You've Been Summoned is a fun read, perfect for a few hours of light entertainment over a weekend. The book focuses on two stories, one happening in the present and the other in the 40s. The present story is presented in a mixed media format, with images of handwritten notes, texts, and drawings provided as evidence.

The cast of characters is colorful but none are especially complex, much like the guest characters in an episode of Murder, She Wrote. They work to move the story forward, but I didn't care what happened to them beyond that. Which worked fine because, as I said earlier, this was a fun read. Like cotton candy at the fair.

Really, the only thing that dragged the story down for me was the casual tone of the present portion contrasted by the somber tone of the 40s portion. It was also difficult for me to connect with the twins in the 40s portion. The decisions they made, even with the restrictions women faced in that time period, made no sense. The twists in that story also felt a bit stretched.

That complaint aside, I enjoyed reading You've Been Summoned. It's an enjoyable distraction to peruse if you have the free time.

One of my favourite types of games is interactive games; action, fantasy, crime, etc. They give a whole new level of depth to stories and characters and, depending on the genre, can get you thinking. So when I found Lindsey Lamar's You've Been Summoned I immediately wanted to read and I was not disappointed.

Following a death at a costume party in a historical Manor known for disappearances, you are cast as the detective, following the clues and discover the murderer. A Cluedo-esque novel that had me taking notes and falling further, willingly, into a world of intrigue, mystery and history. I fell in love with Lamar's novel that brings two of my favourite things into one. Lamar locks you into this detailed world where no stone can be left unturned.

Overall, You've Been Summoned was a very interesting read using a concept I haven't read before and now has me looking for more new novels as such. If you enjoy Cluedo, CSI, or True Crimes then this is the novel for you.

Thank you, NetGalley and Experiment 42 for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A suspicious host. A skeptical guest list. A historical manor. Everyone’s hiding something. It's up to you to solve the mystery in this interactive puzzle.

This was so much fun! Great characters and a great mystery with a fun interactive portion.

I'll start with the positives: this is a great idea for a book and I was really excited to read it. The cover is very appealing and the idea of a mystery novel with pieces of evidence to enable the reader to put the clues together and solve the crime themselves is a lot of fun, and really drew me in. In fact I recommended it to all of my friends before finishing the book, which in retrospect was a mistake.

In novels, I like the dual timeframe format, and I like mystery novels with unreliable narrators. The trouble was that neither of these styles really fit in with the author's aim to make this a truly interactive book. How is the reader meant to piece together evidence to solve a crime when 99% of the "evidence" is coming from a written first person account of what has happened? It doesn't work. There needed to be more independent evidence sources. Otherwise it just comes across as a standard mystery novel with a few reminders at the end of the chapter that you're meant to be looking for evidence, and a slightly patronising "fun fact". Also I feel the insistence throughout the book that the two storylines are linked when they clearly can't be evidentially linked really gave away whodunit, even if it wasn't so obvious how, when or why.

The first half of the book is written quite well but by the end it felt rushed and badly written, with lots of grammatical mistakes and clumsy sentence structure, which hopefully will be picked up before publication. There are a few silly factual mistakes such as sending a body off to a DNA testing facility in 1966 when DNA testing was first done 20 years later, which was such a glaring mistake to me that I thought it was a clue!!

The book just needs a lot more work to be done on it to make it a good reading experience. It has a lot of promise but I just don't feel it was ready to be released to readers yet.

Prepare to become a detective and try to solve not 1, but 2 mysteries! You are taken through the journeys of 2 sets of twin sisters, Macie and Mary in the past and sillie and Jane in the present. Through case files you discover evidence about the mysterious disappearance of Sillie at her and the disappearance of Macie and Mary in the 1940s. In the end you try to figure out who committed the crimes.

I was hesitant to read an “interactive” book not knowing what to expect and if it would be done well but I really enjoyed this book. I took the advice of the PI at the end of each case file and tried to take notes on what I had learned from each piece of evidence to see if I could solve the mystery myself. In the end I am proud to say I was able to guess the culprit successfully. I loved that it was designed and broken up by case files of similar evidence, each piece adding a new layer to the characters and the cases. In the end you get to see how those case files helped the investigators figure out who committed the crime.

This was a well written and engaging book. As a fan of puzzles and mystery rooms, I couldn’t put it down. I look forward to more books from the author!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to ARC read this book.

This was disappointing - I fail to see how it’s “interactive.” It’s a book. It reads like any book. There are newspaper clippings and transcripts but that’s not new to the mystery space.

The mystery was also meh. I didn’t figure it out but mostly because it was kind of a mess and the “clues” were doubtful at best.

Also there were tons of grammatical and spelling mistakes, which is super annoying. I probably wouldn’t have requested this had I realized it was self-published because while I want to support indie authors, I find the editing leaves a lot to be desired 99.9% of the time.

