This book was so difficult to get into that I gave up at 20%,,there is only so much pre this and pre pre this that works,also there is of pages where not much happened of any consequence, apologies as I really did want to like this book but just wasn’t for me

A birthday weekend of fun staying at a house country swiftly becomes something way more serious when the entertainment turns deadly.

A game that involves selecting pairs and having one of them commit a murder, and is then written up for story telling purposes, can be problematic if it ends up giving people (the wrong kind of) ideas...

This is a clever and creative book that will hold the reader's interest throughout, do it can at times feel a bit confusing. The characters are diverse and quirky. The story gets 3.5 stars.

In Alex Pavesi's gripping thriller, six friends gather at a country house for a birthday weekend, only to find their playful game of imagining fictional murders spiraling into a deadly reality. Each participant uses personal secrets and grudges to craft convincing murder scenarios, but as these fictional tales unfold, they inadvertently reveal real motives and tensions within the group. The line between game and reality blurs, culminating in an actual murder that forces everyone to confront their darkest truths. Pavesi masterfully blends suspense, intricate character dynamics, and unexpected twists, delivering a clever and captivating homage to classic crime fiction.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

At the time I read Pavesi's first book (Eight Detectives) I really enjoyed it. I recently reread in anticipation of this book and I found it much more lacking than I remembered. Still, I went into Ink Ribbon Red with excited optimism. Unfortunately, the whole thing fell a bit flat.

This is a very hard book to get into. The premise is that a bunch of old university friends are at a house for a weekend together. During this trip, they play a game where they write stories about murdering each other. This is alluded to by the blurb but isn't made clear in the book until a good 30-40% of the way through. Meanwhile, you have a narrative which is jumping around wildly because it turns out that some of what you're reading is the stories written by the characters. This is a great idea in theory but without being set-up properly in the book itself, it creates a horrible mess for a first-time reader. It also means you have to pay really close attention to the times/dates at the start of each section which I find tiresome. I find I can ignore these in most books without any confusion so it's a pity the writing was not clear enough here.

In terms of the content of the book, I found the characters diverse and interesting enough. I wasn't particularly invested in the story, partially because of the issues mentioned above and partially because there wasn't much to work out aside from the content of the stories. Ultimately I think this book had a great idea but it wasn't executed to its full potential. I like the creativity behind it but it definitely needed to be refined a bit more in order to create a better reading experience

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Deliciously Tricksy..
A country house birthday weekend, six friends and a game of fictional murders. As names pop into a hat, motives abound and extra points will be given for authenticity. Use what you already know, that is what is suggested. The trouble is that when a secret is out, then it is out. Nothing can be taken back. Thus, with each fictional murder, a motive is surely raised for one that is, perhaps, real. Will you spot the real one? Cleverly constructed mystery where nothing is as it seems and everything is to play for. Compelling, wholly entertaining and deliciously tricksy.

Loved the premise but couldn't really get into this one. The different strands felt disjointed and all the additional notes/stories ruined the flow for me. I found myself skipping over the additional stories (added for 'completeness' according to the author's note at the beginning). Overall, this didn't fully work for me - sorry.

Having not read the author's previous book I was attracted to this by the premise: while the 'reunion with secrets' subgenre of crime is one I've read a lot of in recent years, this one seemed to offer something different in its' central plot device of a group of friends each selecting a pair of names from the group - one murderer, one victim and spinning a tale to share over the weekend.
I have to say the way this played out was NOT what I was expecting in terms of flow or style.
The author's note at the beginning of the novel states that 'for the sake of completeness, the stories written by the characters over the course of that weekend have been included in the text at appropriate points'. If you're one for skipping over author notes then you're likely to find this quite the confusing story...similarly if you're not taking note of the chapter headings indicating time and date you're going to end up with whiplash of the fingers flicking back and forth trying to figure out where you are in time.
As the author himself has commented, 'Ink Ribbon Red is a murder mystery where the mystery is what is real and what is not...' and that's true: this is a tricksy book where everyone is something of an unreliable narrator under the author's overview. Whether that appeals to you or frustrates you as the story goes on will very much depend on you (and to a degree, I think how much crime/ mystery fiction you read: the authors I know who have read this are all full of praise, a few of the reviews on Netgalley are a little more unsure about how well the illusion works.)
What's safe to say is that despite the apparent 'conventional' premise: old friends getting together and, with too much excess, secrets come out, this is in NO way a conventional approach to it and that's got to be something to applaud.

An intriguing concept, though I have to say this was something of a confusing read.
A group of friends are gathered for a birthday party. As entertainment they are each asked to pull a name from two jars and to then write a story, where one of the group kills another. The idea is that the stories will then be read out and the best one voted for.
What they don’t realise is that within the stories are fragments of truth. People write about what they know. What we don’t know is what is truth and what is fiction.
Cleverly plotted, and the kind of read where you feel it’s necessary to go back through sections to discover what was missed first time round.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.

This had all the makings of a great book, mystery hotel, six guests, history between them, exciting.
I loved the set up and the back story of the characters was really interesting but I have to say this ended in a bit of a dud.
The twist was pleasant, maybe not huge surprise but good enough however the ending leaves a lot to be desired.

I adored Eight Detectives so I was instantly interested in reading this before I even read the cover, once I read the cover I knew I had to request it, was delighted to be approved for the ARC, many thanks.

This took able to get going for me it jumped about and it become quite confusing but once I got on with the layout and what was happening I was hooked.

It's hard review without giving the plot and twists away but all I will say is that it's unique, well written and plays with the readers mind. It has classic murder mystery vibe with the setting and characters. For me there was times It was like a humorous The Secret History meets Crooked House. Really well executed.

This writer has true skills. If you enjoyed your mind being played with in Eight Detectives you will enjoy this as it has the premise and tone but is unique and stands out.

Side note I really enjoyed all little facts sprinkled among the book the family tree and the golden birthday were things I have never thought about or known about. Furthermore the idea of the party game would actually work so well in real life given the modern day thirsts for true crime podcasts. The author should get a paton on it asap.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC

A fun and page-turning novel. The premise was interesting and the execution nothing less. I was constantly kept guessing and was shocked by some of the revelations. A great who dunnit thriller

I enjoyed The Eighth Detective so was looking forward to Ink Ribbon Red.

This was an intriguing read that messed with your head, a blend of real and imagined within the story that made for an interesting premise.

The character dynamic was clever, a group of very different friends whose motives and realities became clearer the further you read.

Maybe could have been a little more coherent at the start which was a little confusing but once you picked up on the process it became a real page turner.

Overall a great read.