Review of All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon

My thanks to Bantam Books (Penguin Random House LLC) for offering the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I finished reading this novel several weeks ago. I have been waiting to write my review in hopes that time and thought would help me to enjoy this book more. Unfortunately, that did not happen. When I read the description of this novel, I was encouraged and hopeful. The premise of the book is a great one. Who among us crime and true crime fans would not love a weekend at a beautiful mansion for a mystery murder game that just happens to turn into a “real” murder mystery? With this set-up, I eagerly began reading All Dressed Up.

It did not take much reading before I was frustrated. From the outset, I did not connect with the main character, Rebecca. She is in the throes of recovering (if possible) from her husband’s infidelity. I certainly understood her hurt, anger, disappointment, and battle with forgiveness. For some reason, I just could not empathize enough with her struggle. I soon got tired of her dealings and interactions with her husband. I did not get the feeling that she really wanted to forgive and rebuild their relationship. Soon, I wanted her to just decide to not forgive and move on, but Rebecca could not make that decision, either. I found her whiny and a bit ridiculous Ugh. Although there were fun things happening in the story, Rebecca and her issues clouded all of that for me.

On the positive side, I still loved the organization and pace of the story as well as the story itself. Gagnon did a great job of chapter division and development. Also, the characters (except for Rebecca) are well-developed, fun, and interesting. I loved that the hotel staff and other guests made valiant attempts to stay in character for the interactive theater until almost the end of the book. That was fun to read.

Would I recommend this book? Maybe. I can see that my problems with Rebecca might be personal, and other readers might not react to her as negatively as I did. With that in mind, my star rating is…

3 stars

I felt like I was reading 2 books in one with this. It is one park whodunit, but its also heavily focused on a woman attempting to salvage her marriage after her husband cheats. Repetition was a huge problem for me with this one. We are reminded of his cheating non stop. Also, part of the fun in a cozy mystery is picking up on the clues along the way and I didnt feel that with this. The protagonist traumatized state from being betrayed overtook much of the book.

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is like playing a game of Clue. The characters all have the means and motive to be the killer during the 1920's murder mystery weekend. Real life betrayals mix with the game and characters who weren't meant to die become fair game.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Now I don't know if I'd ever go, but I love to read about murder mystery weekends... vicariously I help solve the murder. Since I choose a certain kind of book to enjoy most days, these sort of mysteries end up including a real murder.

This story is no different. As Becca grapples with her marriage, she and her husband take part in a Murder Mystery Weekend Getaway - the first of its kind hosted in a gothic manor hotel. Blake hopes this expensive weekend will help make up for his betrayal. Becca isn't sure what she thinks and before she can even get into character, an actual disappearance makes her suspect not all is what it seems at the manor. Before long she is solving the mystery and dodging a potential killer.

This is a cute story with punny clues, interesting characters and an exciting theme. If you like a murder mysteries and would love to try your hand, this is a book for you!
#netgalley #JillyGagnon #RandomHouse #AllDressedUP

Not my usual genre but I received the ARC. It was a good little cozy mystery with a good ending. Somewhat predictable story line but worth the read if you enjoy this genre

This book was fun— and it had the potential to be a lot of fun, but it was bogged down in unnecessary red herrings, a dinner murder mystery, and a plot about a couple trying to make their marriage work.

When Becca’s husband plans a weekend at an extravagant whodunnit themed estate, she finds herself embroiled in a real mystery. However, she starts to questions what’s part of the game and what’s real.

Way too many side plots and unnecessary details— however, this is a great premise. Just not the best execution.

Becca is on a mystery weekend with her husband in an effort to repair their marriage. A murder occurs the first evening among Gatsby-themed guests and staff. Becca is anxious and tends to over-react to the behavior of others around her, especially her husband. She provides graphic physical descriptions of these reactions throughout. She overhears conversations proving connections among the characters involved. Obsessed with three dilemmas, her cheating husband, the solution to the “ murder” and the missing employee Bethany, she becomes confused and perhaps delusional. Unfortunately, this reader grew confused as well. Switching back and forth from fictional to real identities adds to the confusion. The Gatsby theme is abandoned along the way to a bad storm and lights out situation Neither Jilly Gagnon’s storyline nor her protagonist is engaging enough to hold my interest.

jarring combo of cozy murder mystery and bitter infidelity drama, while I applaud author Jilly Gagnon's attempt at merging these disparate sentiments into a single narrative, the disjointed result proves certain things are simply not meant to be together.