I have never read a book that required me to take honest notes! For 7 days I was immersed in the Sophomore Manor, I was a bonified Private Eye. The interactive stamp given to this book is spot on. CLUE on steroids!

You are locked into this world from the first sentence. The multiple timelines, and the detailed and well written character backstories of the Sophomore Manor, Josh, James, Mary, and Macie. The story continues to build with tension and excitement all the way to its flooring conclusion.

If you enjoy TV shows such as The First 48, CSI, True Crimes, and CLUE (haha)..this is the book for you! I would love to see what a book club kit for this book would look like, I can imagine that that would be an amazing month.

This is a book that I will most definitely be adding to my library.

A new interactive mystery that has the reader looking at interviews, diary entries, and more with the goal of trying to solve the mystery themselves.

Overall, I thought this was a fun concept. It was a little harder on an ebook because I couldn’t flip back and forth when you get end of chapter hints. I also think the ending was a little disappointing compared to the rest of the book. I definitely would read more if this becomes a series though!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great book!

I really enjoyed the way it was written. The files give you lots of hints and lots of dead ends. I couldn't solve the crime and I'm normally great in this kind of game. I was so focused on solving this until the very end, even if I didn't got it right.

I hope you write more books like this one!

Content Warnings: murder, domestic abuse, violence, blood, sexual violence (implied)

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this eARC!

Before I get to my thoughts on this book, I just want to say that I appreciate the effort that the author put into this story and that I have nothing but respect for indie authors. I think this author has great potential for future endeavors and I wish them nothing but success.

However, this book was not for me.

You’ve Been Summoned is described as an “interactive mystery” that contains two plotlines: one in the present day, focused on the disappearance of Sillian Parks, and one in the 1940’s, focused on the disappearance of Mary and Macie Sophomore.

Initially, I was intrigued. I love mystery, I love stories about sisters, I love dual timelines, and I love books that experiment with formatting! What could possibly go wrong?

My first problem was that the writing felt incredibly juvenile. Although all the characters in both timelines are meant to be in their mid- to late-twenties, they all read like teenagers. Especially Jane and her sister’s friends. I also felt that the writing of the 1940’s storyline — particularly the dialogue — was inaccurate and not well researched.

Another problem I had, though, was that I was continuously taken out of the story by blatant contradictions throughout the narrative. This is an uncorrected ARC so I have accepted there will be typos, misspellings, and mistakes, but at some point it just becomes frustrating. The same event will be described as having taken place a month ago, and then exactly a page later it will say it was a year ago. This happened more than once and I often found myself swiping back and forth between pages to confirm that I was not misremembering and it was, in fact, the book itself.

I want to end on a nicer note, because I really do believe the author worked hard on this and it is rough out there for indie authors. The actual mystery aspect was fun and kept me hooked. I really did want to know what happened to Sillian and the Sophomore twins. I also really enjoyed the formatting: I love mystery books that incorporate mixed media. Texts, notes, interviews transcripts — sign me up!

I wish the author nothing but success, but sadly, this one just wasn’t for me.

Side note: author, you need to change Robin’s costume for the party. Seriously.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
In this book, the author is attempting to turn a murder mystery novel into some interactive game for the reader - I appreciate a lot of effort has gone into this, but for me it fails on both that level, and in being a good murder mystery.
There’s a note from the author explaining the reasoning behind this attempt, being to “put the power into the reader’s hands” and allow them to be able to solve the mystery themselves. The thing is, a decent murder mystery novel already does that for a reader.
Having to strip the novel back to ensure clues and so-called evidence is highlighted to the reader has also stripped it of being a novel. The actual murder mystery behind it - both in the past and the present - are so fantastical that they can barely be believed.
The interjections with questions and hints for the reader, are, I suppose, intended to be from the lead detective as the “reader” detective goes through the files but - whilst I can see why the author put them in - turns this from a novel into homework.

You’ve Been Summoned’s setup reminded me a lot of the board game, Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated, mixed with Clue. It’s designed to be interactive, casting you, the reader, as the newest employee at PI, Inc. Apparently they’re a bit short-staffed, so you’re assigned a case right from the top. You have all the files regarding the incident at Sophomore Manor at your disposal – to be read in the suggested order. You also have several historical items from the 1940s when Mary Sophomore and her twin sister also went missing. You do receive some helpful pointers from the boss along the way.

The case you’ve been asked to look at involves Sillian Parks. She was throwing a party with several friends and her twin sister, Jane, at the Sophomore Manor, when she went missing. She was eventually found, but comatose, and foul play was suspected. It’s up to you, the reader, to put all the information and clues together to present your recommendation as to who should be arrested. Then you get to read the actual solution and see if you were – I wasn’t.

This is a fun book. Even though it does have a clever gimmick, the mystery is put together well. Both timelines were interesting, and while none of the characters is likable, I was interested in what happened. I don’t think want to read this type of interactive book often, but as a one-off it was enjoyable.

