The Game Is Murder

If you like cosy mysteries, then this is definitely NOT the book for you. It is about as far from cosy as you can possibly get. I struggle to describe it, best I can tell you is it's meta detective fiction. 🔎

"Well what's it about?" I hear you cry. That folks, is a bit of a head scratcher. The blurb will tell you that this is an immersive book, putting you, the reader, in the hot seat as the Great Detective, giving you the chance to solve what is basically a cold case. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yeah, until the author moves the goal posts. All is not as it seems in this book, believe me. 🔎

It's a long-ish book, it's a tad repetitive, and there's a lot going on, some of which nearly reduced me to tears of sheer frustration. But my parents did not raise a quitter, no siree. I persevered, and I actually....drumroll please 🥁....I solved the mystery before the dude in the book did. Now I think about it, I was supposed to be the dude in the book. 🔎

Those of a certain age will notice parallels with a real life mystery from the 1970's. Fans of crime fiction will also notice that some of the characters bear the names of crime fiction authors. 🔎

To sum up The Game is Murder is different. It's quirky, it's interesting, it's borderline bonkers and, for me anyway, it was fun. 🔎

Thanks to Michael Joseph Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC.