Murder Most Actual

I'm not a big fan of cozy mysteries, so I probably should not have requested this book from Net Galley. In my defense, I have requested numerous Alexis Hall books and have never been approved for one, so I never expected it to end up in my hands.

Murder Most Actual has a high body count and a marriage-in-trouble subplot. I was more interested in the latter than the former, and Hall skillfully shows both why Hanna and Liza have drifted apart and how they find their way back to each other. Part of it is the unsurprising “facing the possibility of losing your spouse to a deranged killer makes you appreciate her more” but fortunately the other part is the two women talking things out, and then demonstrating that they can and will change their behavior (while trying not to get killed).

The mystery plot is obviously based on a Cluedo game (or Clue as we call it here in the States), complete with a Professor (eating a plum), Colonel (who likes mustard), etc. Liza puts her mystery podcast skills to use trying to catch a killer, but I was completely in the dark until the final denouement, when all of the figurative cards are revealed. Since I'm not a regular cozy mystery reader I don't know if more astute readers would have gotten there before Liza does.

As usual, Hall's writing is razor sharp, with plenty of opportunities to skewer (sorry) the upper class, like this one:

Sir Richard rose with the effortless social grace of the class for whom effortless social grace was the only skill they needed to develop.