I usually enjoy stories like this, but there was something different and off putting about this book. I would say that you may have to read it yourself, has you might enjoy it better than me.


I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I love the idea of this book - a real murder during a murder mystery weekend, with potential for all the layered metafictional fun that implies - but there’s a gap between the marketing and the reality, and the actual story winds up being more focused on the protagonist’s marital problems than the nod to golden age whodunits I’d expected.

Unfortunately, even once the actual mystery part gets going, Becca and Blake’s relationship issues are just…deeply uninteresting to me. They both feel really well written and convincingly real, but sometimes real people are just boring. So much of the first third of the book, setting up the premise and character dynamics, just feels like the smallest talk ever made at a dull party. Repetitive and insipid.

It’s a fun concept - at least the one offered by the cover and marketing copy - but fails on execution, which is a shame.

I was very happy when I received this ARC. The premise caught my attention as I once attended a weekend mystery event at a hotel and it was great fun. I'm also a fan of Agatha Christie and cozies. So far, so good. I also don't mind a touch of romance in mysteries. Sad to say before the halfway mark I was disappointed.
The mystery within a mystery and the setting were good. The cast of characters, for the most part, were well developed but I did find myself becoming a bit lost with all of the names (so I made some notes to keep me on track). If that was the sum total of my reactions then my rating would have been higher. It lost me with the marital relationship between Becca and her cheating husband, Blake. The weekend was supposed to be a peace offering from him. My bias is that I wouldn't have spent one second more with him and would have kicked him to the curb - forget the weekend getaway. I'd be seeing a lawyer. From there the author spends (in my opinion) waaay too much time with Becca's thoughts about her situation with Blake. Enough already. I felt as if there were two different books shuffled together like a deck of cards. I didn't get what I had expected but three stars for the mystery which I did enjoy.
My thanks to the publisher Bantam and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Blake has booked a weekend getaway for his wife Becca as a way to continue mending their marriage after a breach of trust on his part. But what Becca had assumed was a romantic Bed and Breakfast is really an establishment that hosts period themed murder mysteries. Becca is assigned the role of Miss Debbie Taunte and, choosing to accept her husband’s gesture of good will, she eventually gets into the punny fun of trying to solve the scripted murder. But, when a member of the staff actually does go missing, Becca is even more enthralled and falls into the real life role of investigator. This is a cheeky send up of classic whodunits with a dash of interpersonal turmoil to keep the characters interesting.

ALL DRESSED UP
Jilly Gagnon

A cast of characters and a cast of actors. A mystery within a mystery. The synopsis sounds intriguing or at least something to unpack. The book itself requires patience and I don’t have nearly enough.

We’re following Becca and Blake fresh from a betrayal on Blake's part. Blake is trying to make it right with Becca and this weekend trip is one big apology.

Becca’s character is tiresome, and it is not fun living in her head. Most of the time you spend with her is her evaluating and pondering Blake's infidelity and their relationship while simultaneously trying to solve a game of mystery while there is an actual mystery going on.

I understand that the author needed the mystery game. The entire plot revolves around it. But I felt it was detracting instead of adding to the suspense. The game itself seemed like an interruption to the story, and I was sometimes annoyed with the distraction. Other times it was a welcome reprieve from Becca’s thoughts.

In all, I recommend to readers who like full cast recordings and enjoy the show more than the story.

ALL DRESSED UP…⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Bantam, and PRHA for the advanced copies!

All Dressed Up
Jilly Gagnon
Bantam
September 6, 2022

Rebecca and Blake are preparing to go to a company party when Blake gets a slack message from a woman named Lara that says she’ll have a hard time keeping her hands off him this weekend. Rebecca sees it and is furious but says nothing at the time. Later, she confronts him and he confesses to his infidelity and tries to mend their relationship with a getaway weekend. Blake didn’t tell Rebecca that it was to attend a 1920’s themed murder mystery weekend. Rebecca expected to go somewhere quiet. She’s not happy about it, but they join the other couples on site for the game.

The weekend is hard for Rebecca as she experiences moments of connection and joy with Blake alongside bouts of anxiety, hurt, and guilt. She is edgy and she is jealous whenever he speaks to another woman. Who could blame her? Not me!

