I think this was cleverly written and challenges the reader to think with the use of a story within a story premise. Whoever, this just may not be a book that fits me. The book was a bit hard to get into and I didn't find the characters to be very likeable. I think the premise is very strong, the way it was carried out was just a bit slow.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

"Ink Ribbon Red" by Alex Pavesi promised a tantalizing blend of mystery and literary intrigue, but unfortunately, it falls flat in every aspect. Pavesi's previous work set high expectations, but this latest effort feels like a rushed attempt to replicate his past success.

While it's always difficult to criticize someone's hard work, reading this novel was not an entertaining experience for me.

I found this book confusing and entirely composed of characters who were uniformly unlikeable and under- developed.

This story is set against a backdrop of antiques and obscure historical references. The plot quickly becomes convoluted and meandering, losing the reader in a maze of unnecessary subplots and red herrings. The pacing is sluggish, with revelations buried under a heap of irrelevant details.

If a writer is going to require the readers to invest our time in a convoluted plot, please give us at least ONE likeable, relatable (and well developed) character rather than a room full of navel-gazing self-important pseudo intellectuals we couldn't possibly become emotionally invested in.
The entire cast of characters in this novel is composed of mere stereotypes without any substance or growth throughout the narrative. It's impossible to care about characters who feel more like chess pieces than real people.

The writing itself is often pretentious and overly complex, detracting from the story rather than enhancing it.

The dialogue is stilted and unnatural, failing to capture the essence of real human interaction.

This book's attempt at a twist ending feels forced and unsatisfying. Rather than leaving the reader in awe, it leaves them frustrated and questioning the plausibility of the entire plot. The conclusion lacks the impact necessary to redeem the earlier shortcomings.

"Ink Ribbon Red" is a disappointing follow-up from an author who has shown much greater potential. While the premise is intriguing, the execution is lacking in nearly every aspect.

If you're a fan of Pavesi's work, you might be better off revisiting his earlier successes and skipping this one.

When reading the description of this book, it seems fun. The idea behind it does seem like it would be difficult to execute and that’s because it is. In saying that, while I’m glad I read it, I can say that it could have been done much better. The dialogue between the characters is a bit unrealistic and I think this is where the character development is lacking most. You don’t need to truly know the characters or relate to them in any way, so it’s the dialogue that makes it unbelievable. This takes place in 99 and at times you remember that with the mention of landlines and pay phones, but the majority of the book has a very… 1920-1930’s gothic feel. Going into it knowing it’s a gothic style will help you get through this. This book needs to be read quickly or you are going to lose your interest and quite possibly forget what you’ve read. It’s unreliable and the twists are in how the fictional stories and the reality come to light. You do start to figure out what has really happened and what hasn’t, but it’s a lot of jumping around. When you get to the end, it does make sense. However, the ending is very quick and describes how everything happens. The end also seemed a bit unrealistic for me. Theres one character who figures it all out, but honestly the others should be the one to figure it out and how they do not makes little sense to me. Overall I have to give this 3/5 stars. I think this is for a very specific audience. This seems to be more up the gothic alley than for those that like murder mysteries.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback!

Thank you to Alex Pavesi, Henry Holt & Company and Netgalley for an ARC of Ink Ribbon Red. This is definitely a story full of twists and turns. As a result of the stories within the stories and the flipping from time-frame to time-frame, I found it necessary to pay attention to what I was reading.

I wish I could say that I loved the book, but found it somewhat lacking for my tastes. Part of the reason was because I had trouble connecting with any of the characters. I found them flat and basically uninteresting.

Other than that, I found it to be well written and an interesting plot.

Hmm, it is hard to know where to begin with this book. The tight knit cast of characters are supposed to be the best of friends but they are a very unlikeable bunch of people. I felt this was a well written novel with a complex story within a story format that lead to several shocking moments of murder and mayhem, but were they really dead or was it fiction? I have rarely disliked a group of characters en masse so much as in this story but I realize now that they were all so well-written I couldn't just leave the book behind. I was driven to finding out what was going to happen although I thought it was bit to slow of a burn and I wanted to get to the end faster.. Overall It was probably not a novel I would consider my cup of tea, but it is certainly worth finding this out for yourself.

At first, I was very drawn in by the description and cover of the book. The description sounds very interesting for a murder mystery and whodunit fan like myself, and the cover is gorgeous with a nice color scheme and some context clues into the story (the house, the letters flying through the air). I thought the writing was really interesting and fresh, and the details are definitely major in the storytelling. I understand why they're necessary, but at moments when reading, I did feel a little bogged down. I really felt heartwarmed by the author's perspective on the world and the way they're able to weave in bits of good info surrounded by character and plot developments. That is a talent I'd be interested to see further explored as Alex Pavesi hones their craft.

