The Christmas Murder Game was a fantastic festive murder mystery that was very reminiscent of Agatha Christie, but with a gritty new twist! I absolutely loved this book and all the hidden clues within. It was so intricate and cleverly thought out! A brilliant cosy crime!

A perfect Christmas thrilling mystery book. I enjoyed the premise, although a bit drawn out in parts. A bit of Richard Osman and a bit of Agatha Christie. You’ll love it 4/5

The premise of this story was good. But unfortunately was long drawn out and boring. The story was very repetitive and the story line was easily guessed.

A cosy queer murder mystery. I would have liked the Christmas setting to be more prominent and for there to have been some puzzles for the readers to enjoy but it was good for a quick easy holiday read.

The Christmas Murder Game is a locked room thriller with the added fun of clues to unravel during twelve days between Christmas and the start of January.
Lily has been summoned back to Endgame Manor, her childhood home, which she left after her mother committed suicide at when Lily was just a child. Adopted by her aunt Lilianna, Lily has never returned. Until now.
Lilianna has upon her death, left a series of clues to be presented to her remaining family, with which they've to decipher the clues hidden in sonnets to find twelve keys over the course of the twelve days. The aim is for the person with the correct key who figures out where a secret room lies within the Manor, is to then open to receive deeds to the Manor and become the new owner.
Lily has no desire to become the owner but is lured back with the promise of finding out what really happened to her mother and who killed her. But as her cousins begin being murdered and the weather leaves them snowed in with no access to getting help, Lily finds herself in a fight for not just the truth but her life and that of her unborn child.
This was really cleverly written and I really enjoyed it as a different kind of Christmas read. I guessed the murderer early on but kept changing my mind and loved how the ending unfolded.

I‘ve been looking for an intriguing murder mystery read and Alexandra Bennett’s books have always looked so enticing! From their front covers (absolutely stunning design), plots and interesting sounding stories, it fit the bill. From the start, it just felt right and you immediately get launched into a mystery - perfect!

This was brill to fill the space in the background whilst I whipped out the Christmas jigsaws and it certainly kept me entertained. It flew so fast! My 1000 piece jigsaw dwindled as I listened to more of the story and I was waiting for every new development in the book to reveal itself.

We follow Lily who gets called back to Endgame house as requested by her aunt, who left instructions in her will to play a rather enticing and strange game… there’s a lot at stake but it has an ulterior motive. Her aunt suspected Lily’s mother had been murdered many moons ago and aims to deliver a big reveal… I mean, that sounds epic before it even begins!

The audiobook was engaging and really drew you into the story. Really well narrated.
I know the author has written more since so I think if this one is anything to go by, they’ll definitely be worth a read. I love festive themed murder mysteries so this was a great one to get stuck into in December.

I love a Christmas read but I also love a good murder too - yes really! This isn’t my usual type of Christmas read and for that I loved it more. The plot may sound non-plausible but this is a murder mystery and when the bodies are piling up… who did it?

Suspenseful and I enjoyed the main characters I did listen to this so audio fitted the suspense. Great read.

The perfect Christmas thriller book. Kept me entertained and had a very Agatha Christie vibe to it which I loved.

I wasn't a fan of this one unfortunately, very.one dimensional chanracters making nonsensical decisions, and a telegraphed murderer.

The narration on the audiobook was decent though.

4.5 stars

THE CHRISTMAS MURDER GAME is a snowed in murder mystery about a family competing to get control of the big house - and with the promise of understanding a death in the previous generation.

I loved the layers of mystery. There's the game for the house, the modern day murders, and then the deaths in the previous generation. It all comes together into this onion like book full of secrets and motivations!

The family is drama central. There are some nice characters, but most are various levels of unpleasant, from the subtle to the outright nasty. However, the presence of Cousin Sara makes the rest look positively angelic. She's there for the house and doesn't care who knows it (and also lets them all know that she thinks they're not worthy of getting it). Her reaction to the deaths is "eh, fewer people to compete against." I do like having a vile character to actively root against.

