I found this to be a compelling mystery and I was enthralled from the very beginning, I love mysteries and puzzles and this fit both perfectly,
Six book/crime people are invited to Midwinter to play the ultimate murder mystery game with a large cash prize as an incentive, It’s very cloak and dagger with an eclectic mix of staff and invited guests,
Twelve people in all stay at Midwinter and through various perspectives, the story unfolds, Each guest is down on their luck, with little to no family to spend Christmas with and were lured by the chance to get back on their feet.
When one guest is found dead within the first 24 hours, it is deemed an accident…but how many deaths can be ruled accidental with a short space of time?
It was like reading two mysteries as the reader got to play along with the guests the game set for them as wel, as determine whether there is murder afoot!
With plenty of clues towards both and the perspectives of the characters, I found it thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable!
Now that I have been introduced to this author, I will be on the look out for others from him too.

Six people are invited to play a cludoesq game in order to win a prize that will chnage their lives.

Each person is hard up and each desperastely want to win

This is a cunning read and I did not see the ending.. its a massive shock for the reader.

I loved how the author has included the reader in playing the game and I was immersed from the start.
It is an atmospheric read and set in Winter so I felt the coldness and as the game progressed I really did feel like I could be next..

This book was just so much fun! The mystery was really well crafted, with twists that didn’t come out of the blue but were surprising. I found that it did not fall into cliches while giving me a feeling of reading the Golden Age of Murder Mysteries books. This book is a Christmas one and it will be coming out around that time, so I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a cosy holiday reading experience.

If you’re a crime fiction lover, who yearns for puzzles and brainteasers as you work out whodunnit, with what, where and why, you’ll know Martin’s latest novel. Six people with links with the world of crime writing are invited to spend Christmas in a snowy village, in surroundings that will soon have them cut off from everyone else… and where truly grim things happen. Only one crime expert has to solve the fictional murder to reap life-changing rewards, but there’s quite a lot of drama to get through before they can begin deciphering clues. Not everyone, however, is playing fair.

Delicious..
Having enjoyed the previous extract of this forthcoming title, the full reading copy was a delight. What will soon be a Christmas murder mystery with a difference where six people, all with links to the literary world of crime, have been invited to a play a game by the rather elusive Midwinter Trust in an idyllic Yorkshire village. The prize, they are told, will be potentially life changing. With six members of the Trust also in attendance and the village about to become cut off by a snow storm, what could possibly go wrong? Well, the game is truly afoot. Just tremendous, a fully formed murder mystery combined with true puzzles for the reader to solve alongside, both intriguing and entertaining, brimming with red herrings, clues and misdirection galore. Delicious.

I was lucky to receive this book to review via NetGalley. Getting to read the story and solve the puzzles contained within it felt like Christmas had come early. This is Martin Edwards' first Christmas murder mystery but it contains the ingredients of many of his other novels in that there are solvable clues throughout the story which lead the reader towards the correct solution. This is a very golden age approach which Martin has successfully applied to the modern idea of a puzzle book that is also a mystery. In this story, a group of people are invited to the extremely remote village of Midwinter to compete to solve a fictional murder. But, before long, the real bodies start piling up in the snow that generally accompanies Christmas mystery novels. Not only do Martin's readers get the opportunity to solve the 'real' murders but they are also given the clues provided to the contestants so they get to solve both sets of murders. I loved competing against the characters to solve the 'fake' crime and was successful at this but I missed the twist that Martin had so cleverly engineered that was the answer to the identity of the 'real' murderer in Midwinter. This book would make a fabulous Christmas present as it is highly entertaining and completely addictive.

An interesting meta mystery, with a puzzle within a puzzle. 6 players and 6 staff all confined in a snowbound village for Christmas. Enjoyed both puzzles and the gradual disclosure of the plot.