I enjoyed the setting and found some of the characters interesting and good personalities for a murder mystery. The atmosphere was palpable in a way that not every murder mystery can create, and I did like that. The stories written by the people attending was a new take on the murder mystery aspect, but overall I think there was nothing about this book that struck me as standout. The writing kept me interested and there is impressive plotting at work here, though. I think people who enjoy any kind of classic murder mystery will enjoy this, and I'd encourage them to pay attention to the details, even when they seem like they aren't that critical.

Major themes/tropes:

- Unreliable narrator/fact v. fiction
- secret motives
- locked door mystery
- whodunit
- non-linear narration

Thank you so much to Alex Pavesi, the author, Henry Holt and Co., the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of being able to read Ink Ribbon Red. I will share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

Friends gather in a country house for a birthday party and write short mysteries at the host's request. Each story features one of the group members as the killer and another as the victim, drawing from real-life secrets, grudges, and illicit love. The stories expose the group's hidden tensions and culminate in a murder.

This was my first read from Alex Pavesi, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say this book took me a while to get into. I thought the plot of each member having to write a short story about murdering someone else in the group was really interesting, but I got bored during the introductory phase. What redeemed the story for me was the short stories (I would also like to mention that the beginning (when they were on the way to the train station) also drew me in). I found myself getting lost with dates and times, so at points I found myself re-reading. Overall, didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it.

Ink Ribbon Red is a mystery novel that follows 6 friends on a holiday weekend trying to separate fact from fiction. These 6 friends gather each year over a holiday weekend to celebrate Anatol's birthday. 5 weeks prior, Anatol's father dies by curious circumstances and leaves the friends speculating as to what truly happened that day. During this birthday weekend, they participate in a game made up by Anatol where they have to anonymously writing stories of one friend murdering another. Each draws a name of a victim and their subsequent murderer. Once everyone has written their story, they are read out and voted upon for the best motive, method, and death. The reader must take discretion in figuring out who wrote what and if any of it is real. 

This book is horrifically poetic. The words are so beautiful at times of describing something ghastly. It was difficult to put down because it was a puzzle that needed solving. I don't often take notes for mystery novels because most are moderately easy to keep track of what is happening, but my notebook has several pages filled with thoughts, questions, and crazy lines to try to connect everything. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to get through the several mysteries in this novel and solving before it was revealed.

I honestly did not care for any of the characters. This isn't a turn off for me when it is a murder mystery. It would bug me more if it was a different genre (romance, fantasy, etc) but having each character a little dislikeable was also a bit of the mystery to figure out what secrets they were hiding and what lengths they were willing to go to keep those secrets hidden.

Anyone that loves a good whodunnit mystery on several levels will absolutely love this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for allowing me to read this book early!

I appreciate netgalley for the ARC!!

Ahh I tried really really hard to like this because the story and plot line seemed really interesting but.. I just struggled to follow along. I didn't find myself connecting to the characters and I often had to keep rereading bits to keep up.

I'm hoping in time with a re read I'll be able to enjoy it like others did.

Ink Ribbon Red was a whirlwind of a book! A group of five friends gather at a country home to celebrate the 30th birthday of their friend, Anatol. Anatol recently inherited the country home from his father, who had just passed. While there, Anatol suggests they all play a game he made up several years ago - a game where each friend writes a murder mystery involving the various members of the friend group. This begins the wild ride that is Ink Ribbon Red.

Ink Ribbon Red was refreshing in that it kept me guessing. The author did a great job of making it difficult to figure out what was real and what was a story from Anatol's game. The chapters went back and forth in time and would have someone die only to have them alive again in future chapters.

I appreciated the author's writing style. The author's analogies such as "consequenses are like raindrops" and "grief is a shapeshifter" were thought-provoking. I also enjoyed how the fictional stories were woven into what was actually occurring within the book. Ink Ribbon Red was like reading stories within stories, never knowing who the reliable narrator was. The one downside for me was the mildly rushed feeling at the ending.

If you're in the mood to read a mindless, fluff book, this is not the book for you. BUT, if you're looking to read a unique take on a dark, locked-room-mystery book, give Ink Ribbon Red a go!

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Alex Pavesi for providing an ARC of this book.

As I read "Ink Ribbon Red," I was captivated by the characters' backstories and their quirky dynamics. Anatol, the mysterious host, kept me guessing about his true intentions. The game of writing murder mysteries revealed deeper tensions among the friends, creating a web of intrigue that was hard to put down.

The setting of Anatol's home added an eerie quality, enhancing the suspense as the friends tried to unravel the truth behind the real murder. Paveski skillfully balanced humor and tension, making the absurd scenarios both entertaining and thought-provoking.