The book had an intriguing concept, and figuring out the mystery with the characters was exciting instead of just reading about them discovering it. Even so, not much about the book gripped me. While I loved the mystery and thoroughness of the layout, along with all of the unexpected clues and endings, I just… didn’t find the real mystery to pick up until around ¾ of the way in. Don’t get me wrong, it was well thought out and the author was excited and incredibly able, it just didn’t click with me as a reader. Although I have these opinions, if you are a mystery reader and want to enter a world full of that, I think this book could satisfy those cravings. Thank you Netgalley, Experiment 42, and Lindsey Lamar for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I liked this format of a mystery that you can figure out yourself. The only reason that I'm not rating this higher is because I did not really connect with the characters in any way. I just didn't really care about them. I did really like to try and predict who done it.

Interactive Contemporary & Historical Mystery in which the reader's the detective tasked with solving two crimes taking place 80 years apart involving twins using integrated clues and interviews.

3/5 stars: Lamar has written an interactive Contemporary and Historical Mystery novel that presents two crimes that takes place at a notorious manor, one in 1945 and the other current day. Told in a narrative style, the reader's provided with multimedia integrated clues and interviews to analyze so that you can attempt to solve the whodunit before the actual reveal. The two mysteries are well-crafted and the characters, which are many since it's two crimes with twins as the main protagonists, are distinctive and fleshed out. Overall, this was an interesting experience but I guessed the reveal pretty early on and some of the social commentary was a bit heavy handed for my tastes. There are some very tough topics tackled, so take care and check the CWs. Despite that I would recommend for Mystery lovers, this would especially be fun to read with a partner or with a group of friends.


I received this eARC thanks to Experiment 42, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I typically love these types of novels, where the story is told via diary entries, police reports, interviews, etc. I was expecting You've Been Summoned to have been 100% epistolary but I don't feel that it was. You frequently have "Jane's Recount" and "Mary's Diary" which are both narratives written in first person, which is fine. I was just expecting them to be more authentic sounding. I have a hard time believing that people would write so much dialogue into their own diary entries, if that makes sense. I also kind of felt that the periodic "check ins" could have been done differently. I just skipped over them. I really liked how it was all wrapped up at the end. I did end up being mostly right, so that was fun!

An engaging and unique story!

I love when a book sucks you in by making you a part of the story. This is a mystery - a party in a house with a past. It's a costume party - and in the morning, the host is missing! The story is broken into cases and, as you go along, you will be reading interviews, reading text messages, articles and photos. There are parts that read like a typical novel, so it's not all notes pictures.

There are 2 stories here - 2 timelines. One is the previous inhabitants of the house - and they also mysteriously disappeared. The other story it the one you are trying to solve. The story starts with you being hired as a P.I and you needing to go through the case information. It's such a fun way to tell the story and had me completely pulled in. I had few guesses until the very end. Even then, I love that it laid out all the clues I should have caught and how the conclusions could be drawn. Such a fun story! I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to both Netgalley and Booksirens for allowing me to review this title! The concept of an interactive whodunit is genius and I'm glad I got to experience it. It was like a game of modern day Clue, but the historic tie-in added an extra depth - just when I thought I was on to something, I was being pulled in an entirely different direction. This one is a gem for mystery/thriller seekers and historical fiction lovers!

I loved this book and the way the story weaved two together. I was fun, feeling like an actual PI. I had a couple of the general conclusions figured out but I was far from getting the all.

I chose this book because I found the idea of an interactive mystery intriguing. The book begins with addressing the reader as a new employee of a PI firm. The reader is then given the background of a case where a woman, Sillian Parks, is initially missing and then found by her twin sister, Jane Parks, in an unconscious condition. The reader is told that there are ten files, which include all the investigative information such as police questioning, Jane’s version of events and a diary from the 1940s written by Mary Sophomore, a movie star from back then who disappeared along with her twin sister from the same house.

The concept of this book was unique, but it didn’t work for me. I struggled with the maps and the architectural descriptions of the manor. I also expected an interactive mystery to make me feel like I was part of the action, but the way this book was set up, the action felt at a distance from me. I prefer being absorbed by a story. But here, because of the writing style, I felt once removed from the story, so maybe playing detective is not for me.

I liked the historical context provided and how the book switched between the two timelines. The historical tale described in Mary’s diary was much more engaging than Jane’s tale, but after a while, Mary’s story became too far-fetched. A suspension of disbelief was required to enjoy the book beyond a point.

The climax had a nice twist, but once again, it felt like a square peg is being forced into a round hole. I don’t want to elaborate and give away spoilers. In conclusion, this book wasn’t for me. But if you enjoy solving puzzles and murder mystery board games with a historical flavour, you will love this book.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of the book.