
Member Reviews

This book reimagines the world of The Great Gatsby—with a twist. Jay Gatsby's younger sister, Greta, finds herself thrust into a murder mystery when a body is discovered on her brother's yacht. It's a clever, stylish, and utterly addictive whodunnit that will have you guessing until the very end. The book is an elegant blend of Fitzgerald's glamour and Agatha Christie's intrigue.

A fun imaginative reimagining of the classic The Great Gatsby novel, The Gatsby Gambit brings back the favourite characters from the original such as Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, and combines them with new faces at the centre of a murder mystery.
Set in the 1920s in America, new character Greta is at the centre of the mystery. When a member of the party disappears and a body is found and reported to be suicide, Greta channels her love for Agatha Christie, and sees about finding the killer.
Great setting for the story, fantastic interactions of characters, and plenty of motives and clues to keep you guessing throughout.
I have not read the original Great Gatsby novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald before reading this book, but that did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the story, and it has made me definitely want to go back and read the original.

This was slightly slow-paced for my tastes, but a nevertheless enjoyable read with a new take on the Gatsbys.

Greta Gatsby returns home from finishing school to find her brother Jay has friends staying for the night. The following morning one of them is dead, is it suicide as the evidence appears to point to or did someone murder them? Greta decides to investigate for herself.
Set in the 1920s in America, this is an interesting read.

Really enjoyed this book, lots of characters that you knew of but written in a different way. Kept your interest and you wanted to find out how it worked out. Very enjoyable read!!

The Great Gatsby is one of my favourite books, so the intrigue was there for me when I saw the blurb for The Gatsby Gambit...then I was worried I'd never give it a fair chance purely because I do love Gatsby so much. The worry was completely unfounded, as I LOVED Gambit so much! It was like an Agatha Christie novel set in West Egg, and the new addition of Greta wasn't distracting at all - she was a welcome addition and a great new character who seamlessly integrated with the originals we know and love.
I'm a fan of a whodunnit, and this one was superb. Not the most mentally-taxing or deep and meaningful book, but written at a great pace, enough twists to keep the reader guessing, and plenty of intrigue to keep you immersed in the Gatsby world. Would recommend as a fun whodunnit.

Greta Gatsby, is the young sister of the infamous Jay Gatsby. School now finished, she has a long summer ahead of her. But when she arrives home in West Egg, she finds that Daisy, Tom and Edgar Buchanan as well as Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker are all present for a party.
The following morning, one of them is missing.
Greta has a mystery to solve this summer, but finds that it is all a bit too close to home.
Set in the backdrop of the 1920s, the high society, the rich vacuous characters, made me remember why I disliked reading The Great Gatsby when I was younger. However as an idea of taking a well known novel and its characters and using them as a background to a murder mystery was different. I was able to leave my prejudices aside and enjoy this novel for what it was for, a cosy mystery set in the past, a genre I do enjoy.
With my prejudices, though I remembered much more about the original novel (than I was expecting to) it is based on and actually upon reflection this book is a good one to read alongside as it shows far more about the world of Jay Gatsby and how perhaps not much has changed in these intervening times.
For fans of cosy mysteries with an historical twist.

I had such high hopes for this book but sadly it fell short of those expectations. I found it took far too long to get going and I had switched off before it picked up the pace.
I would only recommend to someone who enjoys a slow moving fiction novel with a little mystery.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley. Described as an Historical Mystery which Retells the storie of Jay Gatsby and his friends and family.
The book opens with the arrival of a previously unheard of character in Greta Gatsby - Jay's younger sister newly returned from finishing school. The first evening ends in tragedy as Tom Buchanan is found dead supposedly a suicide but Greta (the Great Gatsby of this story) is far from sure that the exact circumstances have been revealed,
The book has a feel of an Agatha Christie but with a much slower burn in the storyline. Certainly i found the first half slow moving and didn't feel like getting back to the book. However the latter half picked up pace and made up for the slow start to some extent.
The characters are all very self centred and this includes some of the faithful retainers. This makes them almost one-dimensional. Only Greta showed more that one part of her character.
As a debut novel it does have plenty to recommend it and it does give another view of the Gatsby's. I would read more from the author

