When does a murder-mystery become a game? When does a murder become a mystery-game? Whose in charge, the gamer or the murderer? Rosemary, Mimi to her friends and family, is a retried journalist and lives alone on Mackinac Island in the Great Lakes. She is seventy-seven and the grandmother and the only relative of Addie, a designer and developer of the immersive, multiplayer, ‘choose your own adventure’, video game “Murderscape”. She is in dispute with her co-developer over ownership, and is losing, The pair have a tense relationship, mainly due to Mimi’s restrained personality.
Rosemary is surprised to receive a letter from Jane Ireland, super-rich owner of the islands largest estate, inviting her to a charity auction at the Ireland mansion, a castle surrounded by a moat and accessible only by drawbridge. The surprise, initially, is becomes she does not move in those circles and has a negative opinion of Jane. However, that is a minor detail when she realises that this is a blackmail situation, in which she will be expected to bid a ridiculous amount for an item to prevent her darkest secret from being revealed. Having no choice, she accepts the invitation and takes Addie with her for moral support. Duly assembled with an assorted bunch of strangers, the auction proceeds despite the fact that a massive snow storm is blowing down from Canada and will shortly turn into a ‘historic bomb cyclone. Needless to say, this will cut them off from the rest of the island and from the mainland. And then Jane is murdered. Trapped with a murderer on the loose, a classic murder-mystery situation, Mimi and Addie pool their expertise to discover all the secrets of the house and its occupants, and solve the murder.
Mimi and Addie are now two players on a quest inside a ‘choose your own adventure’ story, a constrained space, with multiple locations, multiple artifacts, open and concealed passages, equivocal characters, clues and red herrings, easter eggs and potential dangers. In other words, they are inside the sort of game that Addie develops for a living, and proceed through it the way a player would. It’s a novel approach but more because it explains the mechanics rather than hides them – a sort of Meta approach. At heart it is just a standard murder mystery; quite a good one because there are a lot of potential clues but very few real ones. The writing style is relaxed but a bit repetitive, and it rolls along nicely although the ending is a bit rushed. I wasn’t very engaged with the actual characters but that isn’t really an issue because I’m the Player in this game inside a game.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A locked room mystery and who dunnit set on a snowy Great lakes island. I liked the dynamic chemistry between grand daughter and granny and their amateur sleuthing skills based on their individual hobbies. However, the storytelling dragged and there was no excitement to the plot. I persevered to the lacklustre denouement.

a multiple pov mystery about a video game called murderscape and a mystery party held by a rich woman who ends up brutally murdered.

i actually really enjoyed the inclusion of video games - it felt very modern and i haven’t really seen anything like that before in thrillers.

the only thing that annoyed me a little is there wasn’t an indication the point of views switched so it got a little confusing at times.

however, the book was beautifully written and constantly kept you guessing.

fans of alice feeny’s daisy darker and the tv show sherlock holmes would definitely enjoy this book.

A middle-of-the-road whodunnit à la Agatha Christie. The two protagonist sleuths (grandmother and grandchild) are interesting characters with a pertinent and even intriguing at times background whose repartee is entertaining enough. The story itself (a traditional lock-room (house!) plot) did not grip me totally despite the original (to me) idea of linking developments to a video game scenario (all well argued in background story…) perhaps it fell a bit mechanical in what happened or too similar to other novels of similar style. Whilst I liked sleuth team a lot (4/5), their banter etc, the plot was for me more like 2/5.

This Is Not a Game is a unique locked-room debut that weaves together a memorable intergenerational relationship and a gaming angle. Set against the backdrop of a lavish mansion, the story unfolds as widow Mimi and her granddaughter, Addie, find themselves snowed in during a charity auction, only to discover that their host has been murdered. This unlikely sleuthing duo must navigate a dangerous game, drawing on their distinctive skill sets to uncover the truth.

Mimi lives on the idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are banned and a Gibson with three onions at the witching hour is a must. Addie, meanwhile, is recovering from the heartbreak of her fiancé, Brian, who not only dumped her but also cut her out of the lucrative video game they created together. When Mimi receives an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland—a narcissistic septuagenarian embroiled in an affair with her son-in-law—it provides the perfect excuse for Addie to join her for the weekend. Unbeknownst to Addie, a blackmail threat related to the invitation looms.

