I admire that this book took an exciting concept: potential inheritors of a property, literally battling for its ownership in an engaging duel of will power and strategy. The concept was a fun and new take on how many relationships are based around money and how that affects relationships. This concept allowed for a satirical spin on how each character reacts to their predicaments and how determined they are to survive.

Although this was an exciting concept to read about I found the execution of its character motivations extremely lacking in overall development. I found it difficult to remain connected with all of the characters, regardless of the various life-threatening situations they found themselves in.

This debut novel is a tale that will keep you guessing to the end, but it was a struggle for me to remain engaged and connected to the various players in the game. I enjoyed the gory death scenes and humor spliced throughout the novel, it reminded me of a bloodier update to a classic Agatha Christie mystery.

If you enjoy fun and new concepts for your thriller novels then this one is for you, but if you enjoy more character-driven novels then you will be disappointed.

I really wanted to enjoy this novel, as the premise sounded like so much fun. However, the supposed humor was totally lost on me. The characters were unoriginal, stereotypical, and flat in an exaggerated way. A lot of (aka too much) time was spent on describing the house's lavish interior in paragraphs I soon turned to skip reading. The murder scenes were somewhat OK, but in the end those brief moments could not save the book. What was expected to be a hilarious murder romp turned out to be a rather foolish attempt at a murder mystery parody, reminding me of those horrible movie parodies that were hot in the past. While others may enjoy this kind of humor, I just couldn't get into it.

A pretty good effort at a mystery with a dark twist. There were odd parts of humour in the book which I found quite appealing but dark humour may not appeal to everyone. I’m not sure this was a very original plot but the writing style is very engaging and the author painted vivid pictures of all characters, some of whom were really intriguing.

This book felt like a generic rip off version of the movie "Ready or Not." I sure hope the copy I reviewed is not the final copy because the editing was terrible. It was hard to stay immersed in the book when every other page has glaring punctuation and spelling errors. The character development was not well done. I did not feel any type of emotion towards any of these characters.

A fun read!!!
All the fun of a murder mystery party but without the mystery of who the killer is! ...
Since we do get to know the thoughts of both parties at that moment.
Definitely not an easily predictable ending!

This book reminded me of the 2019 movie Ready or Not, which involved a rich and mysterious family with their dark traditions and an entire night of running around an estate fighting to the death.

Dead End Drive begins with the death of Agatha Benedict and her will reading. However, unbeknownst to the next heir in line, Kelly Benedict, the will reading has a dark history of turning into a bloodbath. Tradition dictates that the last one standing (or the person agreed upon by all parties) will be the true heir of the Benedict estate and fortune.

I received an ARC of this book, which definitely needs to go through a few more rounds of proofreading. However, I really liked the authors use of descriptive language for the establishing the greedy characters and illustrating the grandeur of the mansion. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the awkward dialogue. Also, I found it strange that the will wasn't read in its entirety at the will reading, and was only presented to the reader at the end. It's not as if the will offered a twist to the story or anything - the synopsis pretty much summarized the contents of the will.

I'd like to start by saying I'm a bit confused. Is this the final published copy? It says the release isn't until October but it seems to be available to purchase everywhere. When I read a book, I want to feel like the reader, not the editor. This book was littered with so many typos and mistakes that I don't know how it got to the publishing stage? This really needs to be taken down and cleaned up before it's released again.

Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Premise: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐
Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Execution: ⭐
Overall reading enjoyment: ⭐

Unfortunately this book and I didn't get along. Fantastic premise so I was really excited for this, but I didn't end up getting the 'playful game' I was promised. I really liked the setting of the old mansion but everything else fell flat for me.

We're introduced to so many different characters at the start, by the time we got to the dining table and the author listed them all off in order of where they were seated, I realised I couldn't remember half of them by name.

I also feel that perhaps even the author struggled to keep track of them. For all the people mentioned at the table (12), there is only dialogue and banter between 3. Then in the next scene it is much the same. It's as if some of the characters suffered from a sudden bout of muteness, and in Johnny's case especially, didn't manage to recuperate for several more chapters.

The idea was there but I just wasn't a fan of the execution. I didn't connect with or like any of the characters, I felt like half of them didn't have a voice and were unremarkable. The story wasn't exciting for me so I was disappointed. Ultimately, I just found it a little dull.

