This is the fourth in the Frankie Sheehan series written by this inventive crime fiction author. And very accomplished an outing it is too. Although sadly having jumped in part way through I had missed some of Frankie's backstory but not so much that it impeded my enjoyment of the outstanding plotting.

Welcome to the Murder Box said the label that turned up in time for Frankie's birthday. It seemed like an innocent birthday gift, something personal to appeal to the detective; a murder mystery. Franke quickly reassessed as soon as it became clear that the victim in the game was also a missing woman in 'real life!'

Very clever with some real edge-of-your-seat moments, I recommend this one so much I need to go and read the rest of the series.

This is book 4 in the DCS Frankie Sheehan series, sadly I haven’t yet read any of the previous books, and I really don’t know why I haven’t but it’s something I will be rectifying straight away. Heads off to grab the other books. I hate reading books out of order.

The team have been tirelessly working on the case of the disappearance of Teddy Dolan, a well known popular tv presenter who also just happens to be the nephew of the Police Commissioner, so no pressure!. But with no leads things are getting tough. But then Frankie has a delivery to her desk a bright red box. When she opens it she first of all thinks it’s a murder mystery birthday present that someone has sent her, with forensic clues, an authentic looking post-mortem report, of a woman with the initials LC and an invitation to play a game. Sounds fun, in fact my daughter actually bought me a pack that is a murder to solve for my birthday.

Frankie logs on to the website and sees that there are other’s playing the same came, but the worrying thing is there is a clock counting down time, why would there be a time limit in a game? What happens when the time runs out? Hmmmm mysterious! Before Frankie even gives it a great deal of thought a young woman Neve Jameson asks to see Frankie, her flatmate Lydia Callin has gone missing and she wants to report it. She had already been to the local Garda but they hadn’t seemed to take it seriously so Neve has come to Frankie to take it higher.

It’s only then that the mystery red box takes on a more sinister meaning, as she realises this is not a game but a real live case, a real victim, and the clock is ticking. It’s crystal clear that whoever designed and planned this game has been very meticulous and is heavily invested in the result. As time ticks by Frankie becomes worried about the other players and their safety as well as herself. Because at every turn they take the puppet master is always one step ahead. Every move they make is anticipated, but how can that be?

This is a gripping fast paced read, it works as a stand alone novel but I know I have to read the other books as I like to know the back stories. The characters are all believable. Frankie and partner Baz Harwood are both determined and driven to catch the person behind this. This is definitely a book to buy right away if you are a lover of police procedural’ , or crime fiction this is one not to miss.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #QuercusBooks for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

It’s Frankie Sheehan’s birthday and someone has sent her a murder mystery box. Now, if you’ve ever thought to yourself “hey, this looks like fun!”, you might want to reconsider. I know I have! The contents of Frankie’s box could very well offer clues about an actual investigation she is involved with and they will definitely turn out to be more gruesome than she expected.

First of all, there is the disappearance of tv celebrity Terry Dolan. Terry vanished after visiting a gallery a month ago and apart from a finger, nobody has seen or heard anything from him since. Frankie and her team have nothing to go on and the investigation has stalled completely. Until a young woman tells Frankie her flatmate, Lydia, is missing and she is sure Lydia had an affair with Terry. Are these two cases connected? Did they run off together, perhaps?

With this fourth instalment in the Frankie Sheehan series, Olivia Kiernan has come up with quite the clever and original plot. The person on the other side of the murder box is a heartless killer whose only objective is to win the game their way. Frankie will need to keep her wits about her to crack this case and stop the killer before the clock literally runs out (no, really, it’s counting down on a website, holy cow!) because who the heck knows what will happen then.

‘The Murder Box‘ can quite easily be read as a stand-alone although, as per usual, I don’t advice it. This is such a solid crime series and each and every book gets you a top-notch storyline and brilliant characters. Frankie is a no-nonsense, dogged and determined kind of woman. She has no time for pleasantries and for the longest time, she wasn’t even really much of a team player. Until her partner Baz was pretty much forced upon her. Now, she can’t even imagine working without him by her side. But why is Baz acting so oddly? And why won’t he talk to her about it?