Well this book was different to things I have read recently and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t solve the mystery, no where close but this is fine. The book is set in a village called Midwinter. The four people who run the Trust decide to hold a murder mystery weekend over the Christmas break and invite people to attend. There is a prize for the winnder of the competition. These 6 people are completely vetted and do seem to have a lot in common from the writing/publishing world. As they arrive the village is completely snowbound and they may have to stay longer than envisaged. As they all get to know each other the questions start being asked and not necessarily answered and are sometimes vague. The beginning does not run smoothly as the 6 are all vying for the prize and do not trust one another. Strange and worrying things start to happen and there is friction in the Trust. As the 6 start to play the game they begin to wonder how it will end. Then something happens and it almost goes from bad to worse for the 6. I will not write anymore so as not to spoil the story but it was intriguing and a must read. As I said above I did not solve the mystery but the ride to the end of the book was worth it

I absolutely love Golden Age crime fiction and Martin Edwards is clearly an expert. The 'puzzle in a puzzle' was very well done and the setting close to perfection. I could have done with a little more character development however - this is always a fine line in Golden Age, to give the characters life while still serving an intricate plot. Great read though

A great “who dunit? Christmas, snow, and murders but not your usual mystery. Well written, good characters and plenty of clues for those of you who can work things out. Me? I had no idea who did it until the reveal at the end.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards is a fun festive read.

It’s a brilliant homage to the Golden Age of Crime. It centres on a remote village Midwinter village in the North Pennines with a population of six welcoming six guests to playing a residential ‘whodunnit’ game over the Festive Christmas Period. There’s a huge prize, so everything to play for.

The story moves along at great pace and unfolds from multiple points of view. The weather is extreme and the village is cut of by snow, thus creating a ‘locked in’ feel adds to the atmosphere and sense of peril.

I loved the way the book was structured with The Players in the Game, Rules of the Game, Bonus Puzzle Content. I particularly loved the addition of the Clue Finder at the back of the book, something that was common in Golden Age crime books of the 1930s. It was great to look at it at the end and see things I should I have picked up on!

I haven’t read books by Martin Edwards before, but based on this compelling book I will most definitely seek out his other books.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Aria & Aries, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Who doesn’t love a festive whodunnit?! Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards is a fun festive read.

It harks back to the Golden Age of Crime and centres in Midwinter village where a population of six welcoming six guests to playing a residential ‘whodunnit’ game over the Festive Christmas Period. Everything to play for!

Six people who have an involvement with crime writing are invited to the isolated village of Midwinter for Christmas celebrations. These celebrations include a murder mystery party, with clues given to the guests each day until Christmas Day when one of them will win by correctly solving the mystery. The guests are greeted by members of staff, some people are known to each other, others are not. There is the inevitable snowstorm and so the village is cut off completely. The game begins with the first clues given, but then one of the guests is found dead. This book intrigued me, as the reader is given the choice to play along with the guests, or simply read the story. I was trying to solve the puzzles myself and I liked the extras too, podcasts and extracts from diaries, and lists. I must say I did not discover whodunnit, but thoroughly enjoyed the journey to the end of the game.
Thank you for my advanced copy.

I loved the setting of this book, being snowed in and isolated at Christmas and how that added to the mystery. I enjoyed the story being told through different perspectives via diaries and other sources in the bonus content.

The characters were interesting, I was intrigued by their backstories and I liked that I was constantly questioning who to trust.

I also really appreciated the cluefinder at the end and getting to see how everything was hinted at throughout the book and what clues I picked up on or missed!

This was my first book by this author and I’ll definitely be going back to read more of his other work.

such a fun read! I loved reading this novel and neeeeeed more!!! immediately!! the plot, the chaacters, the suspense, the writing, everything was spot on

A fun festive whodunnit. An odd assortment of people have been invited to a big old house in the remote village of Midwinter, appropriate as they get snowed in. Between chapters there’s Bonus Puzzle Content with clues as to people who may have reason to dislike another person in the group. Confusing at times, but that’s the point of a whodunnit! For Agatha Christie fans and anyone who loves a cosy murder mystery.

Simply brilliant! What a clever construction; a cosy murder mystery but the reader takes part too. I was engrossed from start to finish and totally foxed. Genius. It’s a simple story where guests have the opportunity to change their life. They’re all a bit down on their luck and the backstories are engaging and illuminating. This is rather like playing Cluedo and reading and Agatha Christie at the same time and I loved it. More please from Martin Edward’s and my thanks to the publisher and Netgalley fir an early review copy.

I will be honest this is good. This is the first time I have hears of the author but the plot and story of this is very intriguing and mind blowing.

I did not get to solve it but it was still entertaining. I believe this would go well with an audiobook as if it would look like a real detective thingy that there is a recorded sounds that the detectives can play and hear over and over again.

I enjoyed this - a odd assortment of down on their luck people invited to solve a mystery, who then find themselves in a real murder mystery!