I did solve this book early, not from the clues presented in the book but from conversations with friends who write about story structure and reveals. Thinking about this book from that perspective, I solved it about half way through. I still enjoyed it (and felt very clever when the reveals fell out as I suspected!)

I enjoyed listening to this as I packed and did my physio in the evenings. The narrator, Laura Costello, brought me along on the story of family mysteries across the generations, and it all felt like a smoothly produced package.

I have unintentionally ended up with another Alexandra Benedict (Christmas) murder mystery on my shelves, so I am diving into that next (or using it as a bribe to get through the book club book for the month!)

A nice, easy to listen Christmas mystery for when you are wrapping presents or stirring the pudding. I felt that it took a little time to warm to the main character but after a couple of chapters, I wanted her to solve the mystery more than she did! The solution when it came was quite ingenious but it was fairly obvious from early on who the killer was. Never the less, worth a listen whilst you are doing Christmas (or not) things.

A wonderfully addictive thriller perfect for relaxing in the run up to Christmas.

Every time I thought I had the killer worked out another clue was dropped and I was back to.square one. There were more twists and turns in this story than in the maze of Endgame House.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audio book in return for a fair and honest review

Lily Armitage would like nothing less than having to return to Endgame House, where her mother died. But now that her aunt has also passed, there's one final Armitage Christmas tradition to uphold: the Christmas Game. Only this year, it's not the hunt for the presents, but for the inheritance: Endgame House is up for grabs and only the person who solves the clues and finds the secret room is eligible to inherit. Lily doesn't want the house - but her aunt promised that alongside the riddles for the inheritance, she'd also recieve clues about her mother's death. Lily and her cousins set out to solve the game, but there's a lot more at stake than they realize.
The Christmas Murder Game was an interesting holiday crime novel. I liked the setup and the general plot and also the writing. The characters sometimes fell a little flat for me and were very stereotypical, even for the genre, but the one thing I found extremely overdone was the use of the word "Sarahcasm" - used when cousin Sarah is snarky and sarcastic. All in all, I did enjoy listening to it; the narrator of the audiobook did a good job and the plot was interesting enough to keep me listening! I am interested in picking up another Alexandra Benedict novel though, just to see if this novels problems can be avoided.

Oh my goodness, I loved this book. I gobbled it up in one sitting.
The story is set over the Christmas holidays, running from Christmas Eve to the 12th January as a family attempt to unravel cryptic clues and avoid a killer to complete the annual 'Christmas game' as they compete to 'win' their inheritance of the family estate.
Our protagonist Lily is returning to Endgame House for the first time in over 21 tears. She has no wish to return and only does so after receiving a letter from her recently deceased Aunt Liliana - a letter that emotionally blackmails forces Lily in attending Endgame House for the 'game'. Under the terms of the will the potential beneficiaries must participate in one final version of the annual Christmas Game as created by Liliana over the years. Now, Lily is reluctantly reunited with her cousins and it's not long before old feelings of resentment rise and the group are fighting with each other. Each day the group are faced with a cryptic clue (as long as they participate in all meals, remain at the house etc). When the weather worsens, the group realise that they are now snowed in and there is no way to connect with the 'outside' world. And then the murders start .....
There is a wonderful sense of the 'golden age' of mysteries in this book, filled with twists and puzzles. The group are isolated and do not know who - if anyone - to trust. Memories of Agatha Christie come to mind - and cannot think of a better recommendation. This is a wonderfully original and intriguing tale with the added bonus on a 'game' for the reader to play.
Also, despite the title and Christmassy setting, this book can be read at any time of the year so don't miss out.

Ooooh The. Christmas Murder Game is my first Christmas book of the month and it really has got me into the festive mood!
This book was a nice deadly murder mystery with some likeable and very unlikeable characters.
Although I guessed most of the twists, it didn’t stop me from wanting to get to the end and watch how it would unfold!
The riddles and clues were really good too.
A good winter read

3.5 ⭐️

Thank You, NetGalley for the review copy.
The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict is one of the better books I have read this year. I was drawn in by the name of the book, and I must say, I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed it from the word go. I mean, who doesn't like a Christmas thriller?

