Having been requested to travel to a house to take part in the family Christmas games is not something Lily wants to get involved with. But, although everyone else is there to get the keys and win the house. She's there to solve her mother's murder.

This narrative was told through the character of Lily with a dual narrative showing reflections of the past.

We meet many characters who we know to like or dislike, but Benedict puts in lots of red herrings making aus change our mind along the way. This was a great whodunnit with Agatha Christie vibes.

I did manage to guess the villain but several times I questioned myself if I had the correct answer.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The mystery kept me guessing till late on which was quite fun and I liked some of the characters (and hated others with equal measure) as they felt well thought through and fleshed out individuals. However, I felt like the beginning of the book was overly long and a lot of it didn’t add much substance to the overall plot of the book and the romance at the end felt like it was shoved in and was unnecessary aside from saying look there’ll be a happy ending. I was also left with some questions at the end which was surprising given the fact I’d been listening to it for 10 and a half hours. The audiobook was overall well narrated with a good array of voices and accents for characters, but she mispronounced Bowie which did personally grate on me a little.

Favourite Quote:
"Fear and excitement are twins; they live on opposite sides of the same door. It's up to you which room you live in."

"The Christmas Murder Game" by Alexandra Benedict is a delightful contemporary Christmas mystery that harks back to the traditional style of whodunits, filled with clever twists that will keep both the characters and readers guessing. This holiday-themed novel promises festive fun as it unfolds a gripping murder mystery, making it the perfect gift for those who love a good puzzle wrapped in Christmas cheer.

A fun Christmas-themed 'Who Dunnit', in which rich people find out they are not as untouchable as they think. This hits all the great themes/trop[es with one-by-one killings, an isolated setting, unlikable characters, and a childhood mystery.

Wow, what just happened?! I picked up The Christmas Murder Game expecting a cozy holiday whodunit, but what I got was a rollercoaster of twists and turns that left me breathless!

Alexandra Benedict has crafted a festive thriller that's anything but predictable. The story starts off with a charming Christmas setting, a manor filled with quirky relatives, and a tantalizing treasure hunt. I was ready to sip my cocoa and solve some puzzles. But then—BAM! Things got intense, secrets spilled, and bodies started dropping like pine needles from a dried-out tree.

The characters were brilliantly fleshed out, each with their own motives and dark pasts. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Benedict would throw in another twist that left my head spinning. It got rough fast, turning from a light-hearted mystery into a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

If you're looking for a holiday read that's more murder than mistletoe, more suspense than Santa, The Christmas Murder Game is your perfect pick. Just be prepared—this one’s a wild ride!

I had to give up halfway through as there were too many holes in the plot for me :( Narration was good though!

A nice mystery in a festive atmosphere, it was an enjoyable listen, Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

I really really enjoyed this Christmas Murder Mystery. It kept me company on long winter walks. A fascinating story with an interesting heroine. I look forward to reading more of Benedict's books.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this. It was a fun little Christmassy murder mystery focused around a family that simply put do not get on. There are a couple that have good relationships with each other but for the most part they are quite a fractured family.

Brought together to play their family Christmas game invokes fierce competition, whilst most people are focusing on finding the keys in the game for Lily the stakes are higher. She isn't focused on the game at play, instead she is trying to find out the truth surrounding her mothers death.

Full of family secrets and riddles, this was a fun listen.

I want to start with that this book was not me. I love mysteries, and one of my favorite authors is Agatha Christie. But also I don't like thrillers and books with a sad, depressive atmosphere, so I always try to avoid them. Based on the synopsis, I thought that this would be a fun, cozy, Christmassy book. But nah... It wasn't.
Lily was not a likeable character in my opinion. She was sad for the whole time. I assumed that this is a holiday book, but not in this sense... And what about the other characters? I think they were ok. I don't have a bad feeling about them, but I don't like them either (okay, I hated the villain :) ).
I was not a fan of the plot either. I love it if there is a game in a book, but in this case, I don't think it was made well. The clues were so specific to Lily, that the other guests had no chance. I read a lot of times how smart Lily was, but the game was written for her, it didn't seem too hard to figure things out that way. Also, the murderer... I figured out who was the villain when the first clue was introduced. It wasn't shocking at all. So I was so bored from that point.
I think this book was badly advertised because if I had known what to expect, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

