A middle-of-the-road whodunnit à la Agatha Christie. The two protagonist sleuths (grandmother and grandchild) are interesting characters with a pertinent and even intriguing at times background whose repartee is entertaining enough. The story itself (a traditional lock-room (house!) plot) did not grip me totally despite the original (to me) idea of linking developments to a video game scenario (all well argued in background story…) perhaps it fell a bit mechanical in what happened or too similar to other novels of similar style. Whilst I liked sleuth team a lot (4/5), their banter etc, the plot was for me more like 2/5.

This Is Not a Game is a unique locked-room debut that weaves together a memorable intergenerational relationship and a gaming angle. Set against the backdrop of a lavish mansion, the story unfolds as widow Mimi and her granddaughter, Addie, find themselves snowed in during a charity auction, only to discover that their host has been murdered. This unlikely sleuthing duo must navigate a dangerous game, drawing on their distinctive skill sets to uncover the truth.

Mimi lives on the idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are banned and a Gibson with three onions at the witching hour is a must. Addie, meanwhile, is recovering from the heartbreak of her fiancé, Brian, who not only dumped her but also cut her out of the lucrative video game they created together. When Mimi receives an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland—a narcissistic septuagenarian embroiled in an affair with her son-in-law—it provides the perfect excuse for Addie to join her for the weekend. Unbeknownst to Addie, a blackmail threat related to the invitation looms.

Just as the scene is set for a tumultuous weekend, a fierce storm traps everyone inside the mansion. Tensions escalate when Jane’s body is discovered, and Mimi and Addie must rely on their wits—Mimi's love for crossword puzzles and Addie's expertise as a game designer—to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the stakes become even higher, and it’s clear that someone is playing a deadly game, putting their lives at risk.

This book checks all the boxes for me: a sprawling estate, a mysterious cast of characters, hidden trapdoors, and snowed-in panic, all enriched by the charming dynamic between grandmother and granddaughter. I thoroughly enjoyed the engaging mystery, captivating setting, and well-drawn characters.

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Mimi is invited to a do at one of her neighbours who she as gone out of her way to avoid. She feels she has to go. She decides to invite her granddaughter Addie to go with her.
It does not take long for things to start to go wrong and it becomes clear that the other guests have their own secrets.
I liked the way the characters developed throughout the book and their back stories. It was a nice read.

Mimi and Addie are great characters!
Set around a very odd country house party, where blackmail is served with the canapes, the guests are trapped by the weather and forced to coexist with a murder victim whilst waiting for police to make it through the snow.
The investigation launched by Addie and Mimi, neither qualified but both keen uncovers many secrets and lies and put them both in danger- after all, how could the murderer have escaped without laving footprints in the snow?
A great take on the genre!

I throughly enjoy this book. The characters were great and I didn’t work out who dunnit!! It had a good pace and kept me wanting more.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy to read and review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get into this. This is no reflection on the author.

A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

This is a book you will read again and again, Addie and Mimi are the fresh air this genre needs and what an absolute stunner of a novel.

All readers, mystery, thriller, whatever will love this because while the characters are show stoppers the mystery is also brilliant.

Mimi is being blackmailed. She invites her granddaughter Addie, a computer game creator, to join her at an auction so that she can confront her blackmailer, a wealthy neighbour, face-to-face. When her neighbour is murdered, she needs to revisit her suspicions. Together, Mimi and Addie use their very different skill sets to solve the crime. The novel is cleverly sprinkled with clues throughout (but you need to be reading very carefully!)
An excellent 'locked room' mystery in the style of Agatha Christie! Murder, blizzards, secret passages, cyanide - what else could a murder mystery need? A perfect mix of ingredients.

I was asked to read this fab murder mystery story- I read this in one sitting as so compelling.

Good characterisation, good storyline and humour thrown into the mix.

It did have a fell of Agatha Christie and Miss Marple the much loved sleuth.

Well written and great for the cold days ahead. So recommended.

Absolutely brilliant! Excellent plot and characters with great banter. Cleverly done, brilliantly written. I didn't want it to end but also couldn't stop reading! Triumph!

I enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it each day, although I felt it became a little repetitive towards the end.
A group of people are brought together by a blackmail scheme, only to find themselves trapped in the house and the assumed blackmailer dead. The grandma and grand daughter work together to solve the crimes.

If I had not committed to reviewing this, I would not have read it to the end. The storyline is hackneyed. A group of people on an island for a party are cut off from the world by a storm. The police can’t get to them when the murders start so an elderly guest and her granddaughter step in to catch the culprit. The identity of the guests is not made clear enough to take the readers through the story. Eventually, of course, they identify the culprit before the police arrive! Because the storyline is so frequently used for books, I am unable to recommend this book. It is boring.

A joy from start to finish this is a very modern take on cosy crime. Funny, tightly written and it is a properly old school locked room style mystery but feels like a breath of fresh air

I found this book quite disappointing. The plot was quite basic, and it lacked the humour which would have made it an entertaining read. It was clearly meant to be a collection of clichés, but without humour, it all fell a bit flat I'm afraid.

Looking at other reviews, I wondered if they were reading the same book. I was hoping for something like Knives Out but instead found This Is Not A Game to be the book equivalent of a Hallmark movie: entertaining, maybe, but ultimately lacking in depth. It wasn't for me.

Outstanding..
Fabulous in every sense, this country house style murder mystery will keep the reader on their toes and briskly turning the pages. A grandiose mansion on the island of Mackinac is the setting for a jazz style party, to include an auction, and to which local resident Mimi has been invited. Mimi cannot resist this particular invitation, for reasons only known to her, and cajoles her granddaughter Addie into accompanying her. Things soon begin to go awry, then the bodies begin to pile. Cut off by snow, what on earth will Mimi and Addie do next and who will survive the night? Beautifully done with a cast of eccentric and eclectic characters populating a well paced and cleverly executed plot, this gives ‘Only Murders’ vibes and would work as well on screen as it does between these pages. Outstanding.

Thank you #netgalley for allowing me to read this BRILLIANT murder mystery!

LOVED this book so much that I couldn’t put it down! The characters were all brilliantly described, the plot was excellent and the banter between Mimi and Addie was hilarious!

There was nothing I didn’t love about this murder mystery which was very Marple-esque in its way but with a loving relationship between grandmother and granddaughter cleverly mixed in. The hilarious one-liners were also excellent and I how there is a series of these murder mysteries featuring this duo. Please tell me there are MORE?!!

It seems strange to be writing this review in August, when the novel isn’t due out for another eight months. It’s an interesting one, though, particularly if you’re fond of a locked room mystery with just the right amount of death. Mimi is in her late 70s, fond of a cocktail, missing her granddaughter and living in a place where there are no cars. She receives and invitation to Jane Ireland’s auction party, an event where Mimi’s been told to bid… or her secret will be revealed. Cue daunting music. But, undeterred, she persuades granddaughter Addie – who’s having an ex-fiance mixed with business issue – to attend with her, only to discover that the host is dead and she’s not the only dead body they’ll come across. It’s almost snowing heavily, the estate has a drawbridge that has been pulled up, there’s no local police force as such and someone in the building is a murderer. What else can you do other than put your metaphorical deerstalker on and attempt to crack the case? This is beautifully paced with plenty of time for readers to solve the crime(s) too – and I hope we see Mimi and Addie make a return to murder solving in 2026.

An enjoyable read. Loved the descriptions of everything from houses to Gibson’s ( thanks for the recipe) and of course all the characters. Easy to read and a perfect holiday book to keep your brain ticking over whilst by the pool!