A mix of the movies Knives Out & Ready or Not in book-form. It's got a little mystery, suspense, and puzzle-solving during the holiday season. The characters were real and complex, although sometimes annoying. The clues that need to be solved moved the story forward in a way that sucks you in and keeps you turning the page. This is one for Agatha Christine lovers.

While this was a fun read, it was not outstanding in anyway--just good holiday season entertainment. Nicely plotted, but stereotypical characters and situations. I enjoyed it.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC. I had so much fun reading this. Especially during the holidays. I was going through a particular difficult time but I love my passing away in December and this helped get my mind off things for a little bit. If you like Clue, Knives Out and Agatha Christie you'll enjoy this!

Although it took me months of plodding through, while finishing one book or another in the meantime, I actually really did enjoy this story . If not, I would surely have hit the pilot eject button early in the game.

Cousins and extended members of The Family Household join together in the Family Mansion after the death of Aunt Lillian - mother, sister and spouse of everyone gathered to play or perform in one final traditional 12 Days of Christmas Family Game. Whoever solves the riddles in the (really dreadful) poems Lillian has written, will find a key. Whoever finds all the keys will be the sole beneficiary of her estate....house/manor, in particular. Lilly, her niece, and only child of her sister, who died under mysterious circumstances when Lilly was young, was Aunt Lillian's favorite and it is clear from the start who Lillian intended to win the game and house. Lilly is in this (she would not otherwise have come) to find out who murdered her mother - her Aunt's letter inferred that she would divulge - but there are a myriad of other secrets to be uncovered in this variation on a closed room Christie-like mystery theme, with cousins dropping one by one.

The book is twisty and cute. If the reader's attention span is greater than mine. It is likely to be devoured in one sitting.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and enjoy this story for review.

A delightful holiday treat! This will easily be one to reread each year and discover new puzzles to be solved. I enjoyed the creativity and prose of the author with their skill for weaving mystery and clues throughout. This is no straight to the end book, this is a journey. Settle in and let it obsess you.

This was a fun murder mystery and Christmas story! I thought the mystery was pretty clever. There were many twists and turns. I also like the characters. They are very clever and witty. Thus, this was a very compelling mystery that will be sure to please fans of cozy mysteries! I hope that there will be more in this series!

Imagine your friend telling you about the worst family Christmas they ever had. The Christmas Murder Game hears that story and says "hold my beer." It's takes you on a wild, twisted mystery of a family competing to win the house left in their aunt's will. You'll root for Lily, the main character, while trying to figure out what family member is killing off people, one at a time. And after you're done, every family event will feel like a piece of cake.

The writing and characters in this fell a bit flat for me. It was okay, but the plot was kind of predictable and it wasn’t anything that stood out to me. Some of the phrases and word choice used were odd to me and took me out of the book.

So, to start with I'll say that I love a Knives Out, locked room, lots o' clues type of mystery. This one had loads of promise but ended up falling flat for me. It's possible that it just couldn't stand up to The Family Game, which has a similar kind of concept but does a better job. If I had to nail down a reason that this wasn't a hit for me, I'd say that 12 days of Christmas and 12 clues is just about 6 too many clues. It made the whole thing predictable and repetitive and just dragged things along. I didn't love the writing and the characters weren't interesting. It's not a bad book, but there wasn't anything that I could grab onto and love about it.

Was so excited to read this book. Loved all the clues throughout. A great mystery thriller book, I couldn’t put it down.

The book had a good premise but I couldn’t find all of the clues in every chapter. I felt it kind of took away from the story trying to find them. But overall, still a good book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮.

📍 Read if you like:
• Murder Mysteries
• Predictable Stories
• Christmas Games
• Knives Out

𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙮𝙨. 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙛𝙩𝙝 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?

I was a bit disappointed after finishing this one. I had such high expectations. The premise had me so intrigued: a family playing a Christmas game to see who wins the family fortune - and staying to play for 12 days of Christmas.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit slow and started a bit boring. It didn’t pick up until the ending, but the ending was way too predictable.

While the book was an overall interesting holiday murder mystery, the killer was too predictable… such a disappointment!

Normally most of the Christmas books lately are romances so I was so excited to read something different. I loved the knives out and clue vibes the book gave, but I think it would’ve been better as a movie.

The clues were quite clever, but they were solved too quickly and the characters needed more depth to them. The house setting and premise had me so invested, but overall it was just an okay read!

