This is a very clever and rewarding book. But not clever in a “look at me” kind of way. Clever in a subtle, carry you along and trap you kind of way. This is mirrored in the plot with Frankie receiving a big red box at work on her birthday and getting caught up in a “game” related to the box. She is trying to solve the disappearance of TV Personality Terry Dolan and getting nowhere. The box is a diversion until she realises that it is nothing of the kind. No spoilers here but we have many twists and turns and red herrings and I missed seeing one huge reveal which was excellent.

The book - part of a series - is set in Ireland and I found that interesting as it is beyond my awareness as a police service and the different language and methods was another addition to the enjoyment.

Recommended if you like crime thrillers with just a bit of depth that make you pay attention.

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Frankie Sheehan series is really developing now and this is a solid police procedural. Characters are starting to find their stride and I enjoyed the hook of the Murder Box, which was innovative. Looking forward to the next one.

This was my first exposure to the Frankie Sheehan books and I really liked it, a different take on the normal murder crime book. Frankie receives a red box on the day before her birthday, this is the Murder box and is based on a game to solve the crime. This becomes a real life murder and there is a clock ticking, Frankie and her team must solve this before someone else dies. This was a very faced paced story, it keeps you engaged throughout with several twists thrown into the story that kept me reading long into the night. I think I will now go back and read the other books as I would like to see how the relationship between Frankie and Baz has developed. There is also political edge to this and as usual it leaves one shaking their head, I would highly recommend this book to all and would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for my chance to read this copy.

That was SO clever! DCS Frankie Sheehan heads up a team in the Irish Bureau for Serious Crime. Her team have spent a month fruitlessly chasing leads in the disappearance of Teddy Dolan, a well known TV presenter who also happens to be the nephew of the Police Commissioner. Another day - another round of pointless….hello what’s that? Delivered to her desk is a shiny bright red box. At first she thinks it’s some sort of birthday present because it is actually her birthday. But no. It is the murder box - an invitation to play a game to find the murderer from the clues within the box. Hmm very interesting.

She logs into the game site and finds that others are also ‘playing the game’ but more worryingly there is also a countdown clock. Who knows what will happen when the timer runs down? She doesn’t get a chance to think much about it because a young woman, Neve Jameson, comes to the office to report her flatmate, Lydia Callin, missing. The local Gardai station had not done much with this report so Neve is taking it higher. Now the clues in the murder box take on a much more sinister tone as Frankie realises they have an actual victim. And then the plot really thickens. And it oozes menace.

It is clear that whoever designed this game has spent a long time planning it and is heavily invested in the outcome. As the game pieces move around the board and the timer ticks down Frankie fears for the safety of the other players, including herself. The puppet master seems to be one step ahead of the police at every turn. Every move seems to be anticipated. How can that be?

I didn’t realise (again) that this book was part of a series, number 4 to be precise. But it didn’t matter, the story worked fine as a stand alone although if I get a chance I may well work backwards as I was hugely impressed by this book. Frankie and her partner, Baz Harwood, had a tenacity bordering on the insane in their drive to catch the culprit. All the characters were wonderfully depicted and seemed larger than life. The pace was very brisk and never let up. The ending was shocking in its audacity. If I have whetted your appetite with this review, my work is done. I loved this book! I received a free copy of the book from Netgalley and am providing this review voluntarily.

Oh my goodness, how did I not know about this author before!

I often bypass police procedurals, but if you are a fan of interactive or "escape the room" type you will be enthralled with this book.

When Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan receives a "murder box" game, she unwittingly becomes enmeshed in a countdown as she tries to unravel the clues in the game. How did the game creator have access to the details of a crime? Is there really a victim or is the victim also the suspect? Who are the other players and are they knowingly part of the game, or is one of them even the creator of the game?

Technology allows the police to uncover the details about the players, a major revelation that moves the game forward, but there are some red herrings that create obstacles. There's one catch...they must solve the game before the countdown ends....

For whatever reason, NetGalley does not always let you know when a book is part of a series, but that didn't matter here (other than to let me know that I missed out on the first three books!).

I am very grateful to NetGalley and Quercus Books/riverrun for an advance reader's copy of this book.

A gripping read that captured me from the first page. From the moment the Murder Box arrives on the detectives desk you are drawn in to a fascinating story with strong characters. Twists and turns happen throughout the book and I never guessed how it would end. A definite must read book for fans of myder mysteries.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I really enjoying the style and the characters were relatable. There were enough twists to hold my attention as it built up to the finale. I’d recommend to fans of Irish crime writing like Jo Spain, Patricia Gibney etc.

The premise of this book was good and the story promising. I found the start very slow, and struggled with the characters at first, but as this is the newest book in a series, perhaps regular readers are more familiar with them.

After a slow start the pace of the book did pick up and I did enjoy it. The ending wasn’t a surprise, though it was developed well.

Although this can be read as a standalone book, I think the reader would benefit from reading the other books in the series first. Overall a good read.

Thank you NetGalley.

This was a great an unusual premise and so intrigued me to start of with. I found the first part of the book quite slow and hard to follow but I then did get into it and it really got interesting. I had to finish to find out the murderer and the reasons why.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

Excellent story with a brilliant set-up: the idea of the murderer sending a game to the detective really hooked me.
I wasn't aware that this was the second book and was thrown when characters were mentioned or introduced without proper introductions. I think the author could have at least provided a brief description - even a job, so that the reader could remember the name and understand their role. Sometimes this was further confused by using first names when only the surname had been mentioned previously. It may just be me, but I also found it jarring when the author used Irish idioms. It was fine when there's dialogue, but the sentence construction at least twice a chapter made me stop and re read the sentence.
Overall a very good story. Well done!

