I thought the unique narrative device would work for me, but it made it feel slow and sometimes repetitive. Some people love it though, so it's worth trying out if it appeals to you!

Ink Ribbon Red had the kind of premise I normally like: a closed circle murder mystery involving a group of "friends." Like In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.

But to me, this book was overly intellectual and not nearly immersive enough. It had an omniscient POV (not my favorite) that dipped into everyone's heads (Anatol, Janika, Marcin, Maya, Phoebe, Dean). Then you find out that some of this narrative is actually stories written by one of the characters about the others. True, false, what?

That, along with a reverse narrative that (maybe?) went backward in time over a weekend, was just too much. And on top of that the characters were all pretty unlikeable. So not much for me to work with overall and sadly a miss for me.

"Anatol invites five of his oldest friends to his family home in the Wiltshire countryside to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. At his request, they play a game of his invention called Motive Method Death. The rules are simple: Everyone chooses two players at random, then writes a short story in which one kills the other."

This synopsis doesn't do the story justice. It's layered, complex, and opens with a death. From there, it moves backwards and forwards in time to set the scene for what happens during Anatol's birthday weekend. I would recommend reading it over listening, as it can become a bit confusing. I really liked this story.

This book was just not for me, I couldn't have cared less about the story or the characters. It was too long for what it was....

I was genuinely excited about this one! It had a great premise, and I couldn’t wait to dive in. However, it turned out to be a slow-burning story that left me confused for most of it. I struggled to distinguish between the stories from the group and the narrator’s narration. In theory, this could have been an amazing story, but I felt the delivery wasn’t up to par.

I had really high hopes for this and it fell flat for me.

The characters were not for me. I found something annoying about every single one. I’m not sure if there were any redeeming qualities to the mystery portion of this book.

I do not feel comfortable giving this one star as something kept me intrigued enough to keep reading.

What did I just read?????

I’ve never read a book where the author purposely sets it up to having the reader questioning what is reality and what is fiction. Stories within a story. This took a lot of getting used to and even towards I was still confused. I did enjoy the premise of the story and how original the author was with the layout.

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

Sharp as a razor, dark as spilled ink, and deliciously meta. Ink Ribbon Red is the murder game you shouldn’t play with your friends—unless you want to end up dead.

If you like your thrillers clever, claustrophobic, and downright petty in the best way? Alex Pavesi delivers. This book is like if Knives Out and The Secret History had a bastard child raised on murder party board games.

Premise? Wild. Anatol’s 30th birthday bash isn’t balloons and beer pong—it’s a secluded English manor and a custom-designed game called Motive Method Death. Everyone writes a short murder story about two other players. And they’re all encouraged to make it realistic. Juicy secrets? Petty grudges? Past affairs? Exposed like nerves under a scalpel.

It’s all just fiction…until someone dies for real.

🩸 What absolutely slaps

✅ The structure. It’s stories within the story—each friend’s murder vignette drips with personal betrayal, turning the game into an actual minefield.
✅ The tension. Once those stories are read aloud? The group chat would be on fire if they had Wi-Fi. Every polite smile cracks.
✅ The characters. Self-absorbed, brittle, secretly seething with resentment—Pavesi nails that brittle upper-middle-class “I’d murder you but in a tasteful way” vibe.
✅ The setting. A classic isolated manor, stormy skies, loaded silences. Murder mystery ASMR.
✅ The meta brilliance. This is a book that’s very aware of murder mystery tropes and toys with them gleefully.

⚠️ Minor caveats (but not dealbreakers)

It’s dense. This is not your airport thriller with three-word sentences. You’re going to read.

Some of the inner stories are intentionally arch or unsettling—which is awesome if you love dark fiction, but might jar more casual readers.

Anatol? He’s a walking red flag. But honestly that’s the point.

🎯 Final verdict

Ink Ribbon Red is murder mystery catnip for readers who want their whodunits smart and layered. It’s not just about who killed whom—it’s about why we want to see each other bleed, and how well we really know our “closest” friends.

Dark academia vibes? Check. Social satire? Check. Actual murder? Oh baby, you’re in for it.