Lily returns to her family home after receiving a letter from her dead aunt , the house has unhappy memories it’s where her mother committed suicide .
The family tradition is to play the Christmas game which is a challenge at the best of times but this year the winner will bet the deeds to the family home .
Lily doesn’t want to win the deeds to the home but really wants to find out what happened to her mother .
The weather worsens and Lily and her cousins are snowed in and soon people begin to die , who will be the winner of the game and manage to stay alive?
I really enjoyed this festive read , curl up in your favourite chair with a mug of hot chocolate and lose yourself in this cosy mystery .
I enjoyed the narrator and found the story very clever !
An enjoyable festive cosy mystery !
Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio .

Really well narrated story- I think this book works really well as an audiobook!

Lily has to go back to her large family home (reluctantly) for the twelve days of Christmas for her families annual Christmas games. The family are all an eager to win the games as the winner this year gets the family home - Endgame House. Lily has no interest in wining, and wasn’t going to attend until she received an unusual letter from her deceased aunt saying that the games would reveal her murderer.

It’s a fab book for people who like solving mysteries, and the festive setting is just perfect for Christmas time!

Ooh great Christmas mystery, I love a good festive story especially one a bit darker! I liked this but the narrator was a bit monotone at times. Still 4/5

This was an ideal book to listen to in the run-up to Christmas. It did require a bit of suspension of disbelief, with everyone carrying on the game despite all the murders, but it was good fun and I enjoyed some crisp winter walks while listening to it.

This story is probably best enjoyed during the festive winter season when it is set. I won’t be rehashing the plot here as I believe that the professional blurb writers do a better job. Basically, Lily has been instructed by a letter left after her aunts death to return to the family mansion for one last Christmas. There she finds other relatives all about to play an elaborate ‘locked in’ mystery game called ‘Endgame’. Murder and mayhem ensues all based around the view of our heroine. I listened to this in the run up to Christmas whilst decorating and preparing food. It kept me entertained but its not a book I would return to.

I really tried but this book was so boring. Didn’t love that she was pregnant (why would you go into a house with a potential killer if this is the case??), didn’t understand the old clothing she was determined to wear and describe. Not for me, DNF at 30%

I read another novel by Alexandra Benedict last year and was curious about this new release. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I can usually suspend my disbelief for crime novels, but this one felt very convoluted. The characters felt one-dimensional and I could not make myself care about them. The twist also felt very predictable. I think Alexandra Benedict might not be the author for me.
The audiobook narrator did a great job though.

An interesting Christmas read, that kept me guessing throughout the book and rooting for the characters. A tense, Christmas book, which I really enjoyed.

Book Review:
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
Narrated by Laura Costello
Published by Zaffre - Bonnier UK Audio
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis:
Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House - the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game. The challenge? Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas.
The prize? The deeds to the manor house.
But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Review:
This festive thriller has all the ingredients necessary for a classic murder mystery. A big old house, a large group of people, a tempting prize and the good old British weather to cut them off from civilisation.
Chock full of fascinating characters to both like and loathe, this seasonal gift continually throws you off the killer's scent. As the remaining Engamers search for the hidden keys and hope for the snow to thaw, you'll feel compelled to hunt alongside them as you try to identify the murderer.
The imaginative and intelligent writing style drew me in from the outset, and the audiobook narration did the story justice; a fanatic pairing.

#BookReview #Netgalley #TheChristmasMurderGame #AlexandraBenedict #LauraCostello #Zaffre #BonnierUKAudio

I enjoyed this but it didn't quite hold my focus entirely. I love a good mystery, and this one had enough clue solving for my liking but it did lack allowing the reader to figure things out - I think in part as a lot of the clues were anagrams and similar things that i would need to see the text to be able to work out, and also due to the clues relating to the house and having knowledge of that. However nothing felt "convenient", or thrown in with no reason.

I think I'd have gotten more from this as a physical read but it's definitely put Alexandra Benedict on my radar for future releases!