This was such a gripping and compelling read. Full of red herrings and delightful twists, it kept me guessing until the end. I couldn’t at all figure out the identity of the killer and I thought the reveal was incredibly well done. Fabulous premise, excellent execution, hugely enjoyable! Another fantastic addition to this series and I can’t wait for more.

The Frankie Sheehan novels are rather a guilty pleasure for me. Always a top-quality story with characters I like spending time with. This is the forth outing for Irish DCS Frankie Sheehan and her partner DS Baz Harwood, with a whopper of a case to solve. It's Frankie's birthday and she receives a murder box filled with details of a fictitious murder challenge she is invited to crack. But, as you may suspect, things aren't as they seem and the murder box is more than just a game.

I so enjoyed this novel. The situation, the atmosphere, the dynamic between Frankie and Baz, the twists in the story. It's all jolly good. Frankie and Baz have a close bond and balance each other out well but things have shifted in Baz's life triggering changes for him. How does that impact the pragmatic Frankie? Situations like this, with the potential for a love relationship, can turn cheesy but not so here. In true form with the story development and Frankie's personal directive it's pretty no nonsense and no fuss. She certainly isn't a girly girl and I like that about her. Her life is all about the job and solving murders. A cracking good series that will not disappoint.

An excellent well-written book, believable storyline, full of twists and turns, good ending. Intricate plot with really good ending.

Would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping book

A red murder box is delivered to frankie though at first they do not realise the significance of it, they are investigating a possible murder but as yet have not found the body

But it’s about to get very interesting when a young woman reports her housemate missing who had ties with their missing person who is presumed dead

So many red herrings but what a joy to read, a murder mystery with hints of Agatha Christie , loved it couldn’t put it down and the twist at the end....brilliantly done

so nice to have a female lead detective, After being demoted due to personal problems the murder box arrives on her desk, after thinking it was a joke she and her team are put onto the case of 2 disappearances.
Set in ireland with a time frame to catch the killer - can they do it?

Frankie Sheehan receives "A Murder Box" game on the day before her birthday, naturally, she thinks this is a present from one of her colleagues as no name was put on the card.
Frankie takes an in-depth look at the game with all the forensic slides etc and clues and realizes that a clever mid has orchestrated this game well.
Frankie and her colleague Baz are glad of a bit of distraction as Teddy Dolan a TV presenter that just happens to be the nephew of the police commissioner has gone missing and no ransom has been asked for and it seems as if it has run its course, but no the commissioner wants them to continue working on it and its all hands on deck then Neve Jameson comes into the station and declares her flatmate gone missing in fact she declares that she has been abducted, what Frankie needs to know is how is she so sure?.
Neve is not mentioned for a while which did make me wonder why. This is a new author to me and this is her 4th book, so this one worked out well as a standalone, it was good police procedures small bit of banter and everybody above board and friendly, and work extremely well together.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will sort out the other 3 that I missed of this author.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an ARC copy for me to read and review. Readers you will not be disappointed.

On the day before her birthday DCS Frankie Sheehan, of the Irish Gardaí’s Bureau for Serious Crime, receives an unusual, anonymous gift. A Murder Box mystery game containing forensic clues to the hypothetical murder of a young woman with the initials LC, including an authentic looking post-mortem report. The instructions in the box invite her to play the game on a website and share her findings with the other amateur sleuths taking part.

Frankie and her team are already under pressure investigating the disappearance of popular TV identity Teddy Dolan. Teddy disappeared without a trace a month ago and so far there have been no leads as to what happened to him. Teddy happens to be the nephew of Frankie’s Commissioner, which explains why the investigation hasn’t been trimmed back yet due to budget constraints. Teddy’s wife, the media and the Commissioner are all becoming frustrated with Frankie’s lack of progress. Although they definitely don’t have the time to play games, Frankie and her partner, Baz start to follow the clues in the Murder Box as a welcome distraction from their high-profile case that’s going nowhere.

