I liked the premise of this novel. It started well, a group of friends celebrating New Year and a birthday in a rented house. However, it then diverged into a very different novel, the aspects of which lost me and I failed to finish

Fair Play starts with enthusiastic host Abigail, getting ready for her carefully planned party for Benjamin, her brother. His birthday is on New Year’s Day, so a joint NYE and birthday party has now become a tradition. Sadly the celebrations are stopped short when Benjamin is discovered dead, on the morning after the party.

At the point at which the group find Benjamin’s body, the story splits in two. In the one, we read of Abigail struggling to come to terms with her brother’s death. The expectation of getting back to normal, while suffocating under the pressure of her loss. The second is quite bizarre. The story morphs into a Golden Age mystery, complete with a famous detective, Augustus Bell, and his semi bumbling sidekick, Sacker. Each of the party guests are present within this separate story within a story, but have taken on rather antiquated manners, speech and behaviours.

This is definitely a Marmite book. Some readers will be applauding its uniqueness, while others will be scratching their heads, with raised eyebrows. There was a random inclusion, a bullet point list of rules, for writing a classic mystery book; which was occasionally referred back to during the book itself. It is definitely quirky read, I can safely say I’ve not read another book like it, and probably won’t again.

I’m sure there are many readers who will love the almost ‘tongue in cheek’ Augustus Bell, and comedic Sacker, but sadly this style and book wasn’t right for me. As I was reading through, I felt the book was a 4⭐️, but the repetitive nature of the ending was a stretch too far for me, which brought the book down to an overall 3⭐️⭐️⭐️

Abigail has planned a New Year’s Eve murder mystery party to celebrate both the passing of the old year and her brother Benjamin’s birthday on New Year’s Day. What none of the group of friends gathered in the stately home AirBNB expect is that Benjamin will be discovered dead in a locked room the next day. What has happened? Abigail needs to find answers. Alongside the fallout of this horrible incident unfolds a parallel story in classic country house murder investigation style, in which Abigail employs famous private investigator Auguste Bell and his sidekick to solve the clues and find the killer. In a post-modern touch, the detectives reference being characters in a book and refer to chapters already written in a novel about the case, while references to Agatha Christie come thick and fast. This is a bold approach that adds layers to the story, and is often clever and certainly very original. I don’t think the author completely pulls it off- the action drags a little in the middle, the investigation story sometimes seems a bit underwritten, and the detail about detective novel tropes is a bit too lengthy. Anyone expecting a conventional cosy crime is likely to be disappointed. What does result is a thought-provoking and ultimately moving tale, and definitely a different kind of read from what might be expected.

The start of Fair Play failed to catch my attention but as soon as the detective arrived on the scene and the meta element was introduced I was hooked.

Bell's jazz-age mystery storyline was packed full of clues, gags and classic mystery novel tropes that felt cosy and lighthearted despite dealing with the tragedy of a death. This is undoubtedly a novel aimed at other mystery fans; there is an element of comedy to the very explicit outlining of "the rules of a mystery" and the constant fourth-wall breaking in Bell's timeline to remind the reader to pay attention and consider these rules when trying to work out whodunnit.

Meanwhile, in the present, we see Abigail struggle to piece together some form of meaning following the event. This storyline is more aligned with other modern Irish novels focusing on the impact and fallout following tragic events. I enjoyed the contrast between these heavier chapters and the funnier ones as it also mirrored the real life need for moments of silliness in times of difficulty in order to keep going. I like to imagine that Bell was a storyline created in Abigail's mind to help her try and piece together the events of the evening and come to some sort of peace with the fact that whilst there may have been any number of reasons to be suspicious of the other party guests sometimes there simply is no reason to be found in death.

Every year, Abigail organises a joint birthday/New Year's party for her brother and their friends (her brother's birthday is on New Year's Day). On this year, they have hired a grand house and Abigail has arranged one of her famous murder mysteries events. But when a suspicious death takes place for real, the story splits to be told from the perspective of Abigail and her grief and an infamous detective who tries to solve the real murder mystery.

I hadn't read much about this book before I started it so when the perspectives split for the first time, it was a bit jarring and the switches weren't always obvious. And while this very unique way of telling the story could simultaneously poke fun at murder mystery books and be brutally honest about grief, it meant that some of the emotion didn't land as much as I suspect the author was hoping it would. I also felt that the structure of the last few chapters slightly laboured the point and could've been done a bit more briefly. That being said, I loved the very last chapter (particularly that it was placed at the end when it could've easily been placed at the beginning) and that definitely did land the emotion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

The premise of this story was great and I loved the start and the descriptions of the characters. The whole beginning kept me wanting more but at the introduction of the private detective it almost became nonsensical. There was much to much repetitions which curtailed the reading. The idea that the reader would resolve the mystery themselves was good but it was too simple to do that without half the book repeating itself I had to finish to make sure that I was correct in my assumption about who murdered Benjamin but the last half bogged everything down. A good idea for a story but it did not meet my idea of readability

When a group of friends gather in a country house to celebrate New Year's Eve and a birthday, the last thing they expect is for one of them to be dead by morning.