Lots of clues and red herrings, a range of likeable and less likeable characters and plenty of dead bodies - a mix of Cluedo and Agatha Christie is a good description I suppose. I liked the way the author used different ways to give us info about the cast of characters, their motivation and what was going on- journal entries, dialogue etc.

Lots of fun! Haven't read anything by Martin Edwards before, but I will in future!

Martin Edwards, Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife, Aria & Aries, September 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife - how could any player of Cluedo resist? And then, when it becomes clear that Martin Edwards has produced a pure example of a Golden Age detective story, the result is unquestionable. It must be read. With murder mystery game within murder mystery, this novel is an amalgam of engaging storytelling, clear plotting, a blend of subtle and sharp characterisation, and a feast for the reader-investigator. One story line is the game devised by the hosts, the Midwinter Trust; the other is what happens to the six guests; their hosts, the four Midwinter Trust members; and the two staff members, a chef, and a chauffeur. The guests have a great deal resting upon their success at solving the mystery as each has suffered a severe decline in their career, prospects and hope for the future.

The reader-investigator has two mysteries to unravel – the game, and the events that occur over the freezing Christmas at Midwinter Village. The guests must solve the puzzles they are given. The reader also has an option to do so as they are provided in Bonus Puzzle Content throughout the book. Puzzles and written material provide plenty of clues. The clues to the mystery in which guests, staff and Trust members become embroiled are, as with any skilled Golden Age mystery, scattered throughout the text. At the end of the book these are presented politely to the reader – politely in that even with my poor showing in deduction I did not feel too foolish.

Martin Edwards has devised a compelling argument for the beauty of Golden Age detection. There are no confected twists, no harrowing forensic detail, no gratuitous violence and very little blood indeed, and yet, this cannot be called a ‘cosy mystery’. Some characters may be charmless, but each has a story, the one they tell, and the one that is hidden, that make them interesting. The journal entries with which some impart their observations and feelings, are at times engagingly honest, at others engagingly not. The surrounds are fiercely cold enough to have an impact on them and infuse the enclosed location with even more discomfort. Descriptions of the Christmas music and meals do nothing to diffuse this. Indeed, they add to the feeling that everyone at Midwinter Village must have a desperate reason to be there. And one of them does.

Love a great puzzle, with nostalgic vibes of Clue is a fun element. I always enjoy a good mystery.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This closed in, modern whodunnit is perfect, if you want something that gives the feeling of reading Agatha Christie's books. I especially enjoyed that I could solve the mystery besides the characters in the books. It was a humbling experience, but honestly I was too excited about the book to sit down and actually solve it.

I love that this book was exactly the kind of mystery I didn’t know I needed—clever, playful, and full of atmosphere. From the moment I opened it, I felt like I was being invited into a classic murder mystery weekend, complete with a remote village, eccentric guests, and an ominous sense that someone wasn’t playing fair. I especially loved how the story unfolded through different formats like podcasts, diary entries, and reading lists—it made me feel like a detective piecing everything together myself. The “Cluefinder” was a brilliant touch; it was fun trying to guess the killer before the big reveal. It had that nostalgic Agatha Christie vibe but with a modern, meta twist that made the whole experience feel fresh and immersive. It kept me thinking long after I turned the last page.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the mystery within the mystery element. There were interesting characters in with an interesting plot. I enjoyed trying trying to figure out the mystery and was keen to keep reading to find out what was going to happen.

I loved this story! I think Martin Edwards must have had a lot of fun in writing it. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classic crime, and puts it to great use in this story. The setting is an extreme winter version of the classic isolated mystery, whilst the weather and the rules at Midwinter resort, provide the isolation that would otherwise be difficult to achieve in a modern environment.
Without giving spoilers, there are little Easter eggs throughout the plot. Some are more obvious, and explained; others are more subtle. Even the final plot twist is a massive homage to a famous murder mystery. Some of the twists and revelations are quite predictable, but this almost adds to the fun, as the reader is proved right in their guesses! An ideal Christmas present for anyone who is a fan of classic and Golden era crime.

This was an absolute hoot! I love Martin Edwards' Rachel Savernake mystery series, and in this he has used his unparalleled knowledge of golden age mysteries to create a fascinating modern read that riffs with old fashioned ciphers and clues. A really entertaining read. I would heartily recommend.

