Rachel Abbott since I binge read her DCI Tom Douglas series a couple of years ago. The Murder Game features her new detective DS Stephanie Martland.

A year earlier old philanthropist Lucas Jarret had invited his old school friends Matt, Nick, Andrew and Isobel to his wedding to fiance Nina. On his wedding day his sister Alex was found drowned. Alex had left a note and her death was ruled as suicide.

Twelve months later Lucas invited Matt, Nick, Andrew and Isobel and their partners back to Polskiran. Lucas was convinced that Alex had never intended to take her own life and was murdered. He had called the group together to play the murder game and discover what really happened to Alex.

I enjoyed this book and the murder game reminded me of an Agatha Christie book, The story was told from the POV of Gemma (Matt`s wife,), Alex and Stephanie. Alex`s tale struck me the most because it was so harrowing.

The plot was well thought out and I wasn't sure who to trust. I enjoyed how each character was hiding their secret, I could imagine Miss Marple sitting down in the drawing room just watching, missing nothing.

The ending was delightfully twisty turny, I did not see it coming.

I highly recommend this author.