I enjoyed this 'locked room' mystery. There were some nice little touches between Mimi and her grand daughter Addie.

A easy cosy read of trying to figure out who done it. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Would recommend

This book was a delightful and easy-to-read mystery, perfect for a cozy afternoon! Mimi, the 77-year-old protagonist, is an absolute gem – cantankerous, witty, and utterly charming. Her reluctant granddaughter, Addie, provides a wonderful contrast, making their dynamic both humorous and heartwarming.

The setting of Mackinac Island, with its grand mansion and extravagant party, creates a wonderfully atmospheric backdrop for the murder mystery. The plot unfolds at a pleasant pace, with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

The real strength of this book lies in its characters. Mimi's sharp tongue and no-nonsense attitude are a breath of fresh air, and her interactions with the more reserved Addie are consistently entertaining. A fun and engaging read, perfect for fans of cozy mysteries

Evoking the nostalgic charm of classic whodunits, this debut novel immerses readers in a traditional locked-room mystery. Set on Mackinac Island in the Great Lakes, the story traps a diverse group of guests at a socialite's mansion, becoming the stage for murder after a charity auction turns deadly.

The unlikely detective duo, Mimi and Addie, provide a refreshing and compelling dynamic. Mimi, a widow with a sharp wit and an even sharper appreciation for a well-made Gibson, brings a worldly charm and a knack for extracting information through convivial conversation. Addie, a modern-day analytical mind and video game designer, channels her inner Hercule Poirot, employing a methodical, logic-driven approach. Her constant references to "means, motive, and opportunity" provide a delightful contrast to Mimi's more intuitive methods. The interplay between their old-school charm and new-age pragmatism creates a truly engaging partnership.

Addie's unique perspective, as the co-creator of the wildly successful murder mystery video game "Murderscape," offers a clever twist on the classic "mystery author as guest" trope. Instead of drawing on literary experience, Addie applies the structured, analytical framework of her game design to the real-life investigation. She regularly references the logic puzzles and narrative structures of "Murderscape," using them to guide their questioning and progress the case. This incorporation of video game logic into a traditional mystery is well handled, adding a fresh dimension to the familiar formula.

The mansion itself, with its hidden corners and historical weight, becomes a character in its own right, enhancing the atmospheric tension. While the plot adheres to the familiar structure of a classic locked-room mystery, the novel offers a warm, nostalgic embrace of the genre, perfect for readers seeking a familiar yet enjoyable escape into a world of elegant intrigue and genteel detection.

I would like to convey my thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone Publishers for providing the opportunity to review this novel. All opinions are my own.

This is Not a Game is due to be released on 10th April 2025.

Reviewed March 2025

Mimi lives on Mackinac Island on Lake Michigan. She is grandmother to Addie and has looked after her since Addie’s parents died. Addie is now a gamer having devised a successful game with her partner who has now dumped her. Trying to decide what to do Addie receives a message from Mimi inviting her to join her at a party at the home of local celebrity Jane Ireland.

Briefly, the invitation included a demand that Mimi bid for a particular item at the party otherwise her secret will be made public! It is of course the middle of winter and with a snow storm blowing the pair find themselves trapped in the house with the other partygoers, also invited under similar duress. And when the hostess is murdered matters go downhill very quickly, and more bodies soon follow. With Mimi under suspicion Addie decides to use her skills as a gamer to help Mimi solve the case.

I loved our two lady sleuths. They have a great relationship and very different personalities so they bat well off each other as they try to solve the murders. Pleasant cosy murder mystery where there are any number of suspects to keep the brain ticking over. A good locked room plot with some great twists and turns, making for a fun and entertaining read.

I absolutely loved this - a fantastic locked-room whodunnit with an engaging modern twist in the video-game-inspired approach to puzzle-solving and a central duo to fall in love with in Mimi and Addie. It starts slowly, and is slightly rambling at times - there are a lot of characters to wrangle, and a lot of ground to cover - but the last third really rocketed along and Kelly Mullen has created a setting and cast that I would happily have spent a lot more time immersed in. All in all, a satisfying mystery with a quick wit and a refreshingly cool, anti-cosy edge - just like one of Mimi’s Gibsons.
Thanks to Penguin Random House | Century and NetGalley for the ARC.

An outstanding murder mystery!

An invitation to a dinner party with a side note of blackmail - what could possibly go wrong? Thankfully Mimi, with her cutting insights and razor-sharp wit, and her granddaughter Addie, with her penchant for mystery solving, are on hand to help.

This an isolated setting mystery to the extreme! Not only are they trapped in manor, they also live on an island that is totally cut off from the mainland thanks to a mighty snowstorm. This really heightens the tensions and ups the stakes, which keeps going as the body count rises.

The two protagonist make an awesome duo. The stoic grandmother who is fiercely protective of her granddaughter and does not suffer fools, and the granddaughter whose intelligence is instrumental in solving the mystery. The writing really captures the unique and complex dynamic between the two.

Overall, this was an outstanding murder mystery with plenty of heart, wit and intrigue.

A cozy and funny whodunnit with some great characters :) Perfect read for evenings by the fire. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy

Mimi takes her granddaughter to an evening at a posh friends house where she has been instructed by the host,Jane, to buy a certain object.
Snow falls thick and fast and soon they are snowed in with no escape as the access to the house is now closed and no one knows the code to get the drawbridge open again. Jane is found dead, murdered, at the end of the evening. Surrounded by well known faces it soon becomes clear that they all had secret past dealings with Jane that they prefer to keep hidden. Mimi included but who would murder to keep them so. Mimi and Adie set themselves the task of detectives and they hope they can solve the case without too many deaths occurring. A big house with plenty of secret passages known only to a few makes life more difficult for the two but..................Mimi thinks better with a Gibson cocktail or more inside her and a carryall bag that seems to have all the right things required by an amateur detective. A good read that will keep you guessing until the end.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for ARC.

