Six people are invited to spend 24 hours in an old Manor House to win some money; once the location of a horrific crime. All of characters have their own secrets and reasons for taking part. Who among them is a traitor?

I picked this up as I liked the premise, a simple locked room thriller in an eerie, gothic location. This book definitely had the right atmosphere and overall creepiness. There are quite a few characters introduced all at once but I quickly managed to differentiate between them all. The characters were mainly unlikeable and didn’t come across as fully authentic - possibly as there wasn’t enough backstory to fully engage with them. The reveal seemed to come very suddenly and I felt slightly underwhelmed by it. Although I didn’t fully connect with this story at the time of reading, I would recommend picking this up if you want a quick, easy atmospheric locked room mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Woah! Who writes these books? Who even thinks like this?? What a story. There’s a creepy, abandoned house, and a handful of people with a connection to each other and a whole bunch of secrets. They’ve all been invited to stay at the house for one night and will receive a monetary reward if they stay, but things start going pear shaped not long after they’ve arrived. No one knows what’s going on and I had no idea either. It was a really great story that I didn’t want to put down. Only four stars though as there was something about the ending that didn’t feel right?

A read-in-one-hit locked room mystery which kept me well entertained. 6 people are called to spend the night at the scene of an unsolved gruesome murder, with the promise of $1000000 if they can make it through the night. They all have their reasons for going, and all are desperate for the money. We hear about each character individually, none of them are particularly nice or likeable people, they've all done things that they maybe shouldnt have in the past.
Once in the house, the action steps up a notch; hidden notes, clues left everywhere, hinting about everyone else's potential guilt. There are hidden rooms, dark corridors, eerie noises, and people disappearing left right and centre.
Very entertaining, 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you for the EArc NetGalley and HarperCollins UK. What a delicious ride the author takes us on. you become quickly ingrained in the part creepy Wonka and lots of murder mystery that is this book. Every chapter leaves you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. I devoured this novel and I was super bummed when it was over but it was a fantastic read.

3.5 Stars

I received an advanced copy of this book from Haper Collins via NetGalley.

Six individuals receive an intriguing invitation to Beechwood Castle, promising a shot at a share in a million-dollar prize. However, the lure of wealth comes with a chilling backdrop – the castle harbors a grim history of a heinous murder. As they enter the decaying manor, an unsettling air of death pervades the atmosphere. Each participant hides secrets, and among them lurks an imposter. With betrayal and treachery simmering beneath the surface, their challenge becomes one of survival in a deadly game of trust and deception.

So, I dove into this book with high hopes for a gripping whodunit, but boy, did it leave me feeling a bit let down. The setup was promising: a haunting mansion, a million-dollar prize, and a shady past of gruesome murder. Sounds like the recipe for an edge-of-your-seat mystery, right? Unfortunately, the whole thing fell flat. The characters felt like they were plucked from a bland storyline, lacking the depth needed to make me care about their fates. Instead of getting tangled in their web of secrets, I found myself disinterested in their backstories. And that ending? It left me scratching my head more than solving the murder. Overall, the potential was there, but the execution felt as lackluster as an unfinished jigsaw puzzle.

I was looking forward to reading this, the reviews seemed to suggest that this would be the sort of crime novel I would enjoy. However, within a short period of time I came upon offensive language (can I just say I'm no prude) which I refuse to read. Along with this I wasn't impressed with the writing style. This is certainly no where in the sphere of Shirley Jackson or Agatha Christie territory, as one review suggests.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
Welcome to Beechwood Castle come and stay for the night or maybe forever. Six people find strange invitations to stay at this famous murder house for 24hrs. Each individual has their own motives for attending, be it the offered prize money at the end of the night or answers to the horrific murders that took place there in 1996. Will secrets be revealed about what happened all those years ago finally come to light or will more tragedy ensue. When everyone is a traitor it’s hard to tell what’s truth and where the lies end.

Our story begins as we are introduced one by one to our main characters Staci (the internet detective), Bonnie (the psychic), Penelope (the writer), Rad (the ex-cop), Cornelius (an architect), and Lolly (the final girl and soul survivor from the 1996 murders). The book is told thru multiple POVs, as each chapter swaps from character to character. While this did highlight their own thoughts throughout this locked room whodunit it didn’t feel deep enough to make me truly care for the characters’ well beings. I was intrigued with the first 50%, spending time building up to the foreboding nights stay at the Beechwood. When all our characters finally sat in the eerie gothic house dinning room I was excited to see what would happen next, however after that everything just felt somewhat flat despite all the true action following. Each twist felt cliche and anticlimactic, part of me wonders if this is due to the books shorter length. I think for me if there had been just a tad more time spent on descriptions of the home and diving more into the 1996 crime this would have been a 4 star read. While this book did not shock me or keep me on my toes as much as I would like I do think it was well written and will find readers newer to the thriller genre reading this quickly in one sitting and enjoying it.