My four-star rating reflects the gripping plot and well-drawn characters, as well as the book's unique blend of fiction and reality. I would recommend it to mystery lovers who enjoy a bizarre twist on the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph Publishing for this ARC copy of Ink Ribbon Red!

I love a locked-room mystery and an unreliable narrator, so I found structure of this novel to be super fun. A group of friends converge on a lavish home for a bank holiday / pal’s birthday. Shortly after his father’s death, Anatol invites his closest friends to his home and requests they play a story-writing game for his 30th birthday. Each person chooses a slip of paper from two glasses - one with a murderer’s name, one with a victim’s name. The group will then come together to read all the stories and score their favorites at the end of the weekend. What better way to spend a couple of rainy days?

Of course, twists and turns abound, and the novel interweaves these fictional tales with the real stories of what happens between and among these old friends. Blackmail, affairs, and alcohol further the deception, and Ink Ribbon Red turns out to be quite the entertaining read.

The structure is the real star here, as characters were a bit flat for me. I didn’t connect with any of them, and because the stories were all murderous, the experience of reading the book became less about the people and more about guessing which stories were “real” and which were part of the game. Fans of Agatha Christie will appreciate her influence, as one character emerges as the mystery-solving sleuth who ties everything up for the reader.

This was pretty fun. It’s worth a read.

Pitched on the cover copy as Knives Out Meets Saltburn, I had high expectations for Ink Ribbon Red. Unfortunately, those expectations fell flat.

Told through written stories about the characters' deaths, Ink Ribbon Red has promise conceptually but ended up just being confusing. Pavesi gets to the point rather quickly but the tone was off-putting---I could not understand why any of these people chose to be friends or continue spending time together given their rather icy demeanors and seemingly deep lack of things in common---and I found myself struggling to care.

Combine that lack with a structurally confusing 'wait who killed who?' plot that meanders for so long it doesn't actually quite make sense, Ink Ribbon Red was a half-baked whodunnit set at a beautiful country home. It could have been more engaging had there been much characterization prior to the execution of the conceit (let's all right murder short stories about each other) OR entirely bigger swings early on (Strange Darling pulls off a similar story structure due to its risk taking), but the commitment to the manor house and slow burn just meant this fizzled out for me and the smoke lingered in the air just long enough for me to finish. Two stars.

Made it about 50% of the way through the book and found it rather difficult to keep in mind not only the story-within-a-story, but the general timeline mashup of it all. It was readable and engaging, and the closed-house murder mystery is a classic and appreciated setup, but I didn't feel like the story had progressed from its initial suspicions of one person committing murder and spent a long time describing how long it took people to arrive at the house. Perhaps this logistical setup was specific and will be referenced later, but I found it hard to engage with the mystery because I couldn't keep track of what level of truth or timeline things were happening in. (This also made it hard to get to know the characters!) Some of the writing felt like a screenplay, which is maybe the more ideal way to take this story in.

Definitely would be a good book to sit down and read all at once, and I might come back to it in the future.

This book was almost intentionally confusing, but it kept me hooked and interested to know what was real and what was a story. That being said, the characters were all incredibly unlikeable so I can't say it was one of my favorites.

3.6
It's a cool concept, but I could have done with more clarification throughout. Put a different way: I don't like finding out what's real and what isn't in the last 15% of the book. To me, it makes more sense to start dropping clues no later than 60% in. It is possible I would have enjoyed it more were i reading fewer books concurrently, but...that just isn't me.

I found jumping around in time disorienting and ultimately unsatisfying. I received this as an advance copy and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

My first by this author but I will read more. A masterpiece in misdirection throughout a clever and original plot. Be warned this book takes focus though. You have to really pay attention to the details so you don’t get confused.

Just terrific! Sped through it in 12 hours. Complex but easily comprehensible structure. Witty and well written.
Twist upon twist. One of the best I’ve read in a long time. Five stars plus!

Anatol always invite his friends to his house (his father’s house) to celebrate his birthday. This year he will be 30 and you might assume that since his father recently died, there would be no gathering. Nope. Anatol still wants Dean, Phoebe, Marcin, Janaka, and Maya to spend the weekend. What is the theme? Why murder as he wants everyone to write a murder mystery. Who are the characters? Why each other naturally! Sounds like a fun weekend……..
Well, maybe not. Secrets are revealed in each story, secrets about the other guests…… and Anatol. At first, I was slightly confused. The stories that they write are woven into the narrative. Once I knew the author’s style, I was able to separate the now from the stories, no problem.
I didn’t love how it ended, but the journey to get there was unique. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it seems like you should leave your high school or college friends behind. Especially if you are a group of people with secrets.