I was really happy when I got accepted to read this as the description sounded new, interesting and exciting. I love puzzles and murder mystery so this seemed ideal.

I had expected it to be more immersive but because of the twists and turns it was hard to keep track and I kept having to go back to double check things.

I also kept forgetting characters and who had said what, and so there was lots of stopping and having to go back and find out.

I think a physical copy would've worked better, so that might not be an issue with the book more the format of the ARC, and I would definitely pick up a physical copy from the library and take another stab at it.

It did remind of the choose your own adventure books from my childhood, which I used to love, and I appreciated that.

I was looking forward to reading this book but it fell flat of my expectations. I enjoyed the writing style of the book as I have never read a book where you are in it as the reader. The pace of the book at the beginning was ok but as you went on it seemed to get slower with stuff happening but a lot of information repeated quite a few times which left me feeling like the book was a bit of a slog! The twists and turns within the book I did not see coming and I did not fully suspect the person until it was revealed. Overall the book was ok but the pace felt very off.

I was enthralled by the concept of this book with its novel approach to the classic murder mystery and enjoyed the theatrics of the introduction and set up.

There are many different accounts, warnings that people may lie and perspectives vary upon each re-telling of the same evening. There is quite the motley crew of characters around the dinner table and intricate descriptions of the different courses served.

Clues and red herrings abound and the narration is quite tongue in cheek with its mildly mocking, chiding style, berating the reader at almost every opportunity.

Beyond that something just didn't quite gel for me and as such I fear I may not have done the book justice - I will be interested to see if others take to it more and can imagine it would work very well as a one off televised drama.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. I was really excited by the idea of this and appreciated the opportunity to experience a new style of book but the execution just didn’t work for me and my brain!

The unlikeable characters didn’t help and it felt very long but worse was the difficulty in reading, perhaps my comprehension and understanding enough to keep up with all the information from all directions.

Alongside that there are the almost “cut to camera” scenes where the reader is spoken to more directly which I felt jarring and bought me completely out of the story I was already struggling with.

Would be perfect for people who have far more patience than me, perhaps someone who could read it in just a couple of setting though I think the repetitive nature of it may become tiresome quicker!

THIS sounded like a good premise for a good read. However, I really struggled with the constant changes to environment and identities. Half way through, I was confused by the plot or lack of it. I thought it was trying to be too clever. I became unsure of the timeline and the similarity of the core crime to the Lord Lucan story didn't help. I gave up with it. I may go back to it later but I did give up on it in the end.

An inventive and ambitious novel. A quirky murder mystery where the reader is presented with a series of clues and red herrings. An unknown and unreliable narrator, directing and misdirecting us in our search for the truth.
This reminded me a little of Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. A host of unlikeable characters and some clever references to the great murder mystery authors in history.

A fun read. I love a good murder mystery book so thank you for sending me this. Excited to read more of Hazell in the future

Whilst I enjoyed this book, it was rather too meta for me.
The narrator was not an endearing character and the narration whilst on the whole engaging did pull you out of the story on far too many occasions.
I was expecting more of a chose your own adventure book, which the word interactive seems to imply, this was simply not the case.
It’s a divisive book and I’m not sure that it’s one that quite works to its full potential.

Whilst not a direct criticism of the book and story itself there were far too many formatting issues in the ARC to make this an enjoyable read.

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting, as I thought it might have been in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. However, I do think the premise is clever, but it was slightly too meta for my taste and I couldn't get along with the writing style. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I was obviously intrigued enough by the premise to request this book, but it has left me cold. I don't like the writing style or the structure both of which just don't work for me. There is an overall feeling that this writer iss trying too hard to be smart and original, but it fails as far as I'm concerned.

This is like one of those Murder Mystery Weekends, but in book form, but the guests at the dinner part are there to solve an unsolved murder. Alas I found everything about this irritating and have consigned it to my To Be Deleted list.

Hazell Ward’s debut, The Game is Murder, is an ambitious take on the murder mystery genre that invites you to step into the role of the Great Detective.

The premise is undeniably intriguing: you’re a guest at a dinner party tasked with solving a decades-old crime involving the Verreman family. The catch? You can’t just name the killer; you need to explain how and why they did it.

The book is clever and immersive, with layers of evidence and conflicting testimonies that challenge you to think critically. However, its “meta” approach, where the narrative directly addresses you, the reader, might not work for everyone. While some will find this self-aware style innovative, I found that it pulled me out of the story.

It’s also a long read, and the retelling of the same crime from multiple perspectives can feel like overkill. For me, the closed-circle setting and extended length made it difficult to stay engaged.

That said, Hazell Ward’s sharp prose and creative concept will undoubtedly appeal to fans of puzzles and interactive storytelling. If you enjoy books that break traditional narrative boundaries, this might be your cup of tea. For me, though, it was too long, too repetitive, and I couldn't get into it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward in exchange for my honest opinion.

What if you were invited to solve one of the most famous unsolved murder cases of the century? Not as a bystander, but as the Great Detective.

In The Game Is Murder, you are plunged into a highly immersive murder mystery party, where your skills of deduction are put to the ultimate test. You’ll listen to witnesses, examine evidence, and work through a complex web of clues to solve the case. But be warned—this is no ordinary mystery. You must not only provide a verdict but also explain who committed the murder, how they did it, and why.