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty is an unusual read, it's a "mash-up" of a couple of different genres. The opening has a modern setting with a group of eight friends making their way to Yew Tree House, a country house they have hired through Airbnb for a combined celebration. It's New Year's Eve and the following day is the birthday of Benjamin, one of the group and sister of Abigail, the organiser. The joint celebration is something the group has done regularly.

Everything goes as normal on New Year's Eve, it's the following morning when things take a turn. Benjamin is late putting in an appearance. When they try to rouse him they discover the door to his bedroom is locked from the inside. Breaking down the door they discover Benjamin is dead.

It's at this point that the story departs from the norm, what follows is two distinctly different timelines. In the modern setting, we follow Abigail as she tries to come to terms with her brother's suicide. I was filled with sympathy as she had to navigate dealing with his funeral as both of their parents are dead. Grief is combined with guilt as Abigail questions why she didn't spot any signs regarding Benjamin's mental health. When she talks to the friends who were present that weekend she is disheartened to find that they didn't know Benjamin's state of mind either.

The other timeline is that of classic British detective fiction. The setting is the same, along with the main characters, but the time period feels old, along the lines of a 1930s murder mystery. The police are convinced Benjamin has committed suicide, however, the consulting detective, Auguste Bell, engaged by Abigail is convinced it is murder, a locked room murder! What follows is a typical murder mystery, even down to laying out the rules for this type of story. All the suspects are gathered together in one room, the detective has a less intelligent foil, Bell isn't prepared to discuss his suspicions until all clues are gathered and the big reveal takes place. There is almost a "fourth wall" aspect as Bell refers to events that will happen in later chapters.

I felt as if I was reading two distinctly different books. I found myself absorbed by the modern version of Abigail's story, empathetic towards her struggle to understand why her brother had taken his own life. While the detective fiction was cleverly done, I couldn't see its relevance to the overall story.

Louise Hegarty’s Fair Play begins with an intriguing premise—a birthday celebration, a murder mystery party, and a group of friends navigating shifting relationships. Abigail and her brother Benjamin have always been close, but when the morning after the party arrives, Benjamin is found dead, and suddenly, reality takes an unexpected turn.

The novel starts off strong, shrouded in mystery and emotional depth. However, as the story transitions into a more traditional locked-room mystery—complete with an eminent detective, a butler, a gardener, and a housekeeper—the initial grip it had on me started to fade. While the book remains well-written and inventive, the shift in style and the introduction of additional characters made it feel less engaging for me personally.

That said, Fair Play is undoubtedly a creative and unique debut. It explores not just the mechanics of a murder mystery but also the hidden lives we think we know and the secrets buried beneath the surface of close relationships. For those who enjoy experimental takes on classic mystery structures, this book may prove to be a rewarding read.

Fair Play by Louise Hegarty is a murder mystery unlike any I have read before, and one that I think I will be thinking about for quite some time to come. The book opens like an conventional locked room mystery, a group of friends rent a house for a New Year's Eve party that includes a murder mystery game but the next morning one of the party is found dead in their room. Local police are quick to believe that there was no foul play involved but the victim's sister is convinced that someone murdered her brother. The book then takes a turn towards the bizarre and in a very meta manner evolves into an almost Agatha Christie like mystery with the arrival of a celebrated detective and his assistant who seem to be unusually aware of the tropes of such books and at times even refer to those tropes and traditions in conversation , as if they are aware that they are characters in a book. Their attempts to solve the crime mirrors Abigail's attempt to understand what happened to her brother and so there are two tales running in parallel as Abigail comes to terms with her grief while the detective considers each member of the party as potential suspects.
This really was a most unusual book and when I first encountered the twist I was not sure that I would like how it played out, but in fact it was quite fascinating. I found the character of Abigail most moving and as her story mirrors certain aspects of my own it really resonated with me as a reader making me quite emotional at times. I will say when I first finished the book I found the ending a little frustrating but with a little more time to sit with it I do think it makes sense for the book as a whole, but that being said if you need your books to end with everything neatly wrapped up in a little bow, this is definitely not the book for you. However if you want to try a new take on an old favourite and are familiar with the genre then the tongue in cheek humour and the way the author plays with a familiar style might be right up your alley.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This is a different take on a murder mystery with the traditional elements of the Holmes and Watson detectives alongside the telling of the how to do whodunnit.