The Traitors comes out February 1st, 2024.

Thank you again NetGalley and One More Chapter Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

The Traitors by C A Lynch. Due to be published 01.02.24.
This is another take on the 'group gathered in an isolated location with a killer on the loose' genre.
A pretty good story based on some teenagers 30 years previously killed by an axe murderer. Invitations arrive in the post- 6 strangers with something to hide all trying to last the night and win a pot of money. I enjoyed it and didn't solve the whodunnit so the reveal at the end was worth it. A well written thriller. 5⭐️.

Fast paced and so atmospheric. It had everything you could want in a locked room mystery! I would have liked maybe a bit more background on certain things but overall, a really good read.

4 stars

This was fantastic. This had everything you want in a locked room mystery. Twists and turns, an great reveal, fun characters.
This was a single sitting read for me.
My first by Lynch and certainly not my last.

Many years ago a group of teenagers went into Beechwood Castle. The night ended with the brutal slaying of all but one girl.
Now years later invitations are sent out. Six people have received a cream envelope. Inside is an invitation to spend 24 hours locked in the castle. The survivors will have a share of one million dollars. However, one person invited is an imposter.
Why have this seemingly random group been brought together? Who will make it through the night?
A perfect locked door mystery. A good story but none of the characters are particularly likeable.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to see an ARC

If you stay the night in an abandoned castle that was the site of terrible, gruesome murders, you'll win a million dollars. Easy enough. And six people pledge to do just that. While the paranormal may be in the mind, the actions and intentions of others are not. No one is predictable in this. Clever, with a healthy dose of dark comedy. I would love to see this adapted into a movie.

The description pulled me in right away - 6 strangers tied to a violent crime 20 years ago are locked in a house. Their goal? To survive the night.

I had no idea what was going to happen through The Traitors and I loved it. I was very curious to see what would happen to the 6 visitors and why they decided to come to the mansion. There were multiple viewpoints, which did led to some confusion on my part. I kept getting the characters, especially the female characters, mixed up.

I found the second half of the novel to be a bit rushed and even though I was surprised by the ending, I would of liked more time to be spent on the conclusion.

Thank you to Netgallery and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good locked door mystery what can I say. I’m a result of every single Agatha Christie book. This one doesn’t disappoint. While most of the characters are awful, as the book goes on you find yourself rooting for some of them. While the book ends too early in my opinion (I read it in one sitting!) there was a really pleasant epilogue vibe collection of chapters which you usually don’t get. Really well rounded and well done.

Wow what a book. I couldn’t put this down as it was such a great mind twisting thriller and I was desperate to know who the killer was and why all of these characters had been brought together to the scene of a terrible crime so many years ago. Loved it.

I love books about a bunch of people trapped in a house/castle/island and having to guess who the killer is. This book is one of them. It was really entertaining and, although I saw coming who the killer was, I enjoyed the ride a lot.

I really enjoyed this book! My first time reading anything by this author, but it won't be my last. This creepy, locked-room thriller was fast paced with a slew of untrustworthy, complex characters that kept me engaged and guessing until the very end. I couldn't tear myself away from this story. Not once did I have a moment of boredom or lose focus. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The reveal was a shocker and totally unexpected, but the ending fell a little flat and wrapped up too neatly in my opinion. I would have loved for the story to end on a cliffhanger or something that retriggered any of the emotions that I experienced prior to that point. I still had loads of fun reading this and will be looking for more of this author's books to read in the future.

Thank you to the author, HarperCollins UK, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

This thriller wasn't for me. Lizzie-Borden-esque axe murderer, a whole host of utterly unsympathetic characters, and a predictably unpredictable ending that tosses out the idea of a closed door mystery by...opening the door to the creepy castle.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

There is nothing not to love about this story set in Beechwood Castle, the site of one of the most horrific murders in modern history.
Six people are invited to spend one night at the castle and if they stay the full night will receive their share of 1 million dollars - they each have their connection to the castle and to each other although they don't realise it yet.
Who will make it through the night..
Brilliant 'locked room' mystery - so much to the story I flew though it at the rate of knots!