With every twist and turn, the case challenges your ability to trust the right people, question the motives of everyone around you, and decipher what’s real versus what’s misleading. It’s a mind-bending experiment in crime fiction, exploring one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth century.

Can you solve the case, or will you be left with more questions than answers? The Game Is Murder is a thrilling, interactive journey into the world of unsolved crimes and the minds of those who attempt to crack them.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

It just didn't work for me...
I didn't like the writing style or the structure of the novel. I found it rather messy and lacking flow. Possibly it would've worked better as an actual book (ARC was a kindle version) with the seating plan and name list. But even then, I don't think this book would work for me personally.
All of the characters were weirdly off putting and the narrator just kept irritating me.
I was expecting something like "write your own story", but it wasn't that. Every page was a struggle. I read a lot of untraditionally written novels. Some were better, some were worse. But this was somehow unbearably bad.

I really struggled with this book, although I loved the concept of it and it is certainly different to anything I’ve ever read before.

I wanted to be gripped by it but unfortunately I just wasn’t.

I really struggled to get into this book. Normally murder mysteries are my bread and butter, and I love the opportunity to get my little grey cells working overtime. Unfortunately this just didn’t click with me. I found the meta stuff actually quite patronising and condescending and times which made it a genuinely unpleasant read.

Sadly DNF at 25%.

The Lucan case in narrative. I didn’t enjoy the style of writing- might work better dramatised. It was terribly difficult to follow.

The ambition might have been better executed with a less well known murder but Lucky Lucan is well known and so seedy and distasteful that I couldn’t read any further.

Appreciate the opportunity

This was a very ambitious undertaking. I thought I had ready every style of murder mystery novel out there but boy was I wrong. I really enjoyed the style of writing in this book. It was harder to get into than some other styles however I did really enjoy it. It tests your skills and murder mystery knowledge that's for sure, I personally didn't manage to correctly sus out the murderer! A thoroughly enjoyable read a must buy for all murder mystery lovers. Fantastically executed well done author!

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, Hazell Ward and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚
Comment

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I was excited to read this after reading the description - it sounded really interesting. I haven't read a lot of murder mysteries so was a little confused in the final third section of the book. I found the narrative style interesting - the break of the fourth wall. The first two-thirds of the book were really intriguing, full of tension and atmosphere and quite creepy at times.
I didn't guess the murderer, and when the reveal came, it made sense in a satisfying way.
I think readers who are more familiar with the whodunnit genre will really enjoy this one.

When I was sent the link for this book the idea of it got me excited! This is the first book it seems by Hazel Ward but I am unsure if I will read another.

After reading the first 60 pages I found it difficult to follow and stick with it! The idea seems good but I felt it could of been executed a little better than what it was. I unfortunately had to DNF this book after 80 pages as it just was not for me.

Give it a try if you like murder mysteries as it might just be your cup of tea!

Described by the publisher as a murder mystery in which the reader ‘plays the role of the Great Detective’, The Game is Murder sounded fun. I expected an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure style book like Max Nightingale’s Murder in Tinseltown (although hopefully better executed than that book, which didn’t quite work). It turned out to be nothing like that, but something very different.

The novel is written in the second person with an unnamed narrator – presumably the author – directly addressing you, the reader, and positioning you as a character in the story. It begins with you arriving for a murder mystery party at the London home of David Verreman and his brother Daniel:

The lights are on at 8 Broad Way. The steps have been swept and the brass door-knocker has been polished. For this is an occasion. Walk up the steps and tap lightly open the door. They are expecting you.

Before you take your seat at the dinner table, David addresses you and the other guests, explaining the purpose of the party. You’re gathered here tonight to attempt to solve an historic crime involving the Verreman family – one evening in 1974, a servant was found murdered in the basement of the family home. Everything points to the killer being Lord Verreman, David and Daniel’s father, who was believed to have mistaken the woman for his wife. Lord Verreman fled before he could be arrested and the crime has remained unsolved ever since. Your fellow guests include suspects, witnesses and medical experts; your task as the Great Detective is to listen to their evidence and try to solve the mystery.

This may sound straightforward enough so far, but you quickly discover that the author is playing games with you and nothing is really as it seems. Without wanting to spoil too much, the direction of the story changes several times and so does your role in it. This is not the sort of book you can really become immersed in as it’s impossible to forget that you are, in fact, reading a book and are being manipulated by the reader/narrator into believing or not believing certain things. It’s something people will either enjoy or they won’t and I’m sure it’s a book that’s going to massively divide opinion!

There are lots of nice little touches, such as quotes from classic mystery novels at the start of each chapter, a ‘contract’ between author and reader laying out the rules of the investigation and some games and quizzes (which I suppose form the interactive element of the book). However, there were other things I just found irritating, such as naming characters after real crime authors: Wilkie Collins, Gaston Leroux etc. And there’s no real opportunity for the reader to actually direct the course of the investigation or solve the crime for themselves, which is the impression I’d been given by the blurb (and why I was hoping for more of a choose-your-own-adventure structure).

The mystery itself is interesting, with several suspects and lots of clues, alibis and red herrings. Because it’s a crime that has already taken place, though, we only see it unfold through the statements and testimonies of the people involved, which means things become quite repetitive in the middle as we hear the same incidents described by several different characters. Overall, I found the book entertaining in places, but too ambitious and not really what I’d expected or wanted. I think other readers will love it!