Aside from a couple of CWA anthologies which he edited, I hadn't read anything by Martin Edwards prior to this. I'm so glad Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife was my first, because I loooooved it, and now I just want to lock myself away with his back catalogue. 🗡️
Now I know you want me to tell you all about this book and why I love it so much. I'm not going to go into detail about the plot, the blurb speaks for itself. I will tell you that, while this could be categorised as a cosy mystery, it's not a quick read. This is one of those books where you get to use your little grey cells and try to solve the mystery or, in this case, the mystery within the mystery. 🗡️
I had a lot of fun with this. I played along with the characters, trying to solve the clues with them. Yes peeps, clues are very kindly provided for your perusal. You'll have to watch out for those red herrings, though. 🔍
I made copious notes, and managed to solve one of the mysteries. 🗡️
So there you have it peeps. Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife is a fun, immersive mystery within a mystery. It won't be to everyones taste, but that can be said for all books. 🗡️
Thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

Earlier in the year, I got the chance to read an extract of this novel, and I was very excited to read the full version – it did not disappoint.What a smorgasbord of Christmas crime novel treats to read.

Think you are in for a cosy chistmas at Midwinter’s village, think again! We have all the traditional format of a Golden Age Crime Novel, with the isolated locale, a small group of unlikely people to go on holiday together, and a ruthless murderer.

It reminded me a lot of And Then There Were None and other Golden Age novels. As with any good traditional ‘whodunit’, the novel presents the reader with many clues that enable them to guess along with crimewriter Harry Crystal. We also had the plot containing a murder mystery game for the characters to play.

There are elements that kept the novel contemporary, so there was something for everyone. Outside of the crime, Harry Crystal’s journal had a lot of satirical quips about the publishing profession – a lot of fun. The ending for the murderer also had an element of satire to it. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Something different for crime fiction readers, a book where you can play along to solve the fictional murder. A real murder then happens, so the reader can solve that too. Absolutely brilliant.

The Midwinter Trust have sent out invitations to six (down on their luck) guests, with links to the crime writing world, to spend a Christmas Break at Midwinter Halt in the North Pennines to play a game of "Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife"! All the guests have to do is solve the clues given by the Trust and reveal how the victim was killed and by whom? As if that wasn't enough, there seems to be some mystery happenings at the location. It was well written with a definite sense of a locked room mystery, full of twists and turns, a few red herrings are thrown, and I couldn't put the book down!! All the sub plots were woven together to give an unexpected conclusion!

Last year I was lucky enough to read an extract of this book, and it hooked me instantly. I’ve been waiting ever since to see how the story unfolded – and it was worth every moment of the wait.
From the first page, I felt pulled into the snowbound village, where the festive setting is laced with unease. The tension builds beautifully, and I found myself second-guessing everyone’s motives while eagerly trying to piece the clues together myself. It’s rare for me to feel like I’m playing along with a mystery, but here I genuinely did – and I loved every second.
What struck me most was how clever yet playful the whole book feels. It has that golden-age crime vibe, but with enough sharpness and mischief to make it feel fresh. The characters are vivid, flawed, and fascinating, and more than once I caught myself thinking, “Oh, I don’t trust you one bit…”
This was such a joy to read: atmospheric, clever, and completely absorbing. Martin Edwards has given crime lovers a real treat here, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Easily one of my favourite reads of the year.

Six people are invited to spend Christmas at Midwinter, to enjoy the peace and tranquility and solve a murder mystery, all expenses paid and the chance of a prize for the winner and the chance to join the Midwinter Trust. The six are all people whose careers have taken a nosedive and who have no one to spend the festive period with for a variety of reasons.
The stage is set and the first clues are given, our main character Harry, a failed crime writer, seems to be at a disadvantage to the other guests as they know of something that happened at Midwinter five years before. Snow had cut off the place then as now, and when the first body is discovered, seemingly an accident, does the past have a bearing on the present.
Well written with plenty of clues hidden in the story, just in the style of golden age mysteries, I read this in one go. Fantastic.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

I love a Christmas Murder Mystery especially a Golden Age one. This book was perfect for me. Martin certainly knows his stuff when it comes to murder stories and I loved everything about this one.
Set in the remote village of Midwinter, six people are invited to a murder mystery weekend. A prize for the winner makes them all the more competitive . Throw in a snowstorm which cuts them off from the outside world and a real murder to contend with and you have all the ingredients for a jolly good story.
Fascinating characters to get to know, an abundance of clues to find, I was totally immersed in the story and the puzzles. The clue finder at the end really helps to sort everything out and no, I didn’t manage to solve the mystery myself.
Martin Edwards is definitely one of my favourite crime writers and I can’t recommend this highly enough.

