1. Great twists!

I barely saw any of these coming. They were shocking and not at all predictable!

2. Strong characters!

The way this is written, I found it easy to relate myself to some of the characters in the book. They seemed very realistic.

3. Intriguing!

Once I began reading, I literally could not put it down. I was always waiting for the moment where I could sit down, relax, and find out what the heck happened next!!! This was a real page turner!

4. Narrator

I really like how the narrator spoke with the reader as well as telling the tale. It gave the book a nice touch.

Not every book is perfect though. I found a few things that negatively impacted this perfect murder mystery tale.

1. Slightly crowded

The book was very good, but with all the twists and turns, there was a little too much going on all at once. Nonetheless, if you are thinking about reading this book, don't worry about this. It did not affect the overall plot and my enjoyment at all.

2. Slightly underwhelming ending

I read a lot of books, and lately, I have noticed that a lot of endings have been underwhelming and not quite the happy ending I had been hoping for. The ending was dark, yet it wrapped a bow around the story. It did not cause me too much trouble.

Recommendations:

I was so sad when it finished, because it was really a very good book and a page turner. If you are older than 9 or 10, I think you would enjoy reading this book. I know I did. I normally do not read murder mysteries, so this was a nice change and opened my eyes to this new, superb, and interesting genre. Therefore, you have my recommendation to read this book.

4.5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.

This is quirky and fun - just like the Hero's Guide series which I also loved. The main characters here are fantastic - I would love to see them star in another book (or three). The mystery here is SUPER twisty and so satisfying. Highly recommend.

This was the first book I've read of this author's, but his writing style really drew me in. This middle school aged story had so many vibes that made me think of one of my favorite board games (and movies), Clue. There was a lot of action and it was age appropriate.

The characters were interesting and the story had a fast pace to it. There is definitely mentions of a previous series, but I didn't feel I missed anything by reading this first.

Kind of a CLUE type mystery. It is just okay. Didn't love it. The characters were ok. At first things were very confusing, but soon settled out.

This just did not connect with me. I found the characters lackluster and the overall storytelling to be missing something.

This book starts out interestingly and develops into a mystery that had me interested from the beginning. I had to know what was going to happen to each character. The author did a good job of developing the story and the book was well written.

A theft, a wizard, a bounty hunter, and a murder. Plus a bard, an ogre, a shrinking castle and more. It's amazing that a book can contain this many moving pieces and come together so well. It's funny, deceptive, exciting and intense. But The Lilac always gets her mark!

I slogged through this book and was tempted to abandon it at times. I just don’t think I was close to the target audience sine I couldn’t relate to the characters and the weird humor.

After discovering The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, Christopher Healy became one of my family’s all-time favorite middle grade authors and one we frequently recommend. His imagination, sense of humor, and fantastic characters are familiar and every bit as good in this latest novel, No One Leaves the Castle. The complicated characters and relationships will keep you guessing the entire time. Healy also throws many surprises into this mystery to grab and hold the reader’s interest until the conclusion. Those who enjoy magic, adventure, and intrigue will love this story, and this novel will be added to my family’s list of highly recommended books.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy copy provided by HarperCollins Children’s Books

A wizard, a bounty hunter, and a bard enter the castle....one of them is murdered!

Thank you Christopher Healy, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy of No One Leave the Castle in exchange for this honest review.

What a creative middlegrade genre blend!! A well-balanced mix of fantasy and mystery elements. Hands down, this was my favorite MG read of 2023, and I am just itching for another mystery--if there ever will be one--that follows the Lilac and her loyal bard companion, Dulcinetta.

This duo is adventurous and clever, hilarious, and wonderfully supportive (sometimes in ways that gets them more in trouble). I loved that the aspiring bounty hunter had to turn sleuth as her bard sang her praises, some truths and some lies mixed together. And, on that note, the entire cast is incredibly fresh and dynamic. I thoroughly enjoyed switching POVs among the characters, all as we try to discover everyone's secrets before the bubble surrounding the castle crushed them. And I was thoroughly satisfied with the ending, turning a few mystery tropes on their heads!

This is a mystery I will be recommending to all ages, and it is one I now own my own copy of. Already excited for the eventual reread!!

This book had its moments, but on the whole it’s a significant step down from a lot of the very, very good fiction that has been released for this age group recently.

The bones of the plot are fine, though not really anything new and I found my attention wandering a lot, even during the sections of the book that were clearly meant to be more exciting.

And though some of it really is funny, the book falls victim to something we see less in young reader books these days but that used to be a frequent problem: Obnoxiousness disguised as humor. The jokes in this do hit occasionally, but they’re grating and irritating far more often. I expect that opinion would be less common among kids reading this as a rule, though my own kids agreed that the attempts at humor were disappointing, and they thought the characters were unengaging.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this! It is one of my top picks for the year! Funny, suspenseful, and overall a fantastic book.

I’m a big fan of middle grade fiction and this title checks all the boxes for me. I will be recommending this for any younger readers looking for a rollicking adventure. Perfect for readers of fantasy and sleuthing.

This is a really fun read but different from Healeys first series of books. I look forward to more in this series.

What a fun magical, humorous Clue-inspired romp! There are characters who are not what they seem, trying to solve a mystery that turns out to be a series of mysteries and conundrums that are made more confusing by all the deception that plays out. Lilac, the bounty hunter, and her bard Netta hunt down a mysterious butler and wizard, only to be trapped in the Angbar castle with the rest of the characters. What unfolds includes a dead parrot, a shrunken wizard, a bubble that entraps the whole castle, and many wild hijinks along the way. This will be my recommendation for anyone who likes magic and mysteries. I highly recommend this savvy, silly novel.

I had to DNF this book, I know it was intended to be a little weird, but I found the weirdness off-putting and distracting from the story itself.

This was an adorable middle grade mystery/adventure filled with plenty of twists that readers will enjoy. I found the characters pretty delightful, and I absolutely cackled out loud at parts. Definitely a good recommendation for kids looking for a fast-paced, fun mystery.

No One Leaves the Castle is a very entertaining middle grade adventure. Readers will really enjoy the the characters, the twists and turns of the story, and the sassy narrator. I kinda want another adventure with the Lilac and Netta!

Baron Vargus Angbar’s ancestral treasure is missing. His butler Gribbinsnood Flornt must hire a bounty hunter to capture the wizard the baron believes to be guilty. Hearing a bard’s song, Flornt hires the Lilac—before learning that she’s 14 and in cahoots with the bard (singer) Dulcinett. The wizard hunt is an extended setup to get the Lilac and Netta to the baron’s castle. They are invited by the baroness to dinner when the “real mystery” begins. Lilac has been Lilac, sealed in the castle by a magically shrinking bubble with a list of suspects, must figure out who did it. An angry wizard has put a giant magical bubble around the whole place, trapping them inside. And then he gets himself murdered. then the bubble starts shrinking and is sure to crush them all. Lilac, a bounty hunter, and her BFF, Dulcinetta the bard, recognize that finding the murderer and undoing the spell is their only hope. Young ba Will she be able to solve the mystery?

The novel includes peril, dark passages, a little bit of gore, and some gross-out humor. The author writes a stereotype-busting "girl power" message. I enjoyed the humor in the book. I thought it was great that the bounty hunter was a 14 year old girl. There is magic, adventure in the novel — it’s a murder mystery fantasy written by the author.. However there is death; war; theft; and more that does gross things.

A fantastic middle grade mystery with so many twists and turns! I absolutely loved the narrator's voice, and all the characters were awesome. The world-building definitely feels real, and overall, I had a blast! If you're a fan of Clue or Knives Out, you should check this one out!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)