The Twelve Days of Murder was an interesting read. It was fast paced and kept me guessing right to the end. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for my ARC.

The Masquerade Murder Society solved fictional murders... until a shocking moment when one of them disappears. They reunite at Christmas, for a weekend of secrets, schemes, and more murder.

Charley, a struggling actress on the outskirts of the group, tells the present story, whilst we also get a slow reveal of what happened 12 years ago. I really enjoyed the 'locked room' setting, especially with the snowstorm, as it brings the cosy Christmas vibes, but also the heightened tension. It's fast paced and filled with gripping mysteries and distrustful characters! I thoroughly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for an Arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 Stars

The Twelve Days of Murder reminds me of Then There Were None. A group of university “friends” reunite after 12 years. With the exception of our main character Charley they are all rich, influential and elite. In some ways they almost come across as caricature of the upper class and at times it feels a tad over the top.

The Murder Masquerade Society members are all awful in their own way. While Charley is the most sympathetic but she’s not exactly likeable. Especially at the beginning of the book I really didn’t understand why she put up with all of it, needing money make more sense in the present but why tolerate it all 12 years ago.

The book is mainly narrated by Charley in the present, with flashback chapters for each of the other members of The Murder Masquerade Society at that Christmas 12 years ago where Karl went missing. Over the course of the book both past and present Christmas mysteries are pulled together.

The story, setting and murders all work well together. It’s descriptive but not grotesque, I think this would be a cosy Murder Christmas read. I would certainly be reading this with a hot cuppa and mince pie curled up under blankets.

Where do I begin with this book? This is one I started with the plan of a couple of chapter, but soon devoured in just one afternoon sitting.

Cordani is a great author, this quickly became an addictive and unputdownable read. This is suspenseful throughout. I love the idea of a murder mystery with friends, so instantly this had my attention.

The characters in this are a mixed bunch. I love this because there are those who you can’t help but like and those who you don’t trust. Each of these are well developed characters and as a reader we get a good idea of what each of them are about.

I loved the setting of this one. It adds a dimension to this as a read. I definitely tried to predict (unsuccessfully) where this was going. There were just too many twists to throw me off with this one.

This is my first read by this author, but it definitely won’t be the last. This is a great murder mystery with all the Christmassy vibes.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book.

An excellent murder mystery!
Eight friends from all walks of life make up the Masquerade Murder Society. They investigate and solve fictional murders until one year one of them disappears.
Twelve years on they meet again for a Christmas murder solving jaunt , they are invited to the depths of Scotland where they are isolated and cut off by snow.
The friends all have secrets to hide and will they find out the truth behind their friend’s disappearance.
The writing was excellent and they are plenty of twists and tame red herrings to keep you guessing.
A great winter read , sit back in your favourite chair with a mug of hot chocolate and savour this Christmas murder mystery!
Highly recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK.

It's never too early to say I love a good Christmas murder mystery! And this year The Twelve Days of Murder is my first of the season.

The story begins twelve years ago with the missing person's report for Karl Boniface, a member of The Masquerade Murder Society, then moves right up to date to introduce the remaining members of the Society. The book moves smoothly between the then and the now allowing us to see the events of twelve years ago through multiple characters' flashbacks. Our narrator for the up to date chapters is  Charley, the 'poor relation' of the Society and a more sympathetic and relatable character than the other privileged, largely unpleasant members.

The book has everything a good Christmas whodunit needs: an atmospheric setting, plenty of snow, no contact with the outside world, a cast of snarky, bickering, back-stabbers and at least one dead body. The beautiful setting and the brutal weather are described very vividly, bringing them both to life. The cast of characters is well drawn and realistic and I'm glad I don't know any of them personally! Using the framework of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Andreina Cordani weaves an original, compelling and complex storyline and I definitely wanted to know whodunit.

The resolutions to both the old and the new mysteries are actually quite dark and creepy, each bringing forth disturbing revelations. The ending is satisfactory and fits well. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Twelve Days of Murder and would recommend this to anyone who likes a Christmassy whodunit.

An enjoyable read a good murder mystery I liked the plot lots of them had a reason for wanting rid of Karl but I didn't work out who done it would recommend

A well plotted, clever, twisty and surprising novel that kept me hooked till the last page. I was surprised by all the twists and loved the well plotted story and the complex puzzle at the core of this whodunit.
Can't wait to read another story by this author
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I’ve only just got into crime/murder books and i’m really enjoying the cosy murder genre. I would like to admit that I honestly had no idea who the murderer could be until about 90% into the book - so pretty much when it was revealed to us anyway. I liked the two timeline aspect to it too, learning more about their pasts (more specifically their secrets) while the present plays out.