However, when a young woman, Lydia Callin, is reported missing, Frankie notices similarities between her case and the clues in the Murder Box that can’t be coincidental, and she realises the game is more than just a party game. It is in fact a deadly game that she must play to its conclusion to find the killer, in the process become part of the game herself. It doesn’t help that the game website has a clock chillingly counting down the time left to play. Frankie tries hard not to think about what will happen if she doesn’t beat the clock and solve the case, but is sure it won’t be anything good.

Although this is the fourth book in this series featuring Frankie Sheehan, it works very well as a stand-alone novel. The plot is fresh and novel and moves along at a brisk pace. Frankie is a clever and hard-working detective, but it will take all her skills and those of her team to work out who is pulling the strings behind the scenes and what has motivated them to set up this bizarre game. At the same time continuing to prioritise their investigation into Teddy’s disappearance. There is a cast of fellow game players for Frankie to investigate and plenty of red herrings along the way. It’s certainly not a mystery where the perpetrator is obvious and their identity was just as much as a surprise to this reader as to the police.

This clever and original, tightly written thriller makes for a gripping and engrossing read as the designer of the murder game stays one step ahead of the police until the shocking and suspenseful ending. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a really good thriller.

The Murder Box is the latest book in the Frankie Sheehan series by Olivia Kiernan and it is an enjoyable police procedural with the added twist of the police and Sheehan in particular having to play a murder board game devised by the murderer.

The story moves along at a decent pace and is a very readable addition to the series and a book I enjoyed

When a glossy red box arrives on the desk of Dublin-based Detective Frankie Sheehan, she believes it to be a harmless murder mystery game – the sort of thing that I love to play!

“Welcome to The Murder Box, the addictive murder mystery game … This box contains everything you need to begin cracking this case”.

Frankie & her colleague Baz start to play the game, as a bit of a distraction from the very gritty case they are currently investigating – they solve a clue, enter the “answer” into a website & get some more information – it all seems to be harmless fun until a young woman walked into the office to report her friend missing … The more Frankie “plays the game”, the she notices an uncanny resemblance between the 'murder victim' and the missing friend, Lydia Callin. Frankie soon realises that not only do they have an actual victim, but the killer has spent a long time planning the “game” and the timer is ticking … what will happen if – when - the timer runs out?

As a lover of mystery puzzle solving games, I totally understood the idea behind this & really wanted to read the book from the description. I was not disappointed. The author gets the balance just right between detail & pace – there is enough detail to explain what is going on and keep it authentic, but not so much detail that the pace drops.
The ending was interesting, and made sense with what had happened in the story, though it didn’t have quite the tension that I had expected. I had expected a twist not dissimilar to this, but hadn’t got it quite figured out – yet it all made sense when it was revealed and that’s the sign of a really good writer … enough red herrings/diversion to throw you off the scent but everything slotting into place when needed. You can’t help feel very sorry for Joe.

Overall, The Murder Box is one of those books that is hard to put down once you get started, – I read it in a day and highly recommend it to readers who enjoy well-paced, skilfully written police procedurals or gritty thrillers – but also to those who enjoy escape room/mystery puzzles (and there have been a lot of excellent ones over the last 18 months!). Just one warning though, it will probably make you question, just for a moment, if the fun online mystery puzzle that you & your friends are about to tackle is actually quite what it seems …

I understand that this is the 4th book in a series, but it works well as a standalone.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author & publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
@LivKiernan #TheMurderBox

(Also posted to https://bookwormescapes.blogspot.com; Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lucy-bookworm; Instagram: @UKBookwormEscapes, Twitter: BookwormEscapes)

The Murder Box by Olivia Kiernan (NetGalley preview) 5 stars
A mysterious box arrives at a detective’s desk on her birthday, She immediately thinks it’s a gift, but it is only the beginning of what becomes an enthralling and exciting race to solve the murder before time ran out. There are clues in the box and online, but are they true or red herrings? How does this all link with a celebrity disappearance and what has happened to the missing girl. Frankie Sheehan and her team must untangle the twists and turns to discover what’s really going on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - one of those you really don’t want to put down. Lots of twists, turns and red herrings along the way. Definitely recommended. Look out for it!