Just as the scene is set for a tumultuous weekend, a fierce storm traps everyone inside the mansion. Tensions escalate when Jane’s body is discovered, and Mimi and Addie must rely on their wits—Mimi's love for crossword puzzles and Addie's expertise as a game designer—to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the stakes become even higher, and it’s clear that someone is playing a deadly game, putting their lives at risk.

This book checks all the boxes for me: a sprawling estate, a mysterious cast of characters, hidden trapdoors, and snowed-in panic, all enriched by the charming dynamic between grandmother and granddaughter. I thoroughly enjoyed the engaging mystery, captivating setting, and well-drawn characters.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

Mimi is invited to a do at one of her neighbours who she as gone out of her way to avoid. She feels she has to go. She decides to invite her granddaughter Addie to go with her.
It does not take long for things to start to go wrong and it becomes clear that the other guests have their own secrets.
I liked the way the characters developed throughout the book and their back stories. It was a nice read.

Mimi and Addie are great characters!
Set around a very odd country house party, where blackmail is served with the canapes, the guests are trapped by the weather and forced to coexist with a murder victim whilst waiting for police to make it through the snow.
The investigation launched by Addie and Mimi, neither qualified but both keen uncovers many secrets and lies and put them both in danger- after all, how could the murderer have escaped without laving footprints in the snow?
A great take on the genre!

I throughly enjoy this book. The characters were great and I didn’t work out who dunnit!! It had a good pace and kept me wanting more.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy to read and review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really get into this. This is no reflection on the author.

A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

This is a book you will read again and again, Addie and Mimi are the fresh air this genre needs and what an absolute stunner of a novel.

All readers, mystery, thriller, whatever will love this because while the characters are show stoppers the mystery is also brilliant.

Mimi is being blackmailed. She invites her granddaughter Addie, a computer game creator, to join her at an auction so that she can confront her blackmailer, a wealthy neighbour, face-to-face. When her neighbour is murdered, she needs to revisit her suspicions. Together, Mimi and Addie use their very different skill sets to solve the crime. The novel is cleverly sprinkled with clues throughout (but you need to be reading very carefully!)
An excellent 'locked room' mystery in the style of Agatha Christie! Murder, blizzards, secret passages, cyanide - what else could a murder mystery need? A perfect mix of ingredients.

I was asked to read this fab murder mystery story- I read this in one sitting as so compelling.

Good characterisation, good storyline and humour thrown into the mix.

It did have a fell of Agatha Christie and Miss Marple the much loved sleuth.

Well written and great for the cold days ahead. So recommended.

Absolutely brilliant! Excellent plot and characters with great banter. Cleverly done, brilliantly written. I didn't want it to end but also couldn't stop reading! Triumph!

I enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it each day, although I felt it became a little repetitive towards the end.
A group of people are brought together by a blackmail scheme, only to find themselves trapped in the house and the assumed blackmailer dead. The grandma and grand daughter work together to solve the crimes.

If I had not committed to reviewing this, I would not have read it to the end. The storyline is hackneyed. A group of people on an island for a party are cut off from the world by a storm. The police can’t get to them when the murders start so an elderly guest and her granddaughter step in to catch the culprit. The identity of the guests is not made clear enough to take the readers through the story. Eventually, of course, they identify the culprit before the police arrive! Because the storyline is so frequently used for books, I am unable to recommend this book. It is boring.

A joy from start to finish this is a very modern take on cosy crime. Funny, tightly written and it is a properly old school locked room style mystery but feels like a breath of fresh air

I found this book quite disappointing. The plot was quite basic, and it lacked the humour which would have made it an entertaining read. It was clearly meant to be a collection of clichés, but without humour, it all fell a bit flat I'm afraid.

Looking at other reviews, I wondered if they were reading the same book. I was hoping for something like Knives Out but instead found This Is Not A Game to be the book equivalent of a Hallmark movie: entertaining, maybe, but ultimately lacking in depth. It wasn't for me.

Outstanding..
Fabulous in every sense, this country house style murder mystery will keep the reader on their toes and briskly turning the pages. A grandiose mansion on the island of Mackinac is the setting for a jazz style party, to include an auction, and to which local resident Mimi has been invited. Mimi cannot resist this particular invitation, for reasons only known to her, and cajoles her granddaughter Addie into accompanying her. Things soon begin to go awry, then the bodies begin to pile. Cut off by snow, what on earth will Mimi and Addie do next and who will survive the night? Beautifully done with a cast of eccentric and eclectic characters populating a well paced and cleverly executed plot, this gives ‘Only Murders’ vibes and would work as well on screen as it does between these pages. Outstanding.