I love a good locked room mystery and this is a very Christieesque style read set in Beechwood Castle, a neglected mansion house notorious for a massacre 27 years previously. Six individuals receive an invitation to receive a share of $1m if they stay overnight in the house and each of them decided for their own reasons it was too good an offer to turn down. Told from the POV’s of the six, Penelope, Bonnie, Lolly, Staci, Rad and Cornelius, this is a well written, well paced and easy read.

Briefly, each person has their own nasty secrets to hide and they are told that they are all traitors and that one of them is an imposter. Moreover the original killer has never been caught and the number of people remaining alive is diminishing fast!

As night falls I could feel the atmosphere changing and the fear mounting in this deeply dark and clever murder mystery. There were twists aplenty and a surprise climax. A fun gothic style mystery with good characters and a great plot, very enjoyable.

Overall a good read, didn't really keep me on the edge of my seat and sometimes I lost the thread.

I wasn't really keen on the characters overall and for me it lacked something.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins OMC for this ARC.

What would you agree to do for the chance of winning a share of one million dollars? Six '"lucky" contestants are about to find out what it takes. All they have to do is spend 24 hours at the notorious site of multiple brutal slayings that took place almost three decades ago...

Of course, things are not at all as they seem. One of the six is the "last girl" left alive from the earlier massacre, and the others all have their own secrets to protect. So, when they are all traitors and one is an imposter, why go ahead with something like this?

The pacing in the story could be better, since the first part includes an info-dump on all of the characters. But once the main story begins, things move at a smoother pace. This is an atmospheric story with a gothic flavour to it.

I did find the characters hard to relate to, and some of them were downright unpleasant. But the final twist in the story is unexpectedly effective. And for a reader who is willing to be drawn in despite the shortcomings mentioned, there is definitely entertainment to be had here. It gets 3.5 stars.

Six people walk into Beechwood Castle....but who walks out.

After receiving invitations to stay the night with the opportunity to win a million dollars, the six 'random' people all compete to win the prize. But are these six people random or are they all people who are tied to Beechwood Castle and the violent and gruesome murders that took place decades before?

This is book that packs a PUNCH from the start. It's hard to believe that this is a debut but Carissa Ann Lynch is one to watch.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Six people find a thick cream envelope on their doorstep. Inside is an invitation to spend twenty-four hours in a crumbling manor house and be in with a chance to win one million dollars. The Beechwood Castle was the site of one of the most horrific murders in modern history. The smell of blood, decay, and death still hands heavily in the air. Six people walk into the house. One of them is an imposter, all of them are traitors, which of them will survive the night?

This is a thrilling and twisted locked room mystery. Twenty-seven years ago. Beechwood Castle was a crime scene after a massacre has taken place, the killer was never found. Now six people have been invited to spend the night in the crumbling mansion. If they survive the night, they will share one million dollars. The book has an eerie, gothic feel to it. There's not much more I can say except it's well-written, the characters are well-developed, and the plot is gripping. I don't want to give away any spoilers.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #OneMoreChapter and the author #CALynch for my ARC of #TheTraitors. in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly quite enjoyed this story of revisiting a castle where a massacre happened with a group of people all related to the story somehow.

I did find it a bit hard to get into in the beginning with all of the characters giving their life story before the story about the castle started, but once they were there it was great and went super quick! Can honestly say I was surprised at the end about who was the culpable party.

In "The Traitors" by C. A. Lynch, six individuals receive mysterious invitations to spend 24 hours in the notorious Beechwood Castle, with the chance to win a portion of one million dollars. However, the catch is that the castle was the site of a gruesome murder. As the participants enter the eerie manor, the atmosphere is thick with the lingering remnants of a horrific past. Tensions rise as the group realizes that one among them is an imposter, and all are potential traitors. The book successfully builds suspense, and the diverse characters add complexity to the mystery. While the reveal of the murderer felt somewhat rushed toward the end, overall, "The Traitors" is an engaging read, keeping readers intrigued about the unfolding events in the haunted castle.