Such an interesting read! This well-written story just flies by and suddenly you realize, you've read it! Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan gets a birthday present without a note who gave it to her. It's a Murder Box. She's quite pleased with it since she's in the middle of an investigation that does not seem to move forward.

Turns out the gift is not from a friend or colleague, and it is not a random whodunnit game after all. This is the real thing. There are several players in this game, and the clock is ticking. A young woman has been murdered and found in the river. The case Frankie has been working on is actually part of the whole thing. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Will time run out before she figures it out?

I enjoyed the story, and the team working to solve the case was a good group. It is a surprisingly 'light' and easy read for being a cruel and brutal murder investigation. It was not the typical gloomy, dark, and rainy Dublin mystery, and that was refreshing! I really enjoyed following Frankie and her moves, and would most definitely want to get to know her better!

I did not even bother thinking about whodunnit and why, I just enjoyed the read, and let the story fully grab me. Sometimes it is what I really need, and I did not feel like doing anything else than reading it until the end.

I hadn't realised that there were previous books but I don't think that that necessarily matters. Quite a lot of description in the book that does have the effect of slowing down the pace a lot. The characters are well developed as one would expect from book 4 of a series. Reminded me strongly of an episode of CSI. The ending I did guess but only because it was the only way the whole thing made sense. A good read but a shame about the slow pace. Somewhat churlish attitude to "newbies" grated too. Really? I might try reading the books from the beginning and seeing if I click with the characters more

An usual crime story in that it starts with a detective involved in the case of a missing celebrity received a Murder Mystery Box which at first appears to be just a game. It is only when she discovers that the "so called" victim of this mystery has actually gone missing, that she realises that maybe it is not a game. A good page turning mystery thriller which will keep you guessing as to the perpetrator . Highly recommended

DCS Frankie Sheehan is the head of Dublin based Murder Squad. She receives a Murder Box - a game which she thinks is an early birthday present.
She is currently trying to find a celebrity who has gone missing and is the nephew of her boss.
A girl turns up to report her room mate Lydia missing and when a body is found they start the search for her murderer, discovering along the way that it is related to the murder box and the missing celebrity Terry Dolan.
Complicated, twisty thriller a bit different from usual police procedurals.
4 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

A very clever premise with a twist that was impossible to predict. It will keep you reading well past your bedtime and you'll be questioning everything you thought that you knew

I haven't read a good classic murder mystery in so long.

This book follows Frankie, a detective who is trying to solve the case of a missing tv star. After hitting a wall she receives a mysterious box with clues about the murder of a young girl Lydia Callin. This box leads her to a forum where other places have received a similar version of this box and are in it to win it. However, a girl comes into the station asking Frankie to look into the case of her missing roommate and all of a sudden the murder box seems to hold the answers to everything.

First, off this idea, I have never seen it before. I'm an avid reader of thrillers but the idea of making this an actual game of sorts added another element that I very much enjoyed and found very interesting.

Having not read the previous books (this is the 4th book in the Frankie Sheehan series) before I am not so attached to the characters as I probably would have been, but this book was fine as a stand-alone. While I didn't care for the characters as much as I thought I should I was engrossed enough in the mystery that it didn't seem like a big issue.

The ending itself made a lot of sense. I spend a lot of these type of books trying to figure out just who the killer is but here I was not able to but when you finally did learn who it was, I was pleasantly surprised. While I wasn't expecting it, It did make sense and didn't come out of nowhere which I find is great with a good twist. Despite this I do feel like the climax fell a little flat, maybe if I was more attached to the characters I would have felt differently.

Overall, I enjoyed myself a lot, I love how fast-paced this is and the originality of the idea. While I don't feel particularly strongly about this, I had fun.

An interesting concept, the book is based around a reality game called The Murder Box. It has been sent to Frankie Sheehan, a police detective.

Frankie Sheehan and the gang are back. It is her birthday and the police are busy looking for a prominent tv presenter who has gone missing. A box appears in her office which reveals a mystery that has to be solved and she assumes its a birthday present. Then a young lady appears saying her room mate has also gone missing. How are these cases linked and what has the murder box/game got to do with it?
This book is tension filled, you are waiting to see how these cases connect and there are many exciting situations.
Yet again I really enjoyed one of Olivia Kiernans book and cannot wait to meet the gang again.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth instalment in the Frankie Sheehan series, which follows Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan through the various cases she is working on. I had not read the previous three books but it did not impact my understanding or enjoyment, here.

On the day before Frankie's Birthday a red box appears at her office. Its contents include a number of clues and instructions that the recipients must piece together to solve a fictional crime. Excited by the prospect of a murder mystery game and eager to escape the dead-ends she is encountering on the real crime she is supposed to be working on, she begins to play. This continues until a young woman arrives wishing to make a statement about her missing friend, Lydia Callin. The same Lydia Callin who has just appeared inside Frankie's game.

This concept so intrigued me that I entirely ignored how few crime/police procedural books I enjoy and dove straight in. I remained intrigued throughout. The initial appearance of the murder box was met with more reveals related to it, as the case progressed. It culminated in a shocking and final reveal I did not consider and I was pleased by how the various clues and suspects were aligned.

There was a focus on the differing, policies, plans, and procedures, which slowed the pace slightly, and I did find a repetition of facts presented to the various individuals working on the case, which meant the reader also had to read through information that had already been transmitted on more than one occasion. These were facets which I also find in many books in this genre, I must add, and not a failing of this particular read, for me.

This has been a read filled with tension and suspense and I have been completely hooked. I have adored the way this has been written and fully engaged in this novel.