Essentially the book starts with the rules of a locked room Murder and those of private detective novels in general, a dos and don’ts and then presents to the reader a range or choice of scenarios.

The players in the mystery are friends and acquaintances at a New Year’s Eve party and in the early hours of the New Year one of their number is found dead, locked in a room with the key in the inside of the door.

I think the book is a way for one of the characters to deal with their grief as well as a challenge to the reader to see if they can spot the truth.

I found some of the book repetitive and not sure that I would choose to read another in this mixture of genre.

2.5 stars rounded up.
This is the most bizarre book I think I've ever read. I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy it at all.
The start was ok. The scene set. The party, the murder all ok. Then, for me, it went weird.
There are too many endings which leave you non the wiser. After each conclusion, there seemed to be a lot of nonsense written.
And what was the last chapter all about?
Maybe it was just me, but it just didn't make any sense.
The locked room mystery reminded me of The Magie Murders.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the invitation to read.
Sorry, not for me

Thoroughly confused and not really sure if I understand, even after reading a number of reviews.
I think that this is basically one that you will love or hate, and I didn’t love it, at all.
There were so many inconsistencies in the story telling to begin, but from what I can gather there is a formatting element which splits the story into two separate parts, I was unaware of that due to reading an eARC. So maybe it will make more sense as a physical book.
Instead I was annoyed and frustrated, and honestly would have DNFd if I hadn’t been reading to review.
Thank you to publishers and netgallery for the eARC.

Fair Play is not your average whodunnit—it’s like Agatha Christie decided to write a murder mystery while sipping wine and winking at the reader. 🍷✨ At first, I was like, “Wait, what’s happening?” because the author, Hegarty, literally lays out the rules for how a murder mystery should go (complete with cheeky commentary from the detective, Bell). But once I got into the rhythm, I was hooked. It’s meta, it’s playful, and it’s *so* much fun.

If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, you’ll catch the Easter eggs and feel *very* smug about it. 🕵️‍♀️

The plot kicks off at a New Year’s Eve party (already dramatic, right?) where Benjamin’s birthday turns into a murder mystery game until, surprise, it’s not a game anymore. Cue alibis, property disputes, and a cast of characters who are all hiding something. The story jumps between Bell interrogating suspects and flash-forwards to weeks after the funeral, so you’ve gotta stay on your toes. But trust me, it’s worth it.

This book is like a puzzle box you’ll want to reread it just to catch all the clever little details you missed the first time. If you’re into mysteries that don’t take themselves too seriously but still deliver a solid plot, this one’s for you. 🎭🔍

I was recommended this book by a colleague who knows I enjoy a good old fashioned murder mystery. This book is a fun, meta-exploration of Agatha Christie-esque tropes. An old manor house, a gathering, a dead body, a detective…. You get the picture.

To begin, the author sets up a contemporary locked room mystery, with the main character Abigail inviting a group of friends to a rented country house for a New Years Eve party to celebrate her brother Benjamin’s birthday. However, when Benjamin’s body is found the next day locked inside his bedroom, the police are called to investigate, and everyone becomes a suspect. But this is no straight forward murder mystery. The author very knowingly plays with form and classic detective fiction “rules” and introduces a parallel plot with an all-knowing, classic, Poirot-esque detective who enjoys breaking the fourth wall and expositing to their clueless sidekick. The two stories run parallel, throwing red herrings and illuminating each other in equal measure.

The author is clearly a huge fan of classic detective fiction and has fun playing with genre expectations. They do a really good job of setting up the characters in the contemporary plot and making the reader intrigued to find out what happened. However, I personally found the ending too abrupt and not satisfying enough. I really like that the author is attempting to do something very different, but for me it didn’t quite hit the mark. Overall though, there’s a lot to enjoy in this book, especially if you’re a fellow classic crime fan!

Suddenly everything is not quite what it seems. An eminent detective arrives determined to find Benjamin’s killer. The house now has a butler, a gardener and a housekeeper. This is a locked-room mystery, and everyone is a suspect.

As Abigail attempts to fathom her brother’s unexpected death in a world that has been turned upside down, she begins to wonder whether perhaps the true mystery might have been his life . .

How to review this book? Trying to explain this book is a feat unto itself. A story about one woman coming to terms with the death of her brother and a classic golden age murder mystery with the events leading up to her brother's death interweaving with her own journey of grief. But what is the reality? What does Detective Auguste Bell achieve in this confusing but enthralling tale of loss, murder, and confusion?