All Dressed Up suffers from identity crisis; it is in parts a meta game of whodunit (a weekend long murder mystery getaway), but also a hard-hitting psychological study of a woman's attempt at salvaging her marriage after her husband's affair. The absence of an united tone makes the reading experience a constant whiplash; in one chapter we'll be knee-deep in the cheeky classic Christie mystery mode, picking up clues and narrowing down suspects, then follows up with an intensely bitter monologue from the female protagonist, her behavior filled with animosity and belittlement. Even though her traumatized mental state and the sense of betrayal from her husband is fully justified and convincingly presented, it is simply not what I want to experience when I read a 'fun' murder mystery novel — I would've picked up a serious fiction instead.

The whole is way less than the sum of its parts — the two aspects of All Dressed Up are more than competent, but they are also split so evenly down the middle, they end up overshadowing each other's strength, result in an unpleasant reading experience that's neither here or there. A daring experiment that doesn't pan out as planned.

Nail biting, fast paced mystery! Lots of fun with enjoyable characters. A themed 1920s murder mystery that was supposed to be staged- not reality.

Unexpected twists make this an enjoyable read. The characters are secured at a corporate retreat. With plenty of intrigue, can Becca find out what is really happening?

I received a copy of this enjoyable book from Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

I think the "actual murder at a murder-mystery event" trope is all used up. It certainly doesn't work very well here, where the characters are cut-outs, everyone drinks so much they can't use their brains, the instructions and "clues" are all vague and dull, and the real mystery of the plot drags on and on.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I absolutely loved the premise of a '20s themed murder mystery in an old mansion. Fans of 'Clue' will love it. The only thing I didn't like was the characters. I didnt connect to any of them nor like their personalities. I still enjoyed the book though.

This was a really fun concept, and it played out really well for about the first half or so of the book. But as secrets started to be revealed and resolutions reached, it all quickly felt very far-fetched in a way that didn't make a lot of sense - or seem in line with the tone and tenor of the first half of the book.

Unlike some other reviewers, I actually liked the interplay of the protagonist's personal drama overlaying the murder mystery, and didn't find that distracting at all. It was a lot of what I liked best about the story, in fact. I found many of the characters to be a bit melodramatic and a little overdrawn - but it worked for the most part, given the setup of the story.

All in all it was a pleasant read, I just wish the ending had come together as strongly as the beginning did.

I'm a huge fan of murder mysteries, and have been ever since discovering the Nancy Drew mystery series in grade school. I've grown up with the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the clever tales Agatha Christie wrote, and will admit to a binge-watch Queens of Mystery just this past week. However, I have never participated in a murder mystery weekend. In short, the teaser blurb for All Dressed Up was fully loaded and aimed right at my heart.

The book's setting is perfection. I know a murder mystery can take place in a dinner theatre or aboard a train, but for me, the classic mansion out in the middle of nowhere is ideal. There's just so many possibilities in a setting as complicated as a mansion.

Our protagonist, Becca, arrives at the mansion with her luggage and plenty of emotional baggage, too. A while back, she caught her husband in an affair, and while he's tried everything to make amends, nothing he does is enough. He knows Becca loves mysteries, and thus he's arranged for them to immerse in a murder mystery weekend.

Seems like a lovely way to reconnect, doesn't it? Unfortunately Becca spends most of her waking hours agonizing over Blake's infidelity. She repeatedly gets herself worked up over it, usually while drinking, and we readers get to hear every agonizing, paranoid, jealous thought in her head. There may be many players in this weekend game, but they're all overshadowed by Becca's inability to control her jealousy and rage. By the halfway point, I was dearly tempted to start skipping her internal monologues, but this being a murder mystery, I was concerned I might miss a clue.

The mystery itself is clever, sassy, and well put together. We're even handed the same written fact sheets and instructions that the players are. Reading those has the effect of pulling the reader into the story, and I absolutely loved that. There's more than one mystery going on too, so you'll be kept on your toes trying to solve them both. A caution: If you aren't a drinker, you just might become one by the time you reach the last page... I'm just sayin'.

Becca's annoying jealousy eventually has a payoff, but I believe that payoff could have been reached just as well without Becca constantly backsliding into emotional territory that's already been covered over and over. I have a very low threshold for raging jealousy, whether in real life or on a book's page, I freely admit. Perhaps other readers will have more patience with this aspect of the story. I hope so, because in all other ways it's a brilliant tale.