I really enjoyed this book. The most exiting thing for me was unexpected plot twists, this keot it very suspenful for me.

Well .. this one kept me on my toes!

A dozen years ago, while at university, a group of friends were all part of The Murder Masquerade Societywhere they solved fictional mysteries. All these years on, one of them has co=erced and brided them all to get together for one last hurrah - only this time, it seems the bodies are real . . .

I was first attracted to this one by the gorgeous cover which caught my eye and I'm glad it did. This is a cracking puzzle with so much going on and I have to hold my hands up and say I didn't work it out until it was all laid out in front of me. With a fine cast of characters, this book is well-written and exciting thoughout. I loved everything about it and am only too happy to give it all five sparkling stars and my recommendation.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this Arc

What a lovely quaint book I love that it was based on the 12 days of Christmas for each murder

It’s Christmas Time… and there’s every reason to be afraid.
Twelve years ago, a university group, The Murder Masquerade Society, acted out fictional murder mysteries. But it all ended one Christmas when Karl, their de facto leader, disappeared without trace from inside a locked study. The group drift apart, in particular Charley, who was having a secret relationship with Karl – and was the victim of an attempted murder that very night.
But twelve years later, the group is invited by Ali, Karl’s sister, for a reunion at an isolated Scottish country house. Each have their assigned roles to play in one last game. From the beginning, something seems amiss – Ali, their hostess, is missing and the backgrounds to their assigned characters seem awfully close to reality, including secrets that nobody wanted revealed.
And then the woman assigned the role of Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree…
Well, well, well, I wasn’t expecting that.
I tinker with plots for mystery novels occasionally – they never get very far – but one that I do occasionally come back to is a set of murder based around the Twelve Days Of Christmas carol. Of course, there are only so many serial killer plots you can do, and it’s awfully hard to structure a death around “Eight Maids A-Milking”. Even in a spoof, it’d be pretty dumb.
Anyway, that idea’s off the table now, as Andreina Cordani has done exactly that and done it absolutely brilliantly.
To be fair, she has wisely not gone for all twelve – no maids in sight – and the theme doesn’t dominate proceedings. The narrative is split between present day, with Charley as the point of view, and the events of twelve years ago, giving the reader an insight into each of the other characters, and what they were up to – although never giving the game away. The members of the Masquerade Society, along with two or three extras give a nice array of suspects/cannon fodder and the book does end with a commendably high body count. The rationale behind the killings – and there is one – is a nice slow reveal (although the rationale behind the theme is a little less well defined beyond the killer being what is probably politically incorrect to refer to as “a bit of a nutter”)
All of the tropes are on display here of what is often erroneously referred to as a “locked-room” mystery = snow trapping the party in an isolated house, etc – but I’ve not read one that is this well done that I recall. There’s a clear love of classic mysteries on display here – And Then There Were None, a clear influence, does get a title-check near the end, but it’s by no means the same book.
And I don’t think I’ve read a mystery for a while that is as exciting as this one for a good while either. A real page-turner that I just couldn’t put down, an absolute Christmas cracker of a read, with the Christmas spirit just dripping off the page. A stunning debut adult mystery from Andreina Cordani and I hope there will be many more.

A group of friends who met at university were members of The Masquerade Murder Society where they played immersive murder mystery games. The last Christmas Masquerade ended on a low when the 'victim' played by Karl, disappeared from a locked room & was never seen again. The group disbanded but twelve years later, Karl's sister, Ani invites them all on a Christmas getaway to a remote Scottish hunting lodge. When the guests arrive, Ani has not yet arrived, but the Christmas murder mystery is to go ahead & this time is it based around the song 'Twelve Days of Christmas', i.e. Lady Partridge, Lord Leapworth, & Miss Colly. As the game begins, past secrets are revealed & friendships are strained until on Christmas morning, Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree. It soon becomes clear that one of the group is a killer & the rest are now sitting ducks.

The present narrative is told from the point of view of Charley, the outsider in the group of friends. Charley came from a working class background whilst all the others were from rich families & she was treated rather badly by most of the group. Even in the Christmas Masquerade she is playing 'Miss Colly', the only servant in the game & her costumes are dull & boring. The reader gets some background from chapters set twelve years ago one from each of the friend group & as their secrets are gradually revealed you see that none of them are particularly nice people . I did actually guess the guilty party but not the whole reason. I thought it was a diverting, entertaining read & if you like 'locked room' murder mysteries I would recommend this one.