I was drawn to this book for multiple reasons. 2 weeks ago I said goodbye to my own Grandmother who passed away on Boxing Day 2024 and everything that Abigail experiences in this book reflects my own journey of loss and questioning. I felt seen in these pages and I found the reading experience to be real and raw to me. But I was also drawn to the extremely meta and cliched murder mystery which came out of nowhere and excited me.

I loved trying to unpack and figure out the meaning and connections between these two narratives and that in itself was a puzzle and a mystery to solve. While there are certainly ways this book could have been better, I could not put it down and it arrived when I needed it most.

**Contains Minor Spoilers**

I had heard nothing but good things about this book and I was super keen to read it, but I did have some problems with it. But first the positives.

It is a detective novel within a detective novel. Whilst set in 2022, it harks back to the traditional whodunnits of Miss Marple and Poirot and Morse. It's lke the reader has to decipher the clues as the same time as the characters.

It is such an original way of writing it. The characters themselves mention things like (not an actual quote) "the revelation will come in chapter 20", or mentions different ways of writing a crime novel. These are little things that tease the reader and breaks the fourth wall. It shouldn't work, but for the most part, it does.

I thought it was going to be another "normal" murder mystery, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, I love a traditional whodunnit. But this stood out amongst the rest.

However...

I am greatly confused by it. I did enjoy it, but I couldn't tell you much about it. It's like several possibilities are being played out at once and I couldn't figure out why or how. It was almost as if the whole story was set inside a novel that was being written and edited as it went on and we were getting the drafts. The ending really frustrated me, and yet I haven't seen any other reviews that agree with me so maybe I missed something, but it felt completely unfinished, but at the same time, not in that ambiguous way that a lot of books are. This felt like Louise didn't know how to finish it and so just didn't. It wasn't satisfying in any way and I was even more confused by the end than I was when reading it.

I can't say I liked any of the characters. We really only focus on the detective, rather than the suspects or the deceased, which meant I didn't really care about any of them, and I couldn't get myself to care who was found guilty or who was killed etc. which in a whodunnit is kind of important.

I think overall it's an enjoyable book. A unique way of writing a whodunnit with some added classic tropes. But it lacked a real structure, and too many bits flipped and flopped, the characters were in one house but then suddenly in another, this person did it but no that person did it but no he did it, she did it. It was fun and creative but confusing and frustrating.

I was gripped from the start and almost got whiplash from all the twists. Would recommend to any thriller fans.

I'm excited to read future books from this author!

Abigail is organising a birthday party for her brother Benjamin, but not just any party, a murder mystery party. And of course, as well as a fictitious murder as part of the celebrations, an actual murder takes place. Fair play is a clever tale that veers between grief and trying to find out what happened to her brother. Everyone is a suspect and Louise Hegarty has written an emotionally intelligent thriller. Well written and an original approach to a murder mystery. This book has all the ingredients for a locked room mystery.

There are so many detective stories out there that it can be hard to do something different, so Louise Hegarty should be applauded just for trying. Her take on the traditional locked room mystery is a good idea, and makes for an interesting read where you aren't sure exactly how things will turn out. The story starts in typical enough fashion - in the 2020s, a young professional named Abigail organises a murder mystery party for her brother Benjamin's birthday. All his old friends, and a couple of new, are present together in an Air BnB property. The evening goes well, but in the morning Benjamin is found dead in his locked bedroom.

The narrative then splits with the story reimagined as a golden age detective story in which the detective seems strangely aware that he's in a book, interspersed with snippets of the real-life aftermath of Benjamin's death - the awkward condolences, the painful funeral, the challenges of going back to work after such a sudden devastating loss. As the detective tries to discover who murdered Benjamin, Abigail must make sense of his death in a more mundane and less glamorous way.

It's a clever idea and I always like books that try to break the mould. The story is quite readable and moving, although I didn't fully engage with it and I did find the concept a bit strange and disjointed. I think a bit more signposting about what was going on and how seriously the detective story elements should be taken might have been helpful. There are some similarities with Anthony Horowitz's 'Mapgie Murders' series, where a real life crime is reflected in and/or precipitated by a fictional murder mystery. But Horowitz executes it better. However there is more depth in 'Fair Play' - by contrasting the fun of a traditional whodunnit with the pain of real grief it has a much more powerful message.

If you like murder mysteries, or like experimental fiction that attempts to mix up old concepts and reinvigorate genres, then this a definitely a good book to read. If you want a very traditional cosy crime then this not that. I enjoyed it overall and admire Hegarty's idea and courage in not sticking to formuale.