I quite enjoyed this book , it had lots of tension with an interesting group of people . The more the book went on the more I was intrigued as to who the murderer was . When the person was revealed the book seemed to rush through to the ending and that’s why it lost a star for me . All in all it was a good book , worth reading and I would recommend it

I really enjoyed The Traitors by C.A Lynch. A locked-room style plot within an old eerie building, Beechwood Castle.
Six guests are invited to stay overnight at Beechwood Castle and receive a share of one million dollars. All of the guests have secrets, they are all traitors! But is there a killer amongst them? Will they make it through the night!
I flew through this story. It kept me gripped right from the start.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK One More Chapter for an advance copy to review.

Six strangers are invited to a crumbling castle estate for one evening to uncover the secrets within and potentially figure out who murdered three children there twenty seven years ago. One semi famous, semi ruined YouTube creator; one formerly incarcerated witch; one true crime author; one pervy architect; the cop who worked on the original case; and the final survivor of the massacre.

I had high hopes but this fell short for me. I feel like we needed more space for the story to develop and get to know the characters before they started getting offed. I don’t feel like we got justice for the hostess and it would’ve helped if we’d got more backstory on why she was chosen. It still feels unclear to me why Cornelius and Bonnie were there in the first place and the explanation at the end didn’t really satisfy me. I think the author has potential though and would love to see if future books hit the mark.

Alas, this book was not for me. I was looking forward to the "haunted castle"/Agatha Christie" mix for a fun read over Christmas, but I was not compelled by either the structure (first-person chapters by the different characters which became repetitive in approach and rather relentless) ,nor the gallery of characters - they all seemed a bit stilted in its development (the action takes place during a few hours but we are given doses of background story throughout so there could have been a more nuanced characterisation, I feel)..

There was a promise of humour in the description, but, sadly, I didn't find the story funny as much as plodding. My favourite character was definitely the writer, Penelope, but neither the architect, Cornelius, nor most of the others did held my sympathy. . I ultimately found the premise of the whole action too implausible: the financial rewards of the adventure were so in the air, and their reasons for being there for most were so financial-oriented that I don't think people would have accepted going (and signing all those contractual documents) without more compelling assurances and context. I would like to be more positive - I suppose that other readers perhaps were more persuaded. With many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review honestly this novel.

Twenty seven years ago, Beechwood Castle, with delusions of grandeur for it is more a mansion than a castle, was the location of a massacre. Three friends were brutally murdered by way of a person swinging an ax. The killer was never found.

Now, six people have been invited to spend one night at the now crumbling mansion. Those who make it through the night will receive a healthy dose of money. There’s a true crime author, a cop, a YouTuber, an architect, a psychic and last, but by no means least, the final girl from all those years ago. All six are apparently traitors, and one is an alleged imposter. Who? Why were these six invited here? By whom? And will they all survive the night?

I might possibly have mentioned this before but I find it remarkably hard to stay away from locked room mysteries. 'The Traitors' is kind of like a final girl story wrapped in a layer of “and then there were none”. (which in my opinion is still the best locked room mystery ever.) It really doesn't take a genius to realise not all these characters will make it out alive.

It’s pretty much impossible to figure out who the imposter is supposed to be. Because while the reader is introduced to all six characters one by one, it was hard to get a real feel for them, to figure out their motivations or intentions. Bar maybe one or two, none of them are particularly likeable. I didn’t find myself rooting for anyone and herein lies a little problem.

Because of course bodies will drop but since that connection with the characters wasn’t necessarily there, I didn’t care about them perishing at all. The story lacked a certain amount of depth for me to become invested in the characters and circumstances they found themselves in. And I'm still not entirely sure why all six were labeled as traitors, so I definitely missed something there.

That’s not to say 'The Traitors' isn’t a good book. The story is intriguing for sure, there’s a certain level of tension and suspense, and while I feel I should have figured out who the killer was, I didn’t. But for me personally, it’s unfortunately also a book that didn’t make the impact I expected and one that’ll easily be forgotten. At 270 pages, it’s a quick and entertaining read, but it never quite got my juices flowing.

