Once I picked this book up I could not put it down. It was funny and satirical and just amazing. Everything I love in Murder mystery books this had

Three Card Murder by J.L Blackhurst follows Tessa, a DI, as she is sent to investigate a mysterious case involving a victim that was throw from a balcony apartment, and the victim also happened to be someone from Tess' past. Those in itself was suspicious, but the facts of the evidence show that the door was locked from the inside– so who did it?

Things take a turn for the worse when the evidence at the crime scene show that the supposed killer is someone Tessa knows– her sister Sarah. While Sarah is a really skilled con artist, not a killer, it's up to Tess to prove it.

This was such a fun read. While the focal point is the murder and mystery surrounding it, I think what I really loved about this book was the relationship between the sisters, Tessa and Sarah. I love that there's already some conflict between the two from their jobs alone– one is a cop and the other is a con artist. Throughout the book, there's some back and fourth between the two sisters, but they do have a sense of love and respect for each other.

Spoilers !!!
One thing I wished was that readers were given a chance to form a relationship with Frank, their father, because his death did not have that much impact on me. It was like it happened and then we moved on. I guess you could argue that Tess didn't really have much of a relationship with him, but I wished we saw more of an emotional impact on Sarah's part.
Spoilers End !!!

While I did enjoy the murder-mystery and police procedural aspect, I liked reading about the sisters' relationship a lot more and it's why I continued reading.

3 stars.

This one started off well with a locked room murder mystery, but I found it very slow and a bit boring for the most part.

I'd been looking forward to reading this. The cover caught my eye and it sounded a unique murder mystery. Which I suppose it was, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations 🥺

Jenny Blackhurst can do no wrong in my eyes! She’s one of my fave thriller authors. Three Card Murder is so entertaining, right from the get go. If you like a layered and exciting crime/thriller, this one is for you!

this had SO much drama and intrigue jam packed into it - from the difference in personalities between the sisters (it just started the book off with a bang, like you just know **** is gonna go down when seeing how much these two clash) to random magicians, a full on trade market in con, i feel like this book actually taught me a lot about con artists too, it was so interested how everything was explained and revealed towards the end, i felt a good sense of satisfaction when i finished this book, which was a relief because going in i thought it would be one that would stress me out!

I found this book had a little bit of a slow start and I didn't fully engage with either character, however I did appreciate the locked room elements and the extra theories that were being fired around, that was where I was at.

I did however want a little more, I wanted Sarah and an insight that was more than a toe dip into her life, there is no round up or tied knot in that ending though, so perhaps it will come?

With the ending the author seems to have set up the possibility of or for a sequel and I really hope so as I absolutely loved this. That said there was a proper conclusion, it wasn't left unfinished just open to more. The main reason I loved this was the two half sisters - Tess a police detective leading her first big case and Sarah a grifter or con artist and seemingly the main suspect. But I also enjoyed the bizarre murders and trying to work out how they could have been done. My only criticism is that I wanted more of Sarah's "unusual line of work". So in short, I would totally recommend this quirky, fun spin on the murder mystery genre.

Three Card Murder by J L Blackhurst is a locked room murder mystery thriller that I listened to and really enjoyed the narration. It was a most enjoyable book to read, telling the story of two sisters, Tess who is in the police force and Sarah who is a con artist and how they are both connected to the three murders that have happened in mysterious circumstances.
Whilst they do both find out who the killer is, they were allowed to leave and there will no doubt be another follow on book in the series,which I will enjoy reading or listening to in the future.
Highly recommended

I was really looking forward to reading this book – hype was big and the burb seemed right up my street. But I have to say (initially) I was disappointed – it was far too ‘modern’ and ‘run-of-the-mill police procedural’ in tone to fit what I was looking for or what I was expecting. That doesn’t make it bad, just not what I thought I was getting into.

However, a bit less than a third of the way through "Three Card Murder", the author begins to reveal her hand by referencing ‘classic crime’ novels and showing that this book is not simply a modern police procedural; like the golden age novels referenced, we have a puzzle to solve here!

As it turns out, I really quite enjoyed "Three Card Murder". There may be a bit too much speaking of ‘the thing that happened’ without actually speaking of what the thing actually was… (I don’t find this in any way intriguing or engaging; it doesn’t turn the book into a thriller because you know ‘something’ happened in the past, it is just irritating and a little off-putting). However, there are enough traditional crime novel tropes and awareness presented to have me puzzling along with the characters. It may not quite rate as a full house but it certainly isn’t just a three card trick.

An interesting locked room mystery based in Brighton investigated by two half-sisters, one a cop and the other a con artist. A series of seemingly impossible murders takes place in Brighton, seemingly with the intent to implicate DI Tess Fox and her sister Sarah. Their connection dates back to an event several years before, and the murderer’s motive appears to be to reopen the investigation into the previous crime. The story is quite compelling and clever, as locker room mysteries tend to be, but I could not relate to the two main characters and their relationship, which meant I lost interest at times.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

This book tells the story of two half sisters who both lead a life of crime, one is a policewoman the other a con artist. When bodies linked to their past turn up they must work together to clear their names as someone seems to be leaving clues which implicate the half sisters. Will they solve the seemingly impossible deaths or will they end up sharing a prison cell?

I enjoyed the book as a whole BUT was very disappointed by the ending. It is obviously leading the way towards a follow up but didn’t in my opinion finish the first one fully.

Suspenseful, clever, witty and atmospheric, a deep dive into the underbelly of Brighton. A fresh take on the Great British Murder Mystery.

