Thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for providing me with an eArc.

I was interested in this book as a fan of Enola Holmes, Sherlock, Hercule Poirot, Benoit Blanc, and the general murder mystery genre!

The book had a fun and interesting concept, but did read rather young for it to be set at college/college age-- may be better as an upper MG/lower YA set in HS based on the tone. It also didn't do much to set up the world -- I forgot where and when it was set often! Especially since often these types of mysteries are set in Victorian/England -- if they aren't, it helps if the setting also acts as a character for the enhanced mysterious atmosphere (like Knives Out).

The characters didn't get much development besides the relationship between the MC and Percy, which seemed a little unfounded as well.

As for the plot, it didn't really feel like a mystery where they gathered clues, looked at suspects etc. It was very much like they were in class, Ashley disappeared, they find her iPad and Holmes, they team up, then it's solved. The two mysteries didn't seem to be linked as nicely at the end as they seemed to want to be -- and didn't have a satisfying conclusion.

Overall the conclusion of the book was very rushed and half-done, and we never got answers as to if/why <spoiler> Ashley was related to the medium. Also was not a fan at all of the big reveal/culprit -- it seemed very out of character, especially as a Doctor. </spoiler>

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This book was solidly fine. If you’re looking for something easy to read, a little Sherlock and Watson mystery brought into the modern day - you should enjoy this.

For me, the dialogue in this felt quite stilted, the plot felt… less like we were experiencing it through the characters, and more like the main character was slowly narrating each plot point to us. It was a lot of telling, very little showing.

The characters themselves were fine, but I didn’t grow attached to them at all, they didn’t feel like real people, just little archetypes.

Again, I think for a younger audience, this would be fun and engaging! If you’re still in your Young Adult era, if you love stuff like Enola Holmes, this might be right up your alley.

3⭐️

This had everything that I was looking for in a contemporary mystery novel, it was a great overall concept that worked with the genre perfectly. I enjoyed the use of Sherlock Holmes and that it worked with the characters in this story. I was hooked from the cover and loved how it draws your eye. Alison Gervais has a great writing style and was able to create unique characters.

3/5 stars!

This was a little too much "Scooby Doo meets Sherlock Holmes" for me. At the same time, I did enjoy this. It was an easy read, with a few "flat" characters for my liking. But, that being said... I did read it in two sittings, and I did enjoy it. Just not enough to give it a solid review or a higher rating unfortunately. I will however, be keeping an eye out for any more by this author to read again in the future.

A massive thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

tl;dr
A relatable lead and an intriguing mystery, with the inclusion of Holmes and Watson somehow being the least interesting thing about this.

Thoughts
This is going to sound weird, but I loved everything about this book except Holmes and Watson. I knooow! But let's start at the beginning. Jules is a great lead - complex, smart, determined, and extremely human. Her struggles with herself, her writing, and her dreams were all very relatable. I also loved having an OwnVoices author talk about learning to live with hearing loss. Her friends are great, with contrasting personalities that both shine. Add to that some light romance, and you've got a very promising recipe. I'd be more than happy to watch the three of them solve mysteries forever. But that's not exactly what we get, because then we get Watson and Holmes, and an old mystery of theirs instead. Now don't get me wrong - I love Holmes and Watson, and I'll read any incarnation I can get my hands on. But I had invested a lot into the three young writers at the start, and I didn't enjoy seeing them take the back seat in a mystery they were already handling with a decent amount of competence. I really don't know how this could've been handled differently, but I do know that I was very eager for the kids to shine, and they didn't get as much screentime as I would have liked for them. I am saying this in the complimentary sense, dear author. I liked your characters, and they didn't need help. The mystery itself is serviceable. I didn't feel let down, but there weren't any huge surprises either. This book is marketed as being for Holmes fans, but it resonated with me much more as coming of age story about young writers.

The story is about a girl who joins a writing seminar and one of her classmates goes missing. Her and her friends find out that John Watson and Sherlock Holmes are still alive in present day but they don’t know how. They recruit them to help solve the mystery of their missing classmate.

I liked Jules and her friends. I think they had a good dynamic with the relationship. Some of the other classmate you tend to forget are there though. When it came to the reveal of Holmes and Watson, I feel like it could have been done a little better. To me personally it was a little anticlimactic. And I wish more was written about their lives afterwards. Overall it was a good story and I would recommend it to anyone that likes light mysteries and Sherlock Holmes.

American teenager Jules attends a writing seminar in London led by a Professor Watson. As the course progresses, the creative writing takes a back seat as there are two mysteries to solve: a missing classmate and the puzzle of how Holmes and Watson are still alive in the present day.
A Game Most Foul is a mix of mystery and magic. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will enjoy a novel interpretation of this character and how he operates in a different era to his own. The character of Jules brings an insight into how someone who is hard of hearing might approach being in a new situation and meeting a group of new people. Initially she tries to hide her hearing aids but then realises that the others are aware of her hearing loss and there is no need to hide them. I loved her friendship with Percy and Suruthi and the relationship between the three of them is one of the highlights of the book.
The solution to the mysteries is given rather than discovered which felt a bit disappointing as I would have liked to see more clues and development of the mystery element of the story.

What I Liked:

- The tidbits about Oxford were fun. I didn't know about the Narnia door until I read A Game Most Foul.

- Jules, Percy, and Suruthi were fun characters and well-developed. Gervais balanced Jules's hearing loss well with her character, making it a part of her but not all of her character (if that makes sense). Suruthi's character, while a little over the top, felt realistic, which can be a tricky thing to do with a personality as bold as hers.