Six people receive invitations to Beechwood Castle where mass murders occurred nearly 30 years ago. They each will receive a lot of money if they can make it through the night. They begin receiving creepy notes and fear sets in.
This was a pretty scary gothic read full of interesting characters. I hated to put it down. Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC that will be released February 1, 2024!

Would you stay in a super creepy abandoned castle where a chilling multiple murder occurred decades earlier for 24 hours for a hefty chunk of money??

The character build up was fantastic as the night unfolds we learn more about each individual character. Some we love, some we don't which is the point as we're then left suspecting different people throughout the story.

One of the things that stood out most for me was the mysterious storyline. I loved all the twists and turns.

An addictive locked room thriller which was quite fast paced and a good little read for anyone that enjoys this kind of genre.

A desperate group of six enters Beechwood Castle, site of the Castle mass murder of 1996 and located in the forest outside of Rock Hill. All are competing for money, but one is not who he/she appears to be.

There’s Staci, an unemployed college dropout who recently fabricated evidence on her true crime You Tube channel, Lolly, the final girl from the Beechwood Castle massacre, now the mother of a 13 year old girl, Cornelius, husband, father of two and architect, recently fired for peeping and Penelope, at sixty-nine the oldest of the group, a true crime writer whose books aren’t selling. Rounding out the group are Bonnie, psychic and felon and Rad, former police officer who shot and killed Bobby Reeks, the prime suspect in the Massacre. Who is the traitor?

Not bad, not great. Nothing really new here, but fine if you enjoy the genre.

I hate giving books less than 3 stars, but unfortunately this book was nearly unreadable. The premise was very promising—a locked-room mystery figuring out who the killer is—but I had a lot of problems with the punctuation throughout the book.

I don't think I've ever seen such rampant abuse of ellipses in a book. Each page had at least one, most pages had 3-4 cases of .... It was very distracting and really took me out of the story. So many of them could have been commas or periods.

The characterization was quite weak as well. For example, Cornelius, the peeping Tom, was just written as a flat, bad, character. I get that he was not supposed to be likable, but he was very 2-D. I was hoping something interesting would come out of his character, but no, he was simply a guy who hates his wife and gets called a perv all the time. I would have liked to see all the other characters fleshed out more as well.

Overall, I was disappointed by what was a very compelling premise that wasn't executed well.

I found this book got off to a slow start initially, but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. It’s a locked room thrill where six people are invited to Beechwood Castle. A scene of one of the most horrific murders in modern history, its interiors still smelling of death and decay. But as six people walk into the house: one an imposter; all of them traitors; who will survive the night? Devilishly dark with plenty of twists, it will keep you guessing to the end. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

The Traitors by Carissa Ann Lynch is the first book from the author that I have read and after reading this it will not be my last.
Six people find a cream envelope arrive on their doorsteps inviting them to Beechwood Castle. To spend 24 hours and win a share of 1 million dollars. The castle is partly a depilated building where years previously was a scene of horrors. Where a madman murdered several people by killing them with an axe. Only one person survived Lolly, who is one of the six invited again. But nobody knows who sent the invitation, just a company name. Who are they? Are they killer who wants to kill again and finish what he started. The six people are intrigued to find out, so they agree and arrive at the castle the next day.
This is a creepy, gothic locked room thriller/horror that has me invested from the first page. This had a hint of mystery and mistrust. Who are the six individuals? And why are they all here? This will keep you guessing and guessing and a few surprises along the way. I really enjoyed this, and I hope to read more from this author. 4 stars from me.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I do wish it was much longer and more descriptive. The characters were brilliant, but by the time we got to know them the story was over!

This was a fun one!! It’s a locked room mystery type story where 6 people are invited to spend the night at a crumbling castle where multiple murders accrued decades ago. Whoever makes it through the night wins a share of a million dollars. Each character needs the money and also has other demons to exorcise. Of course scary and bad things start happening almost immediately and the characters must fight for their lives.

The characterization in this book was really well done and even when the characters weren’t likable, they were believable. The side stories and secret connections between them were interesting and I didn’t get people confused because they each had a clear story arc. The twist at the end was great and I didn’t see it coming at all.

Overall, this is a fun read (and quick too!). I’d recommend to those who like mysteries. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.