My thanks to author Jilly Gagnon, Bantam Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I thought this was a good read. While Emma did not love her1st husband Derrick, she didn’t appear to want him dead. 27 months later, having been released as a suspect, she is happily married to her second husband, Tom, when the case is revisited. What I found interesting were the subtle nuances by Tom that got me very concerned about him. How long had he known her? Did he stalk her? Could he have killed Derrick? I t had enough twists and turns keep me engaged and guessing until the very end.

Holy cow! This is my first book by this author, hopefully not my last. All Dressed Up is a fabulous mystery/thriller by Jilly Gagnon. Ms. Gagnon has produced a book that is well-written and furnished it with an outstanding cast of characters. This book is written in first-person format, a detraction in my opinion. Blake and Rebecca are going to an interactive murder mystery weekend. Blake cheated on Rebecca and he's trying to make amends taking her somewhere she would enjoy. Their story is a twisted tale loaded with drama, humor, action and suspense. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from Jilly Gagnon in the future. This is a complete book, not a cliffhanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All Dressed Up was a really fun murder mystery to jump into. Definitely gave me clue vibes and I've always wanted to know what a murder mystery party game felt like. Not sure how they kept in character for as long as they did. It was all pretty impressive. Especially when the alcohol was involved. I feel like I would make so many mistakes because I would give something away that was supposed to be hidden.

In this, you will meet a bunch of characters throughout the game. Some of them are married and some aren't. Either way, each person has their own set of deep dark secrets waiting to come out. Or maybe that's me being suspicious of everyone. Which, yes, at one point someone was acting weird or suspicious and I didn't know who I could or couldn't trust.

Without spoiling anything, the reveals were actually so freaking good. I was surprised with them all and a little relieved at one of them. I'm definitely happy that I got the chance to jump into this and can't wait for the next book Jilly writes. I'm also hopeful that one couple either ends up working out through things or moving on.

This Agatha Christie-type locked-room mystery is a fun combination of very Christie era-appropriate vibes - because the action takes place during a 20s-themed murder mystery weekend at an old mansion-turned-hotel in the woods in upstate New York, where everyone is supposed to dress/act in character - and a completely modern-day feel in which they are all dealing with their own relationship and personal issues, in the midst of acting out their assigned roles and trying to solve the campy flapper-era murder mystery weekend game. Becca and Blake are there because he's booked the weekend as a peace offering after cheating - she's not sure she can ever get beyond it but at least tries to get into the weekend to take her mind off of things. Until one of the actresses playing the maid doesn't show up on the second day... the rest of the staff say she just flaked out, but Becca's sure something is amiss, and if something did happen to the maid, then who else could have done it aside from someone staying at the hotel with them? Of course, since the characters are taking part in a mystery, it becomes very hard to know, for them and for the reader, what's part of "the game" and what's not, whether it's maids fainting over a body or a distant gunshot. In general the book has got some very meta-vibes, with the main character being super into watching PBS mystery shows and Downton Abbey, which makes her love the weekend theme and also think of herself as some kind of amateur detective, constantly thinking about what each scenario would mean if it were part of her shows - which is fun, but also it detracted a little bit for me at times because it really felt like she was manufacturing drama out of what could well have been nothing similar. That is meant to drive the plot, but it felt a tad long at times when she was constantly freaking out about something minor, and clearly the reader is meant to wonder "is it nefarious or is it not?" This is good for people who like a "lighter" mystery with not too much suspense, since we have this puzzle aspect of it, and also a decent bit of focus on the various couples' relationship issues, especially Becca and Blake.

3.5/5 stars, recommend for fans of locked-room mysteries like Knives Out, Lucy Foley's The Guest List, or puzzle-type mysteries that aren't too dark/suspenseful. Publishes in September; my free e-copy came thanks to Netgalley.

A very cute premise about a murder at a murder mystery weekend at a resort, with a couple on the rocks and a whole host of other suspicious characters. I thought this was entertaining and fun but as the book went on I got a little less interested in the fake murder (on which I thought a bit too much time was spent) and wanted more intrigue about the real disappearance. It was also a little too easy to figure out whodunit. Nonetheless, the writing was good and punchy and the premise was original, and it made for an entertaining read. 3.5 stars.

DNF @ 22% as I found the main character insufferable and I had no interest in finding out where the plot went for her. I went into this with high hopes since it was recommended for fans of Lucy Foley but it's just not working for me. Potentially could re-visit in the future if it comes from a great source. I will be open to reading more from the author in the future.