Definitely a fun addition to the genre! Reminds of me multiple film projects like Knives Out and Ready Or Not.

I don’t know still whether I liked or disliked this book. I enjoyed the concept for sure. But it was a bit lack luster in the details. Another book I would say for sure wasn’t scary. Maybe my expectations of horror are much different than the majority of people. I think that this book could have had the potential to be scary, but it’s missing the details to make you really think about the book.

I have conflicting feelings about Dead End Drive.
Starting off, it seemed okay, but not that interesting in characters or writing style. Then, about thirty percent (I think), I realized I'd become much more interested. It seemed like the book had taken a turn for the better. But soon after, it slacked off again.

What I liked was the main story, the premise, and, very occasionally, the characters. Mattias, Johnny, Bertrand, and Gavin had hints of originality and fullness. The story had an echo of the Clue movie, which I loved. The premise of how an inheritance is gained is intriguing.

Unfortunately, I felt the good things about Dead End Drive were overshadowed by the negatives. While some characters had a hint of greatness, every time they seemed to fail in fruition. I didn't get that they sounded like a full, real person. The characters aside from the ones I mentioned were very flat and stereotype. Sometimes those stereotypes were not the nicest and in the real world are harmful. I understand a lot of that came from the characters themselves. Sometimes characters are just bad people with harmful biases. But when discussing a black woman's hair, the third-person narrator seems to include her natural hair texture as a list of bad things that needed to be fixed. That's not coming from a character. Also, as the book progressed, the typos and grammatical issues increased. If nothing else, the publication needs another run-through edit to fix these errors for readability. Finally, I was generally confused about the relationship between Agatha and Ellie. Sometimes they're grandmother-granddaughter, sometimes they're mother-daughter.

If this book were taken out of publication, given another hard look by the author and an editor, and partially rewritten, I think it could be stellar. As it is, though, it misses reaching its potential.

This is a really unique book: it's terrifying but not traumatizing, it's funny but not stupid, it's witty but not attempting to be overly smarter-than-thou. I can't put my finger on it other than to say: read it.

I was intrigued by the title of this novel, wondering if it was inspired by the board game 13 Dead End Drive, and it appears that it was. This modern thriller reads like a playthrough of the classic 90s board game, with every character matching a playable or backstory character from the game itself, and the setting and traps therein reflecting the board. Aunt Agatha, Madame Astra, and Beauregard keep their names and roles from the board game in this novel, while the rest of the novel's characters are renamed and sometimes gender-flipped versions of the remaining game pieces. Poopsie the cat has become an adopted son Kelly, who is often referred to as the cat or even Poopsie, the current Beauregard's true name is Mathias, Smothers the Butler is Gavin, Dusty the maid is Anna (an illegitimate daughter of Agatha and Bertrand), Doctor Charity is The Doc, gossip & friend of Agatha Lulu is Agatha's daughter Ellie, chauffer Parker is Clint, tennis coach Clay is Johnny, hairstylist Spritzy is Alex, chef Pierre is Angus, and gardener Hickory is Bertrand.

The Benedict estate has a peculiar and deadly tradition upon the death of the head of the house. A storm always comes on the night of the will reading, and once the desired heir has been named, all in attendance have two choices: accept the wishes of the deceased, or do whatever they can to correct the error, including murder. The person everyone left alive agrees is the correct heir or the last person standing when an officer arrives in the morning shall be the new head of the Benedict estate. This time around, upon the death of Agatha Benedict, the named heir is her adopted son Kelly, age 14, who will be needing a guardian and surrogate head of the house until he comes of age. Nobody agrees with Agatha's choice of guardian, and some don't agree that Kelly should inherit at all...

I thoroughly enjoyed how true the plot stayed to the backstory of the board game, and I particularly loved the scene where two characters attempt to murder just one other character using all five classic traps from the board game in succession. That was definitely the highlight of the book for me!

I also enjoyed the author's care in making sure that every character was three dimensional and had clear motivations. Bertrand was an intriguing character to read about, and Angus was a joy to read. Johnny came across as the sort of beautiful airhead villain we love to hate, and Alex is beautifully twisted.