The weekend gets weird when a staff member vanishes, leaving everything - including her phone - behind. Rebecca is afraid something sinister has happened and doesn’t accept the stories she is being told by the staff: That she may have gone on an audition, that she went to her mother’s for the weekend, that she’s flighty, etc.

The guests are given a script to follow and it includes a description of the character they will play for the weekend.But, the characters go in and out of their role-playing and it was hard for me to keep their real identities and their characters’ identities straight. This may not be a problem for most of you, but it was for me. The script has different rounds to play which are prompts to find clues in specific places.

Rebecca was coming out of the attic when she overheard a conversation that had nothing to do with the game, but to do with something sinister. One of the men sees her and threatens that she had better not tell anyone because “We are professionals.” Yikes! Did this have something to do with the staff member who disappeared? Was there a real murder this weekend? You’ll have to read it to find out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Well this one surprised me! I suppose that’s what good mystery books should do, but this one was unique and offered a completely different perspective on the murder mystery weekend.

Becca and Blake are spending a weekend at a beautiful mansion in upstate New York. Becca only knows this is going to be a surprise weekend that Blake has planned for her. What a surprise it is. First, Blake’s business associate Phil and his wife Heather just happen to be there on the same weekend. Then a dead body turns up. Blake probably should have mentioned that.

As Becca is the first to see the ‘body’, she, like any of us, is shocked and terrified. But everyone else knows it’s just a fake dead person, because they know they are in the mansion for this mystery solving weekend. Blake & Becca are already having some issues. This bit of information that Blake didn’t share was enough to send Becca into a fit. Understandably. Becca is quite a fan of mysteries, so Blake thought this would be a great way for them to reconnect.

Only everyone is acting very strangely, even for a 1920s theme. Gabby and Drew appear to have some secrets of their own. Phil is drinking like there’s no tomorrow. And the acting is less than. So how will they get through this all?

This was a fun read. There’s a lot of depth to the story and the somewhat lighthearted solving of the mystery theme. I loved how the two were interwoven to bring a little more life and laughter to a rather dark tale. Romance pops up in the most unexpected of places. As does murder.

Typical Agatha Christie-esque mystery within a mystery when a murder mystery weekend appears to have a real murder. But, mystery and murder are not what they seem. Or they might be. I liked the premise but the MC was incredibly unlikable and the supporting characters were barely formed. I liked the intermingled rules of the game and dossiers of the "characters" but it wasn't enough to redeem this one for me.

This book was so fun, I got all the Clue movie vibes that I was looking for. I loved the setting, a scary old mansion, with a 20s theme party. You follow one perspective through the whole book, Becca. Her husband planned a fun weekend at a hotel that hosts themed murder mystery parties. Things don’t go as planned as a real mystery starts taking place, but no one seems concerned except for Becca.
I was trying to follow the clues and piece everything together right along with the character based only on clues that Becca gets. I had a blast. At the same time, you're questioning all decisions because the character is going through some hardship and does not know if she can even trust her judgment. The writing was good and easy to follow. The end was a little predictable, but it did not take away from the enjoyment of the book. If you love murder mystery parties, the movie Clue or just mysteries in general please go read this book it is such an entertaining read!
Trigger warnings: sexual harassment, cheating, gore, blood, assault
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Jilly Gagnon’s All Dressed Up uses a murder mystery weekend getaway to analyze how married couples define a successful marriage and how the outside events can impact and reshape that marital view. The guests try to have fun and solve the mystery, but each couple brings a real secret that they may not want to share with the other participants. One of the staff members does not show up for work in the morning, and the other cast members paint her as an unreliable actress who decided to bail on the weekend. Is the answer really that simple, or is a real crime hiding behind the game scenario?

The book’s narrator is Becca Wilson, who is struggling to figure out the state of her marriage after discovering her husband Blake’s infidelity. Blake hopes that a 1920’s themed weekend getaway to a Catskills mansion will draw her out of her despondency. Blake’s colleague Phil and his wife Heather are there to celebrate their anniversary. Becca’s upset to see them because she doesn’t want them to see even the slightest crack in the Wilson marriage and reaches for alcohol to numb her pain. Becca stumbles over what she thinks is a dead body, only to discover that Blake surprised her with a murder mystery game. She’s livid and embarrassed, adding further tension to their relationship.

