The first 20% of The Game Is Murder made me want to give up. Confusing, chaotic and just… not for me. I was sitting there thinking, ‘What even is this?’ The setup felt unbelievable and overly quirky, like it was trying too hard to be clever. If this hadn’t been a review copy, I would’ve DNF’d it early on.

But I pushed through - and to be fair, it did start making more sense eventually. Things came together, sort of. The concept is definitely different: you, the reader, are the detective, tasked with solving a decades-old murder through witness accounts and weird party theatrics. There’s even a contract at the start telling you unsolved mysteries aren’t allowed. Very dramatic.

The idea had potential and I’ve read other books that did something similar much better. Here, the execution just didn’t land. The writing jumps all over the place - some parts are from the characters, some address you directly, some read like the author is trying to have a chat mid-scene. It wasn’t so much confusing as it was distracting. Too much going on all at once and not enough grounding to care about what was happening.

I ended up skimming most of it because I just wanted to get to the end and find out the answer. And for what it’s worth - the clues were there. I didn’t guess the ending, but that’s more because I skipped half the breadcrumbs in my rush to be done than because the mystery was unsolvable. So I’ll give it credit for that at least.

Character-wise, no one really stood out, though David and Daniel had their moments. The humour scattered throughout didn’t do much for me either - maybe it was supposed to be witty, but it mostly felt awkward.

It’s a weird book. Maybe someone into experimental or meta murder mysteries would enjoy it more than I did. I just found it long, messy, and exhausting - even with two coffees and a Red Bull. A very soft three stars from me, mostly for effort and ambition.

I was intrigued and interested when I heard about this novel, it seemed a new way of crime writing, and a clever idea. The reader takes the part of the Great Detective, and has to hear the witness statements, sort out the truth from the lies, discover clues, and ultimately unmask the killer. I thought it would be something like a game of Cluedo, or a murder mystery weekend party type novel, but I was mistaken.
I was disappointed with the writing style, and how the suspects were portrayed was irritating. I didn't engage with any of the characters. Some parts of it were quite long and repetitive, some parts were confusing.
Although I wanted to like this book, I'm afraid I didn't finish it. The style of writing, I must say was very clever, but, sorry, it just wasn't to my taste.
Thank you for the advanced copy.

I got this book recently as an ARC via Netgalley and am grateful for the opportunity. A mystery / thriller with the reader supposedly at it's heart.

it is set in 1970's London and centres around a case of murder and a second in the same house of assault. The perpetrator is always felt to have been The husband of one of the victims. In later years. his son sets out to disprove this by hosting a murder mystery party to which the reader is invited and expected to ascertain guilt or innocence

The characters are the persons of interest in the original investigation and the detective aka the reader.

This is a rambling, repetitive narrative that omits so much. Whatever the author was tring to achieve she has failed miserably as the rating on GR shows. There are numerous points throughout where I wanted to give up and just as many where i felt I was re- reading information.

I get the feeling that the final parts of the narrative hint at a continuation of the series. I for one would not be reading it

Did not finish it was too confusing and just didn't really tell me what I needed at the start.

I was disappointed as I was excited for this book, and maybe in a real copy it'll feel different and be better laid out, but it just didn't work for me on kindle.

The concept is brilliant and intriguing, only issue was
don't think I was ready! I really struggled with this read. I got stuck in cycles of repetitive dialogue, felt frustrated and gave up.

I really enjoyed the concept of this one, that as the reader we were also the detective.

I love anything set in the 1970’s too, and liked the dinner party element,

That’s the positives, overall whilst this had the potential to be so good it just felt a bit flat and anti- climatic.

I think some people will really enjoy the style though!

You are a "Great Detective" and have been invited to to a dinner party with a twist...its actually a murder mystery about a case from the 1970's. Overall the course of the dinner you will interview all the witnesses from the original case and then have to fight the case in court.

Sounds easy enough, except...you can't trust anyone, the witnesses or the host.

This was pitched as an immersive murder mystery which puts you right in the middle of the story. The reality is, the narrative gets very confusing, as at first you are given the role of detective and then very soon after, it's taken from you.

The narrative acts like you are in control but it's the opposite. You literally can't trust anything as nothing is what it appears to be. Conceptually this should be a great fun read but in reality I don't think it did what it delivered.

While the story had great potential to be a great murder mystery, unfortunately it just fell flat. The witnesses would have made some fun characters but again the twist in the narrative.

Overall had potential but felt confused and flat...sorry this one wasn't for me.

Favourite quote(s):
"None of those clues is labelled for the better edification of the detective. Like Sherlock Holmes, you have to seek them out. Waddaya think the magnifying glass is for?"

You are invited to a very special murder mystery party. The game is simple: Listen to the witnesses. Examine the evidence. Solve the case. Be careful. Trust no one. All might not be as it seems.

If you agree to play the role of the Great Detective, you must undertake to provide a complete solution to the case. A verdict is not enough. We need to know who did it, how they did it, and why. Are you ready?

I don't think I was ready! I really struggled with this read. When I saw the concept I thought it would be really interesting and a new take on a popular genre, but I was stuck in piles of repetitive dialogue (almost constant dialogue). Points for the idea but not the best execution.

This sounded amazing on paper but it wasn't executed very well for me. I love a slow book but it just kept going on and on and it dragged. Really didn't find it satisfying and did not end up being able to finish.

A murder mystery party investigating a cold case from the 1970's... the reader is the detective!
I was really looking forward to reading this book, as it seemed so different. The narrator gives lots of clues , including red herrings, & it includes some good quotes.
Just like a dinner party some of the characters just disappear into the background where as others jump out at you.
I found it was too long & repetitive especially in the middle. Unfortunately it didn't meet up to my expectations.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC
in exchange for an honest review.

The Game is Murder starts with a clever, ambitious concept, but unfortunately, it doesn’t follow through. At almost 500 pages, it’s far too long for the story it’s trying to tell, and the pacing really suffers.

What makes it most frustrating is how often the book shifts tone and rewrites its own rules. Just as you think you’ve got a handle on what’s going on, the premise changes again—making it confusing, inconsistent, and hard to stay invested. The characters don’t offer much emotional depth either, which makes the constant twists feel more tiring than intriguing.

There’s a good idea at the heart of this, but it’s lost under too much complexity. I really wanted to like it, but in the end, it just didn’t work for me.

DNF
Unfortunately I didn’t really get on with the writing style of this book.
I thought this book sounded very interesting but it just wasn’t for me!

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this book and had to give up reading it at 20% this book may have got better as it went on but it just didn’t engross me

Loveeeee!
This was amazing! I cannot fault this author I thought the book was great!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book!

Described as an ‘immersive’ detective novel, in The Game is Murder the reader is invited to take an active role in solving a fictional murder, a crime which bears a strong and somewhat tasteless resemblance to the actual 1974 murder of Sandra Rivett, nanny to the children of Lord Lucan, who famously disappeared that evening, never to be seen or heard of since.

In the book, the shadowy figure of the detective acts as the reader’s proxy and events are orchestrated by David Verreman, son of the absconding aristocrat, who was a child at the time of his nanny’s murder. Evidence is produced, key witnesses revisit their statements and are cross-examined, and movements on the night in question are reconstructed.

This is quite an interesting approach, but it just doesn’t come off. It’s well-nigh impossible to feel any emotional engagement with the characters; and the references – with which the book is packed – feel too clever-clever. At not much short of 500 pages it’s overly long and really drags in places. In fact, by the time The Game is Murder finally draws to a close, the reader, even if they’re taking their whodunnit responsibilities seriously, has probably lost the will to live. Sadly, I really wanted to love this, but just couldn’t.

I can’t work out if I liked this book or not. The writing style is so different to anything I’ve ready before and I found tricky to follow at times although I had to keep going to know how it ended so it definitely sucked me in.
It definitely requires concentration although the book did say that at the start.
I wasn’t sure if I was meant to actually complete the different questions or if it was actually part of the writing style.
Confusing is my main thought on it!

I am sorry to day that this was not my cup of tea. I tried ever so hard to get into it but found all the narrative rather boring. I found i was forcing myself to read it and finally decided to give up.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This sounded a really interesting book and exactly the sort of thing I would read, but as in the book nothing is what is seems to be on the surface. You are at once the Great Detective tasked with solving the crime, also the juror and the I feel somewhat spoken down to reader. It’s all really rather confusing and somewhat surreal and a hard discounted read. Did I enjoy it ? not really although it’s a clever concept.

Very original, different interesting book. I like it, but I had a bit difficult to read its complete different than everything that I read before.
I recommend to anyone that is tired of the mystery and suspenseful books that read in a normal way.
I am pleased that I read this book, give me a different way of thinking, and how look into it.

A great read. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.