Game developer Addie is at a crossroads: does she sue her former lover or not? She's grieving that bad breakup and at a loose end when her beloved, frustrating grandmother Mimi gets in touch after a long time, to invite her to a weekend party at a fancy house on an isolated island.
Of course there are secrets, lies, and inclement weather. This isn't billed as 'Gilmore Girls meets Knives Out' for nothing.
Just relax and enjoy the ridiculous, bumpy and often very funny ride.

I struggled to get into this book. The concept was original but I didn’t warm to the main characters.

This is an interesting little murder mystery with interesting well thought out characters.
Was enjoyable and would recommend if you like this genre or Agatha Christie style books!

This book was really quite good fun. A kind of cost mystery that for me, sat somewhere between an Agatha Christie mystery and a good old game of Cluedo. The only difference between the book and Cluedo is that there were more murders, and no-one was called plum, even if some of the characters often acted like one ... This is a locked room (island) mystery, with blackmail and subterfuge at it's heart, and a whole cast of characters who could have been ripped out of one of Christie's finest. Even the party the guests (and victims) were attending had a flapper theme to it. But in place of Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot we had Grandmother/Granddaughter team Mimi and Addie in a fight to the end to unmask a killer before one or both of them became the next victim.

The author has followed a tried and tested format with this book but it works really well here. The setting is perfect - Mackinac Island - which sits in the north of Lake Michigan and is generally closed to tourists during the winter season. And yes, that is pretty much where we, and our unwitting amateur sleuths, find ourselves in this story. And to make matters worse, a grand snow storm is heading towards the island making an already isolated location that little bit more remote. Not to mention the moat and drawbridge around the venue for the party ... When the hostess is found murdered, the guests are going to have to work hard to survive long enough for help to arrive. And with Mimi as one of the prime suspects, it's no wonder that she and Addie are so determined to work out who really dunnit.

I enjoyed how the author has brought the story together. With blackmail at the heart of everything, it's not really a surprise that the party takes a dark turn, but there are many laughs along the way. Mimi and Addie are really chalk and cheese, but work well together in this context. Mimi is a long term Mackinac resident who has great instincts and a way of putting people at ease even if she would rather be left alone. Addie is co-creator of a series of crime related computer games and between them, they have all of the smarts, if not the clues, to solve this particular puzzle. They were a fun pair to spend time with, if a little frustrating at times. Alongside some of the other party guests, they really made the read quite fun, particularly when watching Mimi interact with Veronique, whose abilities as a 'super smeller' come in handy in unexpected ways.

There were a few elements of the book that felt a touch convenient, the weather for example, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of the story. There is a lot of time spent on the set up, but the back and forth between the characters, especially our two leads, really made the book for me. Watching them puzzle through the various clues, especially as, much to Mimi's bemusement, Addie tried to relate them to the various stages and aspects of an online game, was quite addictive, and whilst few of the guests had redeeming qualities, and some were more obviously suspect than others, Kelly Mullen kept some of the key reveals under wraps and still delivered the odd surprise or two towards the end. And I'll admit to being a little curious about Mackinac now too. Maybe somewhere to think about as a future holiday destination?

A fun read with great lead characters that fans of cosier crime reads will enjoy.

This was a fun murder mystery that is description packed to help you guess what happened along with the characters. There was bits of humour that shined through which I enjoyed. It definitely was a little slow at times but definitely worth a read.

A great murder mystery with a brilliant twist. I loved our crime solving duo. It took a little to fully immerse myself into the story but once I was there I was hooked.

A cozy murder mystery novel with a modern twist. An enjoyable read but a bit difficult to get into if you only read a couple of chapters at one time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advance copy of this book.

Addie and Mimi are a brilliant crime solving duo! I would have loved to go to a murder mystery evening with my grandma as she had a love for crime books and shows that I share. It was probably the afternoons watching Murder she wrote and Poirot with my gran that started me off. Addie's relationship with her grandma isn't as close but she did have a lot of interesting memories and both her and Mimi did have troubled pasts. You can understand their dynamics more as the tale unfolds!!

Mimi is brilliantly fun and a little blunt. I like her character and think she's the sort I'd get on with. She has great instincts and is also I little feisty! She loves Addie and it's great to see their relationship improve as Addie works through an issue of her own.

There's a certain kinda fel to this that is reminiscent of the classic murder mystery books/programmes I've encountered over the years and I love the familiarity of that. You know the plot twists are coming and you look forward to the twists and turns. It's a fun read and I reckon would make a great series.

Good fun, a locked room mystery with wicked characters, secrets and lies. A light, quick read that passed the afternoon nicely!

I was drawn to this book by the premise; a cosy murder mystery with an older protagonist, a blackmail scheme and an amateur detective.
The plot moved at a steady pace and I enjoyed the ride.

This Is Not a Game is a very promising debut from Kelly Mullen. A cosy-ish mystery, reminiscent of those locked room mysteries from the Golden Age. 🗝🍸
This is not so much locked room as locked mansion. Throw in a party, a blizzard, a moat and drawbridge, secret passages, and a killer and you get a rather fun whodunnit. 🗝🔪
I loved Mimi, our Gibson drinking central character. Think sassy Jessica Fletcher, who likes a cocktail or three. 🍸
The rest of the dramatis personae are a mix of likeable and loathsome characters. All have secrets, and all of them are suspects. 🗝🔪
It took me a while to figure out who did it, thanks to a couple of well placed red herrings, but therein lay the fun. 🗝🔪
I thoroughly enjoyed this lighthearted, cosy mystery. Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
This title will be available on 24/04/2025.