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.

Every person deals with grief differently.
This is a gorgeous and painful exploration of grief and mental health cleverly disguised as a fun Golden Age murder mystery.
Don't go into the book expecting a traditional thriller and don't expect all your questions neatly wrapped up. This book perfectly parallels realistic and raw feelings of loss and confusion with delightful and typical, menu ordered mystery, complete with secret identities, money issues and secret lovers.
I know some people didn’t love the final chapter, but for me it showed me the depth behind the grief. It was a pure and golden scene that highlighted the loss.
I have never read a book like this, definitely recommend!

This was a wonderfully inventive take on the locked-room mystery genre. It explores grief in an interesting and complex way, with a clever twist to proceedings. A very strong debut.

I liked the aspects of a traditional detective live mystery but as other reviewers have said, the book missed the mark for me. I found I didn't like the characters and didn't always understand quite what was going on. Sorry

This book really wasn't for me. I didn't mind the characters and I enjoyed the start, but after that it felt like it was trying to be too clever. I kept reading, hoping that at some point I would understand why the book was written in the way it was, but this never happened and I was disappointed by the way the book ended.

Louise Hegarty’s *Fair Play* is a clever and immersive mystery novel that blends classic detective fiction with modern storytelling. With sharp writing and a rich atmosphere, the book keeps readers engaged as secrets unravel and tensions rise. Hegarty crafts an intricate narrative full of suspense, intriguing characters, and unexpected twists. Thoughtful and stylish, *Fair Play* is a fresh and compelling take on the mystery genre, making it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and traditional whodunits alike.

Fair Play is set up nicely: a murder mystery game in a stately home where a real murder is committed. For Benjamin’s birthday every New Year’s Day, Abigail organises a group of friends to stay in a country house and writes them all characters to play in a 'whodunnit'. The story is established and we get a sense of each of the characters, their weaknesses and insecurities. We also get an insight into Abigail’s psychology and personality: a perfectionist who likes to have everything in order, she wants to make her brother happy on his birthday.

It all seems quite straightforward in Part I, which ends with the group discovering one of them has died during the night. However, it takes a turn in Part II and becomes much more obscure and self referential, with the introduction of Detective Bell and his Watson, Sacker. The detective is the writer of his own murder mystery, and the novel abounds with direct quotes from books on the rules of writing good detective novels.

It's both an homage to the genre and a dismantling of it, and there is some enjoyment to be found in a book which is aware of its own fiction. However, I really felt the cleverness of the form and device obstructed the strong writing and initially intriguing plot of Fair Play.

Once the detective is introduced, the book splits into parallel or even multiple strands, as Detective Bell tries to solve the murder. It’s quietly humorous and I can tell Hegarty had fun writing it and exploring the genre, but there is little pay-off for the reader. I found myself disappointed by the lack of resolution and confusing alternate narratives. I really expected to love Fair Play and have been impressed by Picador’s packaging, but I found this a largely unsatisfying read overall.

This was not the kind of book that I enjoy - it felt a little bit too smug and self-aware.
Also, I think the problem for me was that I actually didn’t warm to the characters so what happened to them became irrelevant.