33-year-old Lily Armitage lost her mother, Mariana, as a child in an apparent suicide in the famous maze at Endgame House. After the death of her Aunt Liliana, she must participate in the Christmas puzzle game to find out what really happened to her mother. She reaches there and finds her cousins as well. Then people start dying one after the other and all of a sudden the game gets serious. So, as I told you, a wonderful Christmas thriller, this one!

Lily Armitage has never wanted to return to Endgame House, the scene of her mother's death. However her Aunt Liliana, who raised her after her mother’s death, has recently died and her final wish is for Lily and all her cousins to return to Endgame House to play the traditional family “Christmas Game” treasure hunt one last time, with the winner inheriting the house.
Upon arrival, the cousins are met by the family solicitor who reads the “rules” – the “players” have to remain in the house for the 12 days of Christmas while 12 clues will be given and reveal the hiding place of 12 keys. On day 12, the whereabouts of a secret room will be revealed and whoever has the key that fits the secret room, will win the ultimate prize. Lily has no desire to inherit the house, in fact she'd be happier if she never saw the place again, however Aunt Liliana sent Lily a separate letter to advise that by playing the game, where riddles ultimately lead to the prize, the clues will also reveal what really happened to her mother – was the death really murder? Her cousins do not have this additional information, but when one of the group is found dead, Lily realises that someone is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to inherit the house.

The story has all the elements of a perfect murder mystery: multiple suspects, family secrets, various murder weapons, and lots of drama! The 12 days of Christmas murder game gave the story structure and works well as an audio book as it is linear and easy to follow. The Narrator, Laura Costello, had good pace and her general tone suited the story although I would have liked slightly more variation between characters. Her portrayal of Lily’s inner thoughts and her trepidation was good. Even when the "villain" is finally revealed, there's more story left and the rest of the story is still interesting.
Unfortunately there was a level of complexity missing in both the storyline and the characters. The storyline was just a little bit too predictable, although it was well paced and contained all the necessary elements which still made it an enjoyable read. The puzzles did not seem to be designed to be solved by the reader as they were very specific to the family, but I did enjoy the way they had been created. The clichés were unavoidable as they are used to add to the story: the snow, the remote location, family secrets, the limited cast of characters … The dynamics between siblings and cousins were well defined, but the characters themselves were quite one-dimensional.

I loved the idea of this book, a group of cousins gathered together at the family home after the death of their mother/aunt, not only to celebrate Christmas, but to solve a puzzle. Ultimately, this is an old fashioned style murder mystery and makes a fun festive read – but it might make you look at your own family slightly differently this festive period!

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Old house in the middle of York … Storm …. Snow… and no way out!!!


Really enjoyed the book. As a seamstress as well as a reader I loved the mix of textiles and writing.

Although I did guess the killer pretty early in to the book, I still enjoyed the twist and turns and the real reason why they did what they did !

Very nice Christmas read.

This was a two for one for me because my local book club chose this as our Christmas book this year and I had the audio from NetGalley. I didn’t fully know what to expect besides the standard idea of a locked room murder mystery with an inheritance on the line, but very quickly I found myself fully immersed into this story and did not want to put it down!

I would say that that first 50% or so is mostly background and set up, and the “games” really begin in the second half of the book. And the pacing for the 12 days of the “game” is really well done!

The audio narration was also superb, and each character fully came to life with their own distinct voice. So it was very easy to keep the large cast of characters straight in my mind.

I really enjoyed listening to this festive murder mystery and absolutely devoured it! It gave me Daisy Darker vibes the whole way through which I also listened to quite recently and loved, so this was perfect. I think this type of story is perfect as an audiobook.

The story has all the elements of a perfect murder mystery: multiple suspects, family secrets (past and present), various murder weapons, and lots of drama! The 12 days of Christmas murder game gave the story structure and I enjoyed listening to Lily’s thought process when solving the clues within the game.

Overall, this was a quick and entertaining read! Perfect for the festive season and I would definitely recommend 🎄