ginasbookreport

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict and narrated by Laura Costello Publisher:  Poisoned Pen Press Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery / Thriller / Domestic Suspense Read This If You Love:  Agatha Christie “Endgame has kept our secrets for half a century, now it’s time for it, and its secrets, to have a new owner.” The Christmas Murder Game  by Alexandra Benedict is a classic locked-room mystery novel set at Christmas. Before Lily’s aunt dies, she sets up one last Christmas game to be played at Endgame House. This year the prize won’t simply be an extra gift, but instead the holder of the key wins Endgame House and all that goes with it. Lily and her cousins all head to the English manor house to play the game, celebrate the holiday, and navigate their complicated family past. However, Lily is there to also uncover the truth behind her mother’s mysterious death. Told via the Twelve Days of Christmas where each day releases a new clue for the particpants to so

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Contemporary Romance Read This If You Love: Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey “I’ll take your place. We’ll switch, like we used to do when we were kids, remember?” The Holiday Swap  by Maggie Knox is a cozy holiday romance, complete with a twin switch and dual love stories. When Charlie suffers a mishap while filming her baking show, she needs to quickly find a way to keep performing her job to salvage her career. Lucky for her, she has an identical twin in Cass, and Cass runs the family bakery. Charlie goes back home to present herself as Cass and finds how much she needed to return to her roots and having a hot fireman around doesn’t hurt, either. (Side note: Between the description and the cover art, was Jake a Prince Harry look-alike?) Meanwhile in LA, Cass is acting as if she is Charlie and finding her voice and love, too.  Much of the no

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson Publisher:  William Morrow Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre:  Mystery Read This If You Love:  Eight Perfect Murders / Riley Sager books “But instead he lifted a finger and swept it across his neck, then pointed at me.” The Christmas Guest  by Peter Swanson is a creepy and dark holiday murder novella. What else could you want for Christmas!?! Ashley is a long way from the US and gets invited to go home for the holidays by her friend Emma. The idealistic setting of an English village at Christmas sounds perfect. Adding to the scene is Emma’s handsome brother Adam. However, this village has a dark history of unsolved murder and killers don’t take a break for the holidays.  This is a dark murder mystery that is a great and suuuuuuper fast holiday read for mystery fans. (It is NOT for those looking for an uplifting cozy holiday read.) I gobbled this one up in a few hours one evening and couldn’t put it down. Swanson somehow strikes the perfect c

The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino & translated by Giles Murray Publisher: Minotaur Books  Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense Read This If You Love: Police procedural books / Jonathan Kellerman novels “She’s an actor. She plays whatever role the circumstances demand.” The Final Curtain  by Keigo Higashino is a Japanese police procedural. Written as an old-style hit-the-pavement investigative, it wraps up the Detective Kaga series by unraveling the deaths in the present and past. Woven together across decades, how are all of these people connected and who is responsible for the killings and why? Can Kaga and his cousin unravel the case and put all the pieces together before the victim count rises? I didn’t love this book but think many will. It was too predictable to me and I’m starting to realize I’m just not a big procedural fan. The trope in this sub-genre seems to place the detectives as connected to the case, which can be boring. However, if

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter Publisher:  William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Genre:  Mystery / Thriller / Suspense / Murder Mystery Read This If You Love:  Janice Hallett books / Netflix documentaries “One body. Six Experts. Can you solve the case before they do?” Murder in the Family  is mystery novel like no other. Guy Howard’s stepfather was murdered when he was a child and the case remains unsolved. Now that Guy is a film maker, he decides to enlist the help of six experts and a documentary staff to pull back the years and solve the case. What results is Infamous: Who Killed Luke Ryder… a Netflix documentary that just might unravel Guy’s entire world. Can you solve the case before the experts do?  I’m a huge fan of mystery-based documentaries and was instantly drawn to this book when my SIL sent me a link. It didn’t disappoint! Told through news clippings, documentary scripts/interviews, and messages, Murder in the Family

The Engagement Party by Darby Kane Publisher: William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ginasbookreport Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Thriller Read This If You Love: The House Murder series by Yukito Ayatsuji / Horror Movies / Lucy Foley novels “Time to tell the truth.” When a group of friends gathers on a remote island for an engagement party, they are faced with their past. Who will come out alive? As the cover says: “The guest list is a real killer.” The Engagement Party  is a juicy chaos of a mystery. I was blown away with how Kane wove together all the most salacious early 90s crimes and wrapped them in a classic locked room mystery. It was like being trapped in an 80s horror movie with an Agatha Christie twist…I simply couldn’t read it fast enough. Kane hits this one out of the park. Packed full of her trademark twists and turns, but this time wrapped in a classic horror mystery vibe. Her best novel yet.