If you love crime fiction, brainteasers and the thrill of a classic whodunnit, this one is for you.

Six people connected to the world of crime writing are invited to a snowy North Yorkshire village for Christmas.

The challenge?

Solve the fictional murder of a crime writer to win a prize that could change their lives forever.

The setting is atmospheric, the tension deliciously high, and with a snowstorm on the way, being cut off from the outside world adds an irresistible layer of suspense.

But not everyone is playing fair… and when the stakes are this high, it is tempting to add a little real murder into the mix.

Perfect for fans of puzzles, clever twists and the cosy-yet-deadly feel of a festive mystery.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

4.5 rounded up.

I really liked this, it was a fun read. I am a fan of Golden Age crime novels and I loved all the nods to the various ones I have read and no doubt there are other nods I missed.

There is a lot going on in the book, there is the Miss Winter puzzle for the guests, the mystery of what happened at Midwinter 5 years previously, the "accidents/murders" in the present day of the guests themselves and the mystery of Midwinter itself.. I enjoyed all 3 plots aspects and managed to work out the Miss Winter one and a couple of things (no spoilers) made me suspect part of the mystery of the Trust itself although I doubted myself because I thought it was unlikely and i was still surprised at the final reveals about the Trust.

I thought all the events and characters were well thought out and well drawn. In the early conversations there is some repetition but that is only at the start.

I liked Harry and I thought the pun titles of his books were very funny - I would like to read one of his books! I would read more about Harry, maybe he should become a detective.

Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife is the perfect murder mystery to get you in the mood for cosy season and I absolutely adored everything about it.

Martin Edward’s is one of my favourite authors. I have loved all of his Rachel Savernake books, so when I saw this available to request on NetGalley I was super excited.

This was such a clever novel where 6 people are invited to The Midwinter Trust in a remote part of the North Pennines to solve a murder mystery. In this book and Martin’s previous novels he has clue finders at the end which you can check to see if you found any clues along the way, making his books fun and immersive.

#MissWinterintheLibrarywithaKnife takes this immersive experience to the next level and makes you, the reader, part of the game. You are given clues to try and solve the murder mystery throughout the story which I thought was fantastic! I wasn’t clever enough to solve the murder mystery 😂 but I enjoyed being given the opportunity!

Of course it wasn’t just the fictional murder mystery the guests needed to solve, there ended up being some real murders that became immediately necessary to solve, especially as the village was snowed in and there was no way in or out.

I loved the characters so much, especially Harry Crystal, a crime writer who believes he has had limited success in his career. All of the guests worked in publishing in some form and I loved the tongue in cheek take on the industry.

Martin managed to make this book not only feel chilling at times, but I also found it super cosy due to the Christmas themes and humour throughout the book.

I always say this after every Martin Edward’s book, but I think this one was my favourite! I really enjoyed it so much.

Thank you so much to Head of Zeus for my ARC.

Many years ago I read the Lake District series by Martin Edwards and this is the second book I have read of his in the last couple of years. Great ideas for a book well executed. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This is not a book you can just whiz through. You have to put an effort into it. As it says at the beginning, you are one of the characters. You are an investigator and, along with following the action and working out the clues, you will also suffer the repetition and frustration, just like a real life detective!
It's chock full of puzzles - some easy, others notsomuch - but they all count. They all add up to way more than the sum of their parts.
So, we start with six people being invited to a murder mystery game by the Midwinter Trust. They all come from the literary field - an actor, an influencer, a podcaster, a publicist, an agent, and an editor - and as we meet them, we find out that they all have one thing in common. For various reasons, all have "fallen from grace".
If you then add into the mix the fact that the village - Midwinter - is very isolated and, with the bad weather that is coming being likely to cut it off, you won't be surprised to hear that to complement the fictional murder we also get a real one.
Sounds all things exciting and thrilling, doesn’t it? Well, it is, but it's also very slow, very heavy going. It's not a book that you can dip in and out of. My advice would be to grab a pen and notebook, switch off your phone and block out a decent chunk of time to devote to it. Honestly, it will be worth your while, worth your effort.
Oh and if you miss anything along the way, there's a clue finder at the end.
Reading others’ reviews, I can see why this will be a bit of a marmite book. And I can see and understand why people made certain observations and criticisms.
I also think that this style of book is better suited as a physical rather than an ebook - easier to flick back to go over something again or double check it.
But, all that said, I did enjoy what I read. Am I a good investigator? Heck no. but I had fun finding that out!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Martin Edwards’s Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife is completely different from his recent Rachel Savenake series of books. Yes, it’s a mystery with murder victims and we are challenged to identify the murderer, but the style is almost playful. Although it is emphatically not a “cosy” mystery, Edwards slips in tongue-in-cheek one-liners such as “[T]here are lies, damned lies, and press releases about departing staff.” There are several such laconic gems, some of which poke fun at the publishing industry. One has the impression that he enjoyed writing this book.