- For the most part, I felt that Gervais's versions of Holmes and Watson felt fairy in line with Doyle's original characters.



What I Struggled With:

- The side characters were pretty flat. I honestly forgot about one of the students in the writing seminar until he popped up again. While I understand needing to populate the story, I think the side characters either should have been further developed or cut. They don't add anything really to the novel as they currently are.

- There were a couple times were the interactions between Holmes and Watson felt weird and childish. It's been a while since I've read the original novels, but those instances felt inaccurate with Doyle's characters, and how Gervais's versions acted most of the time.

- This is a little nitpicky. but Jules's jetlag didn't feel realistic. I've traveled overseas several times and never had minimal jetlag like Jules did. Maybe Gervais and I have simply had different experiences with jetlag, but that initial feeling of inauthenticity did pull me out of the novel a tad.

- The prologue felt clunky, and I think you could skip it without missing anything. Because of the back cover copy, the reader is already clued into the fact that Holmes and Watson are alive in the modern era. However, in the prologue, Gervais never refers to Watson by name, though it's clear that he's the POV character, rather calling him "the man." It led to clunky writing.

- Some of the key revelations in the book relied on telling, rather than showing. As a result, it felt like Jules and her friends didn't do much to solve the mystery, but were rather given the information.

SPOILER BELOW

- I didn't like how the mystery was solved. It might be simply because I like the original Watson character, but it left me feeling a little betrayed. I also am not a fan of spiritualism, the occult, etc., so I didn't enjoy those elements being added.

END SPOILER


Overall:

While I still like the premise for A Game Most Foul, the book itself is unfortunately not for me because of some "bumps" in the writing and how the mystery was resolved. However, I do think several of my dislikes came down to personal preference, so A Game Most Foul might be a great read for you.


Cautions: seven instances of coarser language; two instances of British swearing; two kisses; light-moderate romance; SPOILERS AHEAD mentions of the occult and seances; Watson and Holmes's immortality is caused by some sort of spiritual interference

I love Sherlock Holmes so I was very excited to read this book and see how they had adapted the characters. I loved that Jules was not only hard of hearing but it showed how she could overcome and adapt to solve crimes. There were moments that confused me but overall I enjoyed this book.

"A Game Most Foul" by Alison Gervais brings together elements of magical realism and mystery into a very unique and engaging story. The book follows Jules Montgomery, a hard of hearing teen writer attending a prestigious writing seminar at Ashford College in London. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, specifically in different interpretations of Sherlock (like if you ever wondered how Holmes would act in the modern era), you will definitely enjoy this book.

The characters, particularly Jules, are a highlight of the book. Jules' perspective offers a unique insight into the Deaf and Hard of Hearing culture, providing readers with an honest portrayal that is both authentic and refreshing. I really like how the book focuses on Jules coming to terms with her hearing loss and how she begins to accept it, like how she stops hiding her disability and acknowledges that being hard of hearing is who she is now. I thought the side characters acted like authentic teenagers, though I wish they had more development rather than Holmes analyzing them without the readers or the characters themselves acknowledging their faults or learning to grow from them. There was a member of the writing seminar that was technically a part of the seminar until the very end, but he hardly ever showed up and had zero importance to the plot; I feel like he should have either been removed altogether or given more importance. The romance in the book was sweet as it progressed in a natural way; the romance itself felt a little young, which fit with the book and the writing style. I also like how the romance didn’t overwhelm the actual plot, which can sometimes be an issue with YA mystery books.

The most interesting part of the book was the inclusion of Holmes and Watson, which added depth to the story, keeping it from being a standard mystery. There were references to classic Sherlock Holmes stories throughout, so if you are familiar with Holmes, you will definitely enjoy those connections. The plot is so unique with Sherlock and Holmes living in the modern era, but I wish that their backstory had more development. Jules didn’t actually do a lot of discovering on her own; a lot of the information was just handed to you. There was a lot of “tell” instead of “show” with the plot, especially with the overall mystery of the missing girl that is resolved at the end of the book. This kept the mystery from being super engaging to me since it didn’t require much guess-work from the reader as the information is just handed to you.

Still, I think this book holds appeal for fans of mysteries and Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts, particularly those interested in exploring a fresh perspective on familiar characters. I did enjoy the characterization of both Sherlock and Holmes in the book; I just wish there were a bit more characterization as well as more development of the mystery. I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5.

As I was reading A Game Most Foul, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it magical realism or were the characters just crazy? Was this light-hearted mystery or was it headed someplace dark? Honestly, now that I’ve finished, I’m still not sure I know what this book was.

I definitely enjoyed the characters. The main character, Jules, is hard of hearing and I appreciated gaining that perspective. I loved that Holmes and Watson were characters. I loved seeing how their established personalities played out in this new story. Books that reference other books are always a favorite.

Here’s where it lost me. The whole vibe of the book didn’t feel consistent. I think it wanted to be a dark, true crime novel in the vein of Truly Devious, but it just didn’t fully commit. It left me unsure of where the book was going and not in a good way. There was an element of whimsy and fantasy that didn’t seem consistent with the rest of the novel. I didn’t really see the ending coming, but again, not in a good way. I think I wasn’t engaged enough in the plot to be making predictions and, overall, it didn’t feel satisfying.

I really wanted to love this book and I just didn’t. I wouldn’t discourage students from reading it, especially if they’re really into mysteries and Sherlock Holmes, but I wouldn’t necessarily encourage them either.