This is a superb read and should not be missed.
This was the last thing I expected to write when I was a good way into the book. It seemed to me to be a standard missing person/murder/police book but with the novel idea of a murder mystery game thrown in. I was having difficulty getting to grips with the primary characters so it was looking like only 3 stars. Not helped by the term 'eejit' which seems to be standard for any book set in Ireland.
All this gradually changes as the story develops and you find a tense, thought-provoking read which is sometimes a little difficult to follow. Frankie and Baz are the 2 primary police characters and I really found myself getting to know and understand them more and more.
A very very good ending with a twist I certainly did not expect although I have to admit I'm not absolutely certain why The Murder Box game was developed. Still this is more likely me missing it.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What an interesting premise. Very different. Full of intrigue and suspense. A recommended read.

Olivia Kiernan is a new author for me ana although The Murder Box is the fourth book in the Frankie Sheehan series I felt I hadn’t missed out by not reading the other three and this book could be read as a stand-alone.

When Frankie is sent a murder mystery game, she is convinced it’s a birthday gift from one of her colleagues. But when she studies the contents, she realises the ‘game’ bears some striking similarities to a missing person case that has crossed her desk. As Frankie and her team start to investigate, they uncover a series of grisly crimes across Dublin. But with a deadline to complete the game, can Frankie solve it before time runs out?

I found this book to be gripping and fast paced and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Different and thoroughly enjoyable type of detective story, nice to have a female lead for a change. Red herrings along the way makes you think who the culprit is, if your clever enough to see the twist coming at the end..........well done.

I'm a huge fan of Olivia Kiernan's thriller and I love Frankie Sheenan.
That said it started like "Let's check what the books for the next blog tours". It was around 4pm in the afternoon and I started reading. I stopped because i had to eat and sometimes you need to stop but I couldn't stop reading and I read in one sitting.
This is a tense, exciting and gripping page turner, a game of mouse and cat and you don't know what's going to happen as there's a game and a game master but the rules are of the game are not clear.
Frankie is involved in the game and she must be cleverer than the game master because time is running out.
I loved this story, it kept me on the edge till the end and the solution came as a surprise.
Olivia Kiernan is a master storyteller and character/plot development are excellent.
There are some development in the life of Frankie and the team, something new that makes me wish I could read the next installment soon.
This one is an adrenaline-fuelled read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Murder Box is a murder mystery 'game' in a murder mystery book.

As someone that has subscribed to a murder mystery box previously, I loved the premise of The Murder box. The way the boxes were put together, the clue left and how it connects to the current case Frankie was working on.

There is always something going on, meaning there isn't a dull moment. As the book is told mainly from Frankie POV, I sometimes feel the stress she is under.

Something has been building between two of the character since book 1, and a moment happens. I hoping this is built on in the next books.

I love the twist, turns and politics in The Murder Box.

My Rating for The Murder Box is 4.5 out of 5.

This was a gripping & clever read! Although it is the fourth book in the series, I really didn't feel that I missed much by not having read the others. I loved the idea of a murder mystery game that turns out to be real. I thought Frankie was a very likeable character & I enjoyed the dynamics between her & the rest of the Serious Crime team. This is another series to add to my TBR!

This is a very clever and rewarding book. But not clever in a “look at me” kind of way. Clever in a subtle, carry you along and trap you kind of way. This is mirrored in the plot with Frankie receiving a big red box at work on her birthday and getting caught up in a “game” related to the box. She is trying to solve the disappearance of TV Personality Terry Dolan and getting nowhere. The box is a diversion until she realises that it is nothing of the kind. No spoilers here but we have many twists and turns and red herrings and I missed seeing one huge reveal which was excellent.

The book - part of a series - is set in Ireland and I found that interesting as it is beyond my awareness as a police service and the different language and methods was another addition to the enjoyment.

Recommended if you like crime thrillers with just a bit of depth that make you pay attention.

I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review.