If you're looking for a holiday read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, "The Christmas Murder Game" is a perfect choice. This page-turner takes place at the grand family home of Endgame House, where Lily Armitage returns to take part in the annual Christmas Game. The challenge? To solve twelve clues to find twelve keys and win the deeds to the house. The twist? The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily's mother twenty-one years ago.

Benedict has crafted a masterful mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. The game turns deadly as Lily and her estranged cousins become trapped in the house during a snowstorm. With the stakes raised, the competition heats up and not all of her cousins are playing fair. Lily soon realizes she's no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life. With twists and turns at every corner, "The Christmas Murder Game" is a thrilling read that will have you racing to the finish.

With a compelling cast of characters, a timeless setting, and an intriguing storyline, "The Christmas Murder Game" is a must-read for fans of holiday mysteries and whodunits. Whether you're in the mood for a heart-pumping thrill ride or a classic mystery, Benedict's novel has something for everyone. So curl up by the fire with a cup of cocoa and let the mystery unfold in this exciting and suspenseful novel!

I really enjoyed this domestic murder mystery. The story felt like Clue meets Knives out and was compulsively readable. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.

This book had such promise but didn't, alas, live up to it. And I'm bummed about it.

I liked this book but didn’t love it. The 12 days construct hog-tied it and made it feel longer and more repetitive than it should have.

The over use of metaphor and simile kept taking me out of the parts of the story I did like. And the resolution felt both predictable and also out of left field.

The whole thing felt like it was trying soooo hard but never quite getting where I wanted it to go.

Oh the twists and games this books reveals! If you love anagrams, word games, riddles with a murder mystery read this book! Even if you are not into those word games this book still is very entertaining and walks through the clues and solves them. The author has added two extra games for you to play along with if you want more fun. In the various twelve days of Christmas she has included anagrams in those chapters.
This book was similar to the movie clue. Cousins and family return to the Endgame House for Christmas to play twelve days of Christmas to find secret hidden keys. Each day they have to find a new clue to figure out where the key is hidden. The winner at end who solves the riddles wins the house. Of course sounds pretty simple but the.man add family drama, greed, jealously and some family history you start to see this isn’t a normal scavenger hunt. This book was very entertaining and I loved the added anagram game! Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own

A locked house mystery set in England is a long standing favorite of mystery lovers everywhere. This book brings that to the table and includes some games for the reader to play along with while they read. Which I thought was an interesting twist on the locked house mystery genre. While I didn’t play the games along with reading the book, I could see how these games would appeal to a mystery lover. This book takes place at Endgame House, a glorious British house in Yorkshire, England. When Lily’s aunt dies, she requests that all of the family’s children (now adults) return to the house to play one last Christmas game to determine who will win the deed to the house. While there is competition in the air, no one can trust anybody else and when the guests begin dying off one by one, everyone is a suspect and there is a killer on the loose while everyone is trapped inside the house.

This book started off a little slow for me; however, when it picked up, it was near to impossible to stop reading. I really enjoyed the characters and their back stories and the author does a good job of weaving everything together to make this a great mystery novel. Lily’s aunt has asked to her to come to the house to win a chance to own the house, however, she also wants her to solve the case of Lily’s mother’s mysterious death twenty-one years ago. Was it suicide as Lily has believed for all this time, or was she murdered? Lily has dual purposes in the game, and while she doesn’t care who wins, she is determined to resolve her mother’s death so she can move on with her life.

I found this book to be a good quick mystery read that kept my attention until the very last page. I really enjoyed Lily’s character and it was hard not to root for her throughout the book. With multiple characters who all have motive and opportunity, the reader is hard pressed to determine who the murderer is until the conclusion at the end. If you love the locked room mystery mystery genre, this book has a nice little twist on the genre sure to delight mystery readers everywhere. A fantastic read from Benedict, who is an author I will be keeping my eyes on in the future.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
Author: Alexandra Benedict

Series: N/A

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Pages: 322

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

Lily Armitage hasn't been back to Endgame House in twenty-one years, ever since her mother died. Each year the family participates in the annual Christmas Game, and this year's prize is the deed to Endgame House itself. At first Lily refuses to go back there but after getting a letter from her aunt which promises her the deed to the house as well as the identity of her mother's killer. She has to compete against her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. Meanwhile the phone lines are down, the snow is heavy, and no one can get in or out of there.
This was a great murder mystery with a Christmas theme. I liked how the book had puzzles within it for the reader to solve. Overall it was a great quick read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Such a fun holiday read and we love a little LGBTQ romance! This book had all the holiday fun I’m looking for and would honestly be a great Hallmark movie in my opinion! Definitely predictable, but I can’t complain I enjoyed it.