The premise is simple: six people (all associated with the publishing industry – an author, a blogger, etc.) are invited on an all-expenses Christmas trip to a village called Midwinter, high in the Pennines. While they enjoy Christmas festivities, they must compete to solve a murder mystery involving a set of TV stars who have entwined relationships, with the staff handing out puzzle sheets. Unfortunately, one of the Midwinter people is found dead, then another…

We readers are challenged on two levels: firstly, like the visitors to Midwinter, can we solve the paper puzzle of who murdered one of the TV brigade? This works well. We see replicas of the handouts that the visitors see and we have the same briefing they do. I needed to resort to pen and paper to solve the puzzles, but I did enjoy solving them all.

Secondly, can we identify a killer loose in Midwinter? As always with Martin Edwards, there are clues (and a cluefinder at the end of the book, to gently point out the ones we missed). Although I paid attention to the paper-based TV stars mystery and solved that one, I was content to read and enjoy the Midwinter mystery without trying too hard to deduce who had done what to whom and how. Although, as I mentioned earlier, there are humorous one-liners, the plot is tight and the characters are well-drawn. There are six visitors to Midwinter and six staff to look after them. Despite there being twelve characters, they are carefully delineated and readers will not confuse them. I enjoyed Edwards’s depiction of Poppy, a young book publicist who uses words such as “Gosh!” and often says things brightly, demonstrating how an author’s very careful choice of words controls the image that the reader builds of that character.

This is a great book. While mystery afficionados will love the in-jokes about writers and the publishing industry, all readers will enjoy the whodunnit aspects.

#MissWinterintheLibrarywithaKnife #NetGalley

Six strangers with connections to the world of crime are invited to Midwinter, a village in Yorkshire, by the Midwinter Trust, to play a mystery game during the Christmas days. The reader (us!) is also invited to play the game remotely.

The story has everything a classic crime fiction reader could wish: an English village, in Winter with lots of snow, a limited set of suspects (sorry, characters!), and, of course, murders! We get to know the six players and the six members of the Trust's staff through their conversations, but also through their diary's entries, and this means we see the story unfold through different perspectives.

But at the same time we follow the story and try to get to the solution (whodunit?), we can also play the mystery game those six strangers are playing, so throughout the book we have riddles and puzzles to solve. You don't have to do it, readers can follow the story as "external observers", but if you like puzzles you're in for treat.

The other thing I loved about this book was the cluefinder at the end. One of the characteristics of classic crime from the Golden Age is this notion of playing fair with the reader. This means the authors write their story leaving clues here and there that would allow the reader to get to the solution. While we get a final explanation in this genre, by the detective, of who and how the murder was done, usually authors don't go through all the clues we could have picked up. The cluefinder, that Edwards also used in other books, is truly a satisfying reading that guides us through all the clues in the story, but also shows the reader the author did play fair with us.

I find Martin Edwards have been introducing innovations in the genre with wonderful results. I keep thinking about this book as a kind of hypertext, in the sense we can read it in different ways or following the story by choosing different paths.

I don't want to risk giving any spoilers, but I must add I loved how the story turn out, with references to a certain period in history and specifically to this notion we need people with different types of creativity and different types of knowledge to make an endeavour successful.

I also think this book is perfect for readalongs, with readers making the puzzles and commenting the story as they proceed, I imagine it would make a fun activity for family and friends during Christmas holidays, so when you buy your copy, get some extra ones as Christmas presents!

I got an ARC from Netgalley and would like to thank both the author (such a good reading!) and the publisher.