A deliciously clever game of clue with all the twists of a modern mystery thriller. Diving into Murder Most Actual feels like navigating a harrowing escape room and just when you think you have unraveled the mystery, another gunshot rings out.

The writing style delightfully blends language we might have seen in an old detective novel with all the modern elements of 21st century linguistics. With characters who feel and sound like they’ve been plucked right out of the 1940’s alongside our true crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna, Murder Most Actual will keep you enthralled until the very last page

True crime podcaster, Liza and her wife, Hanna head for a weekend in the Scottish Highlands in hopes of rekindling their troubled marriage. When dead bodies start piling up; they find themselves on the hunt for the killer before they are next. I devoured this locked room mystery in one sitting. This is one for the Agatha Christie crowd. Thanks to NetGalley and Kobo for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Most Actual had a great premise and setup. It read at the beginning like a book version of the Clue Movie with lots of crazy antics by the guests with Knives Out mixed in. To me, this seemed to be the perfect setup for a mystery, but I struggled at times. The two main characters, Liza and Hanna are off to the Scottish Highlands to reconnect and work on their marriage. Not too soon after they arrive, so does a blizzard and the two are stuck with the rest of the guests at their small hotel. Of course a murder occurs and sets off a train of mishaps and mayhem as they must survive until the roads are clear! My biggest problem with the book was that it tried to be too much and weave two different type of books together. It tried to be serious and introspective with Liza and Hanna dealing with their marriage and laughable and fun as the murder mystery plot played out like the Clue movie. While I did enjoy it, I thought the tone of the book varied so much, it was hard to stay engaged.

This story was a lot of fun! I was lucky enough to find an audiobook at my library, which I devoured in just a day. Alexis Hall exhibits such dry wit in their story through a silly plot with Knives Out levels of satire, perfect for fans of an old fashioned who-dun-it but with ✨gay people✨

Such a fun cast of characters and a good representation of marriage and especially queer marriage. Definitely pick this up!

This book was just plain fun. I loved the chapter titles, the silliness, the way it both explored our fascination of true crime and indulged it. It wasn't as much a romance as I hoped but that wasn't the point of the book and as a person married for 10 years myself I enjoyed the way marriage was explored and discussed.

when Hanna surprises Liza with a hotel trip in the Scottish Highlands to try and work on their failing marriage, the pair find themselves snowed in with a killer loose in the hotel. armed with the knowledge she has gained from her crime podcast, Liza becomes intent on figuring out who is responsible for these crimes.

the witty banter in this novel reminded me so much of Knives Out; it was both seriously entertaining and funny. this book kept me guessing!

i didn’t rate this five stars because i felt like there was a lot of info-dumping in the first few chapters and i was extremely overwhelmed by all the new characters that were being introduced with their complex backstories. my inability to differentiate between some of the side characters may have played a part in my not being able to figure out who was the killer.

ultimately, however, this lighthearted cozy mystery was very enjoyable.

A huge thank you to Kobo for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

4⭐️ 2🌶

This was such a light and entertaining read and I was surprised by how much I liked it!

It’s safe to say that I would read anything Alexis Hall writes so I decided to give this a try despite not being huge into the mystery and thriller genre but I appreciated how this was more of a cozy mystery with a side of romance.

As usual in Alexis Hall’s books, I enjoyed reading about the characters and their interactions with all the witty banter and sarcastic retorts. The murder mystery aspect was interesting enough that I was guessing alongside the characters as to who the killer might be given the clues and suspicions.

The romance in this book was more of a side plot but I enjoyed seeing our main leads work through their personal problems in themselves and their marriage next to solving the constant crimes happening around them.

As a fan of everything true crime, I was thrilled to see a true crime podcaster in the spotlight in this book and how them underestimating her work and knowledge led to the very answers they needed!

Overall, this is perfect for fans of light yet intriguing mystery, fun characters and a swoony queer romance! I’m excited for more from Alexis Hall as always!

I really liked the setup for this mystery, it was very Agatha Christie meets Clue/Cluedo meets only Murders in the Building. The way the mystery unfolded was well-written and there were just enough clues that you could solve it yourself without it being too easy.

Murder Most Actual is a cozy mystery made for mystery fans. It has elements of Clue, Agatha Christie novels, and more. Liza is a true crime podcaster whose marriage to Hanna is on the rocks. In an effort to save their marriage, Hanna has booked them into a stay at an isolated Scottish hotel. However, a guest dies, and then they are snowed in. As more and more guests die, Liza and Hanna must solve whodunit so they are not next.

I loved this book and didn't want to put it down (metaphorically since it was an ebook). I loved all the nods to Clue and Agatha Christie. I hope this becomes a series!

DNF-ed at 51%.
A big thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Or well, try. Haha.
I have had my eyes on this book for ages, sadly it was a Kobo exclusive (and I got a Kindle), so I was excited to see it up on Netgalley.
While I absolutely loved the murder mystery and how over the top it was. How Clue/Cluedo it was (including the chapter titles) How every characters was such a stereotype. Snowed-in in the middle of nowhere is my kind of thing in these kinds of novels. How I loved the cover.
But the marriage troubles? Just way too overly present. It was too much and I kept wondering how these two are still together given all of their problems, not just ones that came from Liza working hard or the shipping people do, but before that as well. There was just too many arguing and bitching. Sometimes we would have an epic part with a murder happening only to get 5 pages of marriage woes... No thank you.
Also I didn't like Hanna and Liza was also not really my cup of tea with how overly obsessed she was by murder. Someone freaking died, stop going into podcast mode.

Murder Most Actual is a delightful romp, filled to bursting with Easter eggs for mystery fans. It takes a rather serious look at the focal relationship, while saving a heavy dose of whimsy and charm for the brutal murders. Alexis Hall has absolutely knocked it out of the park.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rakuten Kobo for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In short, my Christie-and-Sayers-adoring heart is charmed af. Murder Most Actual is a love letter to (and dissection of) golden age mystery novels, a truly moving exploration of marriage and love, and an absolute DELIGHT from start to finish. The Easter eggs and references to classic detective fiction are a treat (I giggled...a LOT), but the story is thoroughly enjoyable even if you don't get them all, combining a somewhat more serious romance plot, looking at a marriage in strife, with a deliciously over-the-top whodunit. As an avid fan of both romance and mystery genres, I couldn't have loved this book more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rakuten Kobo for the review copy!

This was a fun, quirky, cozy murder mystery. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book, as well as the marital discord between Liza and her wife, Hanna. I adored the humorous oddball side characters the most though. They were ridiculous and hilarious. I found the beginning of the book a little slow but it picked up the pace and I was soon hooked. This was my first cozy mystery and I hope the author writes more of this genre. Such fun. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kobo for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: murder, marital tensions, brief mentions of homophobia

I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries but if Alexis Hall writes it I must have it. This had Alexis' particular brand of snark and wit and I really enjoyed it. I wanted more romance from our sapphic couple, very opposites attract, marriage in crisis as they find their way back to each other while in a bed and breakfast that people start getting killed off one by one. But that's entirely my desire as a romance reader and not a critique on the book.

Definitely recommend for people who refer their books to have a romance subplot (rather than it being the A plot)

Steam: 1.5