That said, this book didn't grip me and hold me captive at any point. This was a put-downable read. I suspect this is because the forrays into character backstory were lengthy and came at odd times. For example, we spent 10 chapters after Agatha's death meeting characters before the will reading, and much of what we learn about Bertrand comes in the form of backstory flashbacks told long after the character is killed off. One such Bertrand flashback is even written in the present tense but comes many chapters after we witnessed his murder.

Overall this is a well-written novelization of a board game many of us 90s kids loved, and I think the nostalgia value alone is reason enough to read this book! If you like being told what's about to happen and then teased with it, even better.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for making it possible for me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was recommended this title by a friend, and I will admit some level of hesitance when it comes to debut works, but I’m VERY glad I didn’t pass on this!

A lot of the content won’t be for everyone. Dark humor and even darker themes run rampant in the pages of Dead End Drive, but it isn’t all gore and violence! The setting, the cast, the writing, all made it an enjoyable read that I will gladly read over again once I have a physical copy in my hands.

After dear old Agatha Benedict passes away, those closest to her are gathered together for the traditional reading of the will to decide the fate of her estate. After the first victim hits the floor, the gloves are off. Alliances are formed (only to be put to the test as numbers dwindle) and old rivalries flare up. Caught amidst it all, Kelly’s instincts and survival skills are put to the test as he is forced to go toe to toe with the more…blood thirsty inhabitants of the estate. He has to navigate his ways through the estate, back to the wall to avoid taking a knife from the shadows, while trying to figure out who he can trust...if anyone.

The large ensemble cast of characters bring a lot to the table. There’s a lot to hate ( in the best way - Kirkpatrick has created a cast that I loved to hate! ) and even more to love. From the bitter old groundskeeper with a garden full of broken hearts to a murderous tennis player with enough pent up rage to level an entire city. Each character felt well thought through and fleshed out, which isn't always easy to accomplish with a big cast! I quickly developed a handful of favorites, as well as a select few that I desperately wanted to see picked off. ( You'll just have to read to see who all dies and survives! )

I look forward to adding this book to my shelf when it’s released. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy!

5/5

Dead End Drive is the debut book of a seriously talented author. The premise is familiar but original at the same time — part coming of age, all murder mystery with the flavor of a midnight black hilarious version of Clue and the setting reminiscent of The Skeleton Key. The world building immerses the reader into a bloody game of kill or be killed mixed with a dark comedic point of view. As odd as it may seem I didn’t want to leave the world after I finished the book.

The story manages a cast of characters that are mostly despicable people, with a few roughly cut gems. Readers always know which is speaking by the tone and language used in dialogue.

I laughed at some of the murders. The brutality is bloody and confronted head on - often times with humor. The car scene; and, hair washing was scene are two examples. I held my breath when my favorites were in jeopardy and I never truly knew who would live to see daylight.

Two of my favorite scenes in this story are romantic variety. One shows realistic passion and the other is wrapped in a violent elegance. Both did an honor to each of the couples involved.

This is the best book I’ve read in a long time. And the best of 2020. Seriously, so damn good. I rarely want to reread books but this is one I will read many times over.

*** ARC provided by NetGalley

Holy moly where to start with this book. It's filled with dark humor, gory murder, twisted and despicable characters. This book definitely isn't for every one but if that piques or interest its worth checking out.

Dead End Drive brings a group of people together during a storm to read the will of the Benedict estates deceased owner. It isn't long before bodies start dropping. It's every man/woman for themselves as they attempt to survive the night with their lives. Whoever is left standing at the end will be the heir to Benedict Estate. But the people roaming the halls aren't the only thing you had to look out for when the house itself seems to come alive around you.

This book is a touch of Clue, House on Haunted Hill, The Purge and a dash of Haunting of Hill house all smashed together. I thoroughly enjoyed the story itself even if I couldn't stand 90% of the characters within it. But you'e not suppose to really like them. Yes some were better than the others, but they all had some extreme flaw to them with some more horrible than others. They were selfish, conniving, violent, racist, vile personalities that all end up getting what they deserve.

The writing itself will reel you in and brings the feeling of old school mystery telling with its details and eeriness. If you are a fan of murder scenes and I mean like horror movie level at times (thinking of one death in particular that happens in the Doc's office that makes me cringe a little) then you might want to give this book a try.

All in all, Dead End Drive is a fantastic debut novel and I look forward to seeing whatever twisted stories Ian Kirkpatrick comes up with next.