Recommended for fans of:
🔎 Knives Out (but meaner)
🪶 The Secret History (but with a locked-room weekend)
📖 Stuart Turton, Anthony Horowitz, Ruth Ware
💀 People who would 100% get kicked out of a murder mystery party for taking it too seriously

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I’m now rethinking every friend’s weekend invite I’ve ever accepted.

I spent the entire book having little to no idea what was going on. I know some of that was part of the story. But I do think that in some areas in leaned a little too confusing. The deaths throughout were shocking and creative. Bonus points for that in a thriller. The ending was absolutely crazy. The characters were mostly unlikeable but in a way that you would expect in a mystery/thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’ll start by saying that this is a unique concept, and played out, it was smart. But, there’s quite a gap in the character development and plot. I just felt like I was reading short stories instead of one consecutive story.

Did not enjoy. The writing style is sloppy and the descriptions are pretty cringy. The plot just turns around and around in circles. It's a mash up of dreams, reality, and chapters characters have wrote to fulfill their murder-plot dinner game. It's long and the ending did not feel worth the time investment. Pass on this one.

I thought I’d enjoy this thriller about friends who come to get together to celebrate. They are cruel to each other and although there are murders I just didn’t feel pulled into the story. It was not the worst book I ever read but I would recommend more thrillers before I would this one.

Language: R (3+ swears, 5+ "f"); Mature Content: R; Violence: R
While the premise seemed promising, the execution is extremely confusing. Not only does the story jump back and forth through time, it also jumps in and out of reality in such a way that I can't tell which chapters are real and which ones are murder stories that the characters wrote for a game. I finally got fed up enough with not knowing to put the book down. Not worth it. Though I hope to get a group together to play this murder story game.
That mature content rating is for alcohol use, nudity, mentions of drugs and orgasm, condoms, groping, innuendo, masturbation, and sex. The violence rating is for blood and gore, gun use, mentions of suicide, and murder.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I found this one to be a quick, fun read.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s confusing at first. Trying to tell what’s really happening amid the stories but as they get more outlandish, it becomes somewhat easier to tell. I found that aspect to be fun. Deliberately confusing is more interesting than accidentally confusing.

I also liked the unlikeability of the characters. Again, it’s more fun if they’re supposed to be unlikeable and flawed. Their barbed comments to one another was entertaining to read. I couldn’t help but like them for their snappiness.

Ink Ribbon Red was as clever as its title. The book was an interesting blend of genres; the writing and narrative structure leaned literary, there was a mystery to unravel, throughout there was a growing sense of tension that was almost thriller-esque. The characters were mostly morally grey and straddling the line of likeability, which made them interesting to read about. At times the narrative jumping around in time was tricky to follow, but overall it was a solid, slow-burn mystery read.

My thanks to Net Galley and Henry Holt for this arc

I won't reiterate the plot because the summary says it all but I'll get right to the point...this book fell majorly flat. The premise was great but the execution was not good .

First, Anatol? Maybe its a regional name but everytime I read that name it sounded like a medication we give patients at work. Secondly, where was the line between the stories and reality? What was real, what was not? Very confused. Third, none of the characters were likeable. Last, for fans of Agatha? No. Agatha is more linear and follows a murder, detective comes in, investigates, gathers in a room to announce murderer. Nope. Pass on this one.

So convoluted I lost all the fun I usually find in this genre. The payoff was likely worth it but I couldn’t find the effort to get there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for early access to “Ink Ribbon Red” by Alex Pavesi. I was intrigued from the start, knowing that I was in for a ride of morally questionable/unreliable narrators, but I got even more than that. Not sure if you could call this an epistolary, but the reading of each character’s own version of a murder mystery gave that same air of only getting the information from one closed off source. Am I still confused by the end of it? Yes. Do I think that makes it even more original and exciting? Yes. It gives Christie vibes with a modern twist- a great pick for an eerie/cozy read.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book.
The author wasted no time delivering the suspense. Immediately in the beginning something happens that caused me to create theories during the entirety of this book. I felt like I was a part of it. If you love Agatha Christie you're going to devour this!!

DNF: This started out strong, but then it becomes clear that this is the Big Chill if they played a strange murder game. What's from the stories created and what's actually happening is a mess; with a few stylistic changes things would be easier (although I'm sure the author is trying hard to make this suspenseful).

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.