As the game unfolds, the guests end up divulging secrets about the state of their own marriages and how they respond to these outside forces. Becca is distracted when she learns the actress playing the maid has vanished. Becca had a conversation with the actress the night before and is concerned about her safety, while the others dismiss her as flighty and unreliable. By the end of the book, the major storylines have been tied up, including Becca’s decision about what’s next for Blake and her.

Since I’ve played one of those murder games before, I could easily follow and appreciate the game. Readers who have never played one can easily get swept up into the game because it is so clearly defined and presented. Having a potential missing person’s case tangled up in the game offers a fun twist, since it’s not easy to figure out which conversations and evidence are about the game, the actor’s disappearance, or are just red herrings.

The marriage issues and different standards of each person keep the book from dissolving into insignificance. Those issues push the game itself in a less prominent position, which gives the plotline and characterizations needed weight. The book includes plenty of locked-room mystery tropes, such as red herrings and the criminal’s arrogant monologue. Hindsight is 20/20, because the evidence was strewn throughout the book that pointed to the criminal. The evidence was subtle enough to make the criminal’s unmasking and reasons made sense while leading to facepalms for the number of clues missed while reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed All Dressed Up for its story and for provoking thoughtful questions about marriage that lingered after the book. It did not overshadow the lightness of a solid cozy mystery but added questions that a reader would ponder after reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for a review copy of the book. Opinions expressed here are my own.

This book is a jewel! Author Jilly Gagnon takes three concurrent storylines and interweaves them almost seamlessly to create one entertaining tale of love, betrayal, mystery, and murder most foul.

Becca and Blake are having a tough time patching up their marriage, despite the constant therapy they’ve been going through ever since Blake cheated on Becca with a coworker. Blake surprises Becca with a 1920s themed weekend getaway that is also murder-mystery themed. But Becca is still seething with resentment and Blake is still fumbling with how to make things right. In total, six other people (including a married couple Blake and Becca are friends with) are cobbled together as a group to solve the murder mystery. But Becca overhears one thing and sees another thing and then starts to wonder if a real crime is happening right under everyone’s noses and she’s the only one who knows.

I’ve got to tell you: This book was a page-turner like no other. I can’t even point to one aspect of the book that kept me turning the pages, either. The suspense is nice and tight, wound up just like you’d want in a novel like this, with appropriate jumps and startles in different places just to open the pressure valve a little for the reader. Let you catch your breath before it all gets wound up tight again. Everyone has some emotional or anger issues and some moments where things go just a bit askew for them, ensuring you suspect the vast majority of the cast (and this is a locked-door mystery, if that wasn’t clear–not a closed-loop) for most of the book. Very few of the cast members escape at least some scrutiny when it comes to solving both mysteries. The emotional and psychological issues between Becca and Blake concerning his cheating and their marriage are just as big of a part of this book as the murder-mystery weekend or the mystery Becca’s trying to solve on her own, and that part is vulnerable, painful, and like a raw wound that is exposed for the whole book.

Gagnon really has a talent for knowing when to throw her scenes into gear and when to back off so everyone, including the reader, has time to gather themselves and regroup. Even while she does that, it’s like the engine of the whole book is still running, maybe just at a lower speed, but never completely letting off the accelerator until it’s time to put the pedal to the floor again. The story never stays still… it just slows down a little until all of us can catch up. But it’s so worth it when we do.

The only weak spot I found is that I didn’t like the way Gagnon handled the possible way Blake and Becca might take to repair their marriage as of the end of the book. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I won’t say anything more, but I didn’t think it fit the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Bantam for granting me early access to this title.

Becca goes on a trip, even though she knows it's just an expensive getaway from her husband who betrayed her. Still, she decides to try to make the best of it as it is a 1920's murder mystery theme getaway. Can she stay alive when the murders turn real?