My thanks to NetGalley & publisher, Bonnier Books/Zaffre, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This was such a clever, macabre take on the 12 Days of Christmas that it quickly became addictive reading where I just had to keep going to find out who and why!
There were many more secrets and red herrings included in this masterpiece of misdirection than there were 'friends' and I guess this may be why you should keep your enemies closer than your friends, with friends like the ones in this story .......
I had so many theories about what might have been going on and as each one was dashed by the author it was replaced by another 'but what if' thought, right up until the final reveal when everything was connected and it all made sense!
The answer was there, staring me in the face if only I had noticed the right clues and run with them instead of being dazzled by the flashier, more obvious reasons that this might be happening!
This was a fabulous read with a great surprise ending after the end ... the last scene really did make me giggle! It's really worth reading it for that moment alone but to understand it's significance, you need to read the whole thing first!

Loved this book , a really good old style who done it with modern characters and a fantastic story with lots of twists and turns that kept you on the edge of your seat right to the very end with things you really did not see coming. With also a Christmas theme. Would highly recommend this book.

If I had to summarize this book in one sentence, I’d say: The Secret History meets And Then There Were None. The group of students who form the Murder Masquerade Society are all rich and confident. All of them, that is, except for Charley. As a result, Charley always felt like an outsider, although that never stopped her from participating.

The last time the Society got together twelve years ago, one of them, Karl, disappeared without a trace. He was the organiser of their murder games. He was also the appointed victim for that particular game. While the locked room in which his body should have been found did contain the (fake) blood smears and other clues, no sign of Karl could be found. And after more than a decade it is still unclear what happened to him.

For twelve years the society has been dormant but now Karl’s twin sister Ali has invited all the participants to take part in another mystery game in a remote location. For reasons best known to those individual members, the remaining seven all return with one of them bringing an uninvited eight guest.

From the start, things are a bit off. For starters, there’s no sign of Ali, who is supposed to be in charge of proceedings. But matters don’t get really worrying until the appointed victim in the game, Lady Partridge, is found hanging in a pear tree. Her death being anything but pretend.

With a snowstorm isolating them from the outside world, the landline down, and their venue having no telephone reception or Wi-Fi, the survivors are on their own. But what is going on? Can they trust each other? And does enjoying fake mysteries mean they are also able to solve a real case?

The above made for a fascinating and fast-paced mystery, especially since Lady Partridge wasn’t the only victim. There is always something delicious about the friction between reasonable mistrust between the characters and the need to work together in order to survive. The fact that it isn’t immediately clear whether what is happening is in some way related to Karl’s disappearance or a new ordeal adds to the tension. And there’s some wonderful character development in this book, especially where Charley is concerned.

For obvious reasons, I can’t say a whole lot more about the story. I will therefore limit myself to stating that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mysteries were truly mystifying, and the solutions were mostly satisfactory. I’m just not sure the reader was given entirely enough information to work out (part of) the solution along with Charley. With that in mind, I still highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an original murder mystery that will have them scratching their heads for the longest time.

The 12 Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani. I think her first adult novel after writing YA crime novels. Due for publishing on 26th Oct.
I know it's a good book if I'm thinking about it while doing other things. A homage to And Then There Were None ( and my favourite Christie novel) , the story follows a group of university friends who formed a Murder Mystery club until one went missing. 12 years later they've reunited at a remote Scottish Highlands estate over Christmas. It all seems like old times until Lady Partridge is found hanging in a Pear Tree. Then the body count rises.... it is a page turner with twists and turns in the present and looking back 12 years to the original disappearance. A great thriller. 5 ⭐️ from me 😍

Thank you to NetGalley and Adreina Cordani for the ARC of The Twelve days of Murder.

Who doesn’t like a whodunit? 8 friends who made an exclusive Murder Masquerade mystery group. Run on two timelines, the present and 12 years previous. Tension slowly builds and the atmosphere is set. Who went missing? And how are these friends entwined in their deepest secrets and who is the murderer?

I really enjoyed this book. For me, it was like a nice cosy mystery with a psychological underline and it worked really well.
The narrative and the two timelines were clear. The past setting the scene up and building characteristic development for the present. Some fairly complex characters and although they may seem the same, I really enjoyed the diversity.

The plot twist was good, it has me forming a few theories during the story which I enjoy whether I was on the right lines. The story itself is fairly medium paced with it all rolling into a faster climax.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyable and well-written murder mystery that mixes 'Golden Age' tropes with some more modern psychological thriller elements. A great Xmas present for the Whodunnit fan in your life.