I knew I was going to love this mystery since I read the first chapter. Tess and Sarah are two formidable characters and it was a pleasure read about them.
The mystery is twisty, hard to crack puzzles that I didn't even tried to solve.
Great characters and impossible crimes, a very gripping story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a story of misdirection and mistrust, centring around one of the relationships you are meant to be able to rely on the most: sisters. While I thought the premise of estranged half-sisters – one a cop and one a con artist – partnering up to solve a crime was interesting, I don’t think the novel lived up to its potential.

The back and forth between the half-sisters, Tess and Sarah, could be fun but it could also get repetitive. They were both perfectly fine characters. Tess was more unassuming than her chaotic half-sister, but I sympathised with each. They both struggled with lacking a true feeling of belonging so I was glad that as their dynamic gradually evolved, they were able to show up for the other more.

What prevented me from enjoying the story to a greater extent was the murder mystery itself. I often found that the murders didn’t make sense and required a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief for them to become plausible. This drained the potential for drama because I was too confused to be shocked. It didn’t help that the ultimate antagonist of the story was so out of left field it almost felt theatrical. Then the story ended with a cliffhanger that was obviously intended to open the door for sequels but the reader deserved to reach some sort of satisfying conclusion.

While I liked the contentious dynamic between the main characters, I wasn’t as enamoured by the core murder mystery. It didn’t help that the unexpected cliffhanger offered no closure.

Absolutely gorgeous cover, really invites you to read this book. It’s an intriguing premise, having a modern day locked room mystery, replacing the traditional manor house from classic crime books with a grimy block of flats. It’s also an interesting idea to have two sisters pitted against each other on opposite sides of the law. The three murders keep the momentum of the story going and each is resolved in a different way. Although I’m slightly confused as to why the third murder occurred.

I found the behaviour of most of the main characters very questionable. The sister who is a policewoman, should absolutely lose her job. She constantly withholds important information, evidence and her personal ties to the crimes. The younger sister escapes from custody thereby committing an undeniable, provable crime when she would have been released in a few hours as she was innocent of the crimes she was being questioned about. That makes no sense. I found it hard to root for two protagonists when one is a con-artist and the other an incompetent cop.

I found the conclusion of the book disappointing as it just sort of ends without a really satisfying gotcha moment. I assume it is being set up as a series so it is open ended enough to allow the characters to return in a future book, but I don’t think they are compelling enough characters to warrant drawing out their story any further. And would have preferred a firmer conclusion.

Written in an easy-to-visualise style, this story has complex characters, clever mysteries to solve and a complicated relationship dynamic between the two female protagonists. Tess wants her first murder case to reach a successful conclusion. It's a locked-room mystery; the victim is known personally to her, and she knows she needs help. Sarah is a con artist, the antithesis of her half-sister Tess, who is estranged. The story explores their pasts, and the case demands they work together. It's a fun read solving the crimes and getting to know the two women. An enjoyable and immersive read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A really great premise and the book kept me hooked until the 90% mark and then I became incredibly frustrated. Definitely a cliff hanger for a second book in the series but it made the entire first book feel like an introduction which was a little disappointing.

I really enjoyed this fast paced novel. The locked room mysteries were intriguing and well explained. I did feel the ending was a bit of a cliff hanger but I imagine it would lead really well into a second novel. You definitely needed to suspend reality to really enjoy the novel but I found it a great read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

A great fast paced read.

I just love a locked door mystery and this was certainly a page turner for me. The words seemed to just flow so well that I was a quarter way through the book before I realised it. I couldn't put it down as more and more intrigue was unveiled. What made it all the more intriguing was the good sister (cop) bad sister (con artist).

DI Tess Fox is on the brink of promotion. So when she gets a murder case of her own to head up it's not ideal that it's apparently been committed by an invisible person and she knows the victim. She can't reveal that she knows the victim, or she probably wouldn't be in the Police Force anymore. Little by little her past is catching up to her and there is no one she can tell, or can she? What makes it worse is that two more "impossible" murders happen and only Tess knows the link.

Sarah is Tess's half sister and a very clever and skilful con artist. With a link to the first victim Tess decides to confide in her even though she's been estranged from her for many years. But is Sarah going to be a help to the case or the undoing of Tess's Police career?

It could be said that some of this book was unbelievable. I can do unbelievable if it is also clever, and this was very clever. My only disappointment was the ending. I never saw it coming and maybe we have to wait to find out what happens next?

Three Card Murder revolves around two sisters who have chosen two very different paths in life, one a cop called Tess, and the other a conwoman called Sarah. I found both Tess and Sarah's characters interesting in their own right. I like how the dichotomy of their personalities slowly diminishes as the book progresses, their character arcs are quite satisfying. The only thing worth mentioning is that there is a lot of miscommunication in this book, but due to personal taste this may not be your thing. The murder mystery plot includes cons and "magic", very complicated crime scenes and it is very clever, it read like a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
This book ends on a insanely unexpected cliff-hanger. I honestly thought my Kindle had glitched and I was unable to turn to the next page. It's not unsatisfying per se, it just comes out of nowhere and I think the book does need a chapter to wrap up the story. Due to the cliff-hanger ending, it hints to more books for Tess and Sarah but I don't know if I personally will pick up another if this turns into a series.
Overall Three Card Murder was an enjoyable read and I liked the twists on the typical murder mystery genre.
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and J.L. Blackhurst for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Review posted to NetGalley and rating posted on Threads and Instagram Stories. Review to be posted on Amazon on publication date.