This was an ambitious undertaking that challenged the reader (and The Reader) as to what actually is a murder mystery and what role characters play within it.

Would I want every crime novel to be like this one? Not at all. Did I enjoy this experience and experiment? Yes. Mostly.

The characters themselves were rather good on the whole, especially David and Daniel. They were fascinating characters who led the whole book from start to finish. Some of the other characters were a little underdeveloped because of the attention that was focused on them, which is a shame as they all deserved more time. The middle of the book suffered a little from pacing, as we went over the same information but as an example of a fictional court case it was good and kept me turning the page to see if I was right as to my conclusions - it wasn't the most complicated of cases in the end, but then they never are.

I didn't particularly enjoy the moments where the book was talking to the reader. It felt, at times, akin to negging - insulting me to make me appreciate how clever the book was and want it - which wasn't needed or enjoyed.

Overall, an entertaining fresh take on a very saturated genre.

Not at all what it's advertised to be this is no way interactive it's not the best mystery either so really was disappointed with this one. It's big PASS for me I'll be sticking to my usual mysteries this is a piece is meta not a classic mystery with a twist it is just so disappointing

This was not what I was expecting. I thought it would be more interactive, instead, it was a meta reading, maybe too meta for my taste. I liked the plot and kudos to the idea, but it was not my cup of tea.

would like to thank Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Incredibly ambitious.

As a murder mystery fan, I thought I'd read every trope possible for detective fiction. I was wrong. Ward experiments with a different type of genre, which I have not previously read. There may be authors like her out there somewhere that are not popularised - but I've not read them.

This read is a mind meld, like my brain hurts from reading this. I liked the idea of being invited in as the 'great detective'. There's lots of tricks and twists along the way... Make your opinion on that as you will. Despite this being a review, I will keep my opinions to myself as they may serve as spoilers.

I liked that this was a twist on a murder mystery.