Attempting to make amends with his wife Becca after betraying her trust, Blake is whisking them away to a theme weekend at a gorgeous, yet isolated estate. The guest list is small, the drinks are strong and an excuse to wear some elaborate 1920's fashions sounds ideal to Becca. Not knowing if she is fully able to forgive Blake, now that's another subject. When all of the guests arrive for cocktails it is quickly revealed that Blake wasn't completely truthful about what this weekend was all about when a body is found on the floor. Becca has found herself in the middle of a murder mystery weekend. The guests are now tasked with uncovering which one of them is the responsible for the murder of Ida Crooner but when they arrive at breakfast the next day it seems that one of the cast members has gone missing. Becca seems to be the only one concerned with the girl's welfare and takes on the case herself placing herself in the middle of a real life whodunit that is anything but a game. I loved the concept of "All Dressed Up" and found myself tearing through this one to get to the resolution. I could have done with a little less of being in Becca's head when it came to her relationship but other than that I really enjoyed this. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a 3.5-star read for me.

Becca and her husband Blake are headed to a weekend getaway. There's tension between them but both are trying to make the best of this weekend. Blake has planned this whole trip as somewhat of an apology. The weekend is a 1920s murder mystery-themed event but Becca doesn't learn this until after they arrive.

After some grumbling, she decides to play along and have fun.
With the game in motion, an actress playing a maid disappears. it's generally assumed that the young actress flaked out on her job. But Becca finds evidence that seems to contradict this theory.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

All Dressed Up intrigued me. I loved the idea of a murder mystery weekend with an actual murder. I couldn’t wait to dive into such a fun premise and see all the fun that could take place. Sadly I didn’t receive much of that. We spend way too much time in the main character’s head and her constantly over thinking her marriage issues. Becca, the main character, I found extremely unlikeable and annoying. The pacing of the book is extremely slow and I found myself constantly
wondering what in the world was going on. I really wanted to love this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is a mystery that has a remote setting. It actually reminded me of my favorite movie ever, Clue. The mystery was strong and this was an easy read.

Do I want a weekend of mystery solving? Yes! Do I want to do that with people I have no idea about? Maybe no… I have trust issues and I wouldn’t put myself in a stressful situation where I need to solve a murder with people I’m seeing for the first time. Who knows what their true intentions are?

I bet Becca felt the same when she realized the weekend was not a getaway but a murder mystery event. On top of her marital stress, she was getting suspicious of people around her and not so pleasant things happening in this mansion. But she decided to play along with help of liquid encouragement. As the group was making progress on the case, Becca was getting more concerned about well being of a cast member.

I liked the idea of the mystery solving weekend and structure of the story, but I felt like storyline was skipping few steps here and there. Constant switch between characters created for the event and real characters made it hard to stay interested. It was a promising story with room for improvement.

Mystery set in a house where everyone is "all dressed up." I liked the way the characters interacted with one another, the inherent conflict. Had a bit of a hard time getting into this one, though.

Rebecca and Blake Wilson are heading out of town for a surprise weekend that Blake planned. When Blake cheated on her, Rebecca had a difficult time trying to forgive him. Even with counseling, he still irritates her and their relationship is quite fragile.

They arrive at a large castle called Millingham House for a Roaring Twenties mystery weekend. There will be a total of eight couples will dress in period costumes and each work to solve a murder mystery.

As all the other guests understand how the get together will proceed, Rebecca was not told by Blake which embarrasses her. How much is part of the game and what isn’t? Blake truly thought this would please Rebecca as she loves reading and watching detective series.

And here I come to a screeching halt. I read this entire book and I don’t know why other than I hate to do a “Did Not Finish” on a book. This is the most confusing, convoluted, and complicated book ever. I tried so hard to keep up with what was going on but it was impossible. Rebecca is a total flake and this book was a complete waste of time.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This has a great premise. A remote hotel, Murder mystery weekend, a woman missing but what’s real and what’s part of the game?
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Becca is still reeling from Blake’s indiscretions but she’s trying to put it behind and enjoy his “apology” weekend at a swanky hotel with the 1920s murder mystery themed game.
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As the game takes off it’s hard to figure out what’s real and what’s part of the game. While I didn’t love the ending this was a fun one and I would love a murder mystery weekend. It sounds like so much fun!
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Thank you #randomhouse and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.