Murder? At Gatsby’s house? In this economy?? YES PLEASE.
This book gave me exactly what I wanted: a murder mystery dripping in 1920s glam, reuniting the old gang (plus Greta, Jay’s whip-smart little sister) for one deadly summer on Long Island. Think jazz, secrets, champagne, and someone ending up suspiciously dead before brunch.
Greta Gatsby is an absolute delight - sharp, observant, not above some well-placed sass, and determined to find out who’s turned her summer soiree into a crime scene. The vibes are very Agatha Christie meets Great Gatsby fanfic in the best way, with red herrings, secret motives, and a house full of beautiful people who are all just a little bit terrible.
This is a murderously fun, richly detailed romp through the Roaring Twenties, and I devoured it like a martini-soaked gossip column!

I really enjoyed this original and quirky mystery novel. Greta Gatsby is excited to finally be returning home to live with her brother Jay Gatsby. But she is somewhat perturbed to discover there are houseguests in the form of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Daisy's friend Jordan, Tom's brother Edgar and Nick (who she's quietly pleased to see).
As to be expected, the first evening she's back involves champagne and cocktails, fine dining and increasingly raucous conversation.
The next morning the group plan on going sailing and exasperated by the non-appearance of Tom, they set off without him. It turns out that Tom has a more than valid reason for not meeting the group.
This is where the mystery begins. Greta who is a voracious reader sees details others miss. She is tenacious and wise beyond her years. Slowly but surely she begins to piece together the events of the fateful night in question. The tension builds to an exquisite climax and I was wholly enthralled throughout. There was also a very skilful weaving into this period drama, a commentary on the state of affairs in the world as they currently stand.

A compelling and funny historical mystery that i thoroughly enjoyed.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was brilliant. So so clever and had me guessing right to the end about who was responsible for the death- and usually I’m quite good at working it out!!
The characters were really likeable and I immediately warmed to the Gatsby siblings. I loved reading about the glamour of the 1920s amidst the mystery. Really excellent- thank you!

I loved the original book which I have read numerous times. Unfortunately this did not live up to my expectations and I was disappointed.

A very enjoyable twist on Gatsby, a bit slow to get to to the action but nice world building, very engrossing and with a good sense of place and atmosphere..

I loved and adored the original Gatsby book and this one was so much fun and I could not put it down. It was a lot of fun, I did not take it too seriously. Definitely a bit of fun if you enjoy the original.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this book so DNF’d it at 30%, this book may have got better as it went on but it just wasn’t for me.

3.5-4. This reworking of the cast and setting of The Great Gatsby won’t please Gatsby purists and I suspect will therefore appeal more to those who enjoyed the Baz Luhrman version of the story than the F Scott Fitzgerald source material.
If you accept it for what it is, a murder mystery set in 20’s American, then you’ll enjoy the fun of guessing whodunnit alongside our intrepid protagonist, Jay Gatsby’s younger sister, Greta Gatsby. If you object to the rewriting of the plot, you might struggle a bit more. Having said that, would anyone be sorry to hear that Tom Buchanan meets a sticky end? Thought not!
With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t familiar with the Gatsby novels but this didn’t stop me enjoying this 1920s mystery
It’s a good read and kept me interested right through to the end.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works continue to fascinate readerships, and the slim novel depicting confidence trickster Jay Gatsby published one hundred years ago in particularly so. This debut novel focuses not on the irreverent protagonist but instead creates a new character by way of a younger sister for Gatsby, who is at the heart of the action. This sister, called Greta but commonly known as Gigi, returns to West Egg after completing her expensive education elsewhere. She steps into some fairly familiar scenes refracted through Nick Carraway’s recollections, with Jordan Baker, Daisy Buchanan and other hangers-on continuing to enjoy Gatsby’s lavish parties – until the appearance of a deceased person among their privileged community. Will Gigi be able to solve the mystery of what happened to this unfortunate Long Islander? And what else will she uncover about the circles she moves in?
Astutely written and with a beautifully executed plot, what I liked most about this novel were its representations of femininity, as female housekeepers, former student Gigi, party girl Jordan and many other females are all afforded narratorial space and hint at the societal inequalities that already bubbled under the surface in Fitzgerald’s original work. Very highly recommended for readers whose appetite for Fitzgerald’s fiction shows no sign of abating! I wish to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC that allowed me to read this exquisite debut novel, and to produce this unbiased review.