Gosh, that title just draws you in, doesn't it?
Murder mysteries generally fall in two camps—the newer psychological thrillers with lots of mental angst and unreliable narrators, and the old-school cozies with clues and red herrings galore à la Golden Age of Mystery. This book mimics the style of the latter, and that's right up my alley.
No doubt this has all the components I enjoy in a mystery: a family reunion set in a snowed-in resort, a gruesome murder, and ample suspects among those present. And with the dangle of everyone being some sort of killer, it reeled me in and kept me riveted. There were so many unexpected reveals along the way, and I was surprised more times than I can count.
However, it did take me a few chapters to get into it. The narrator often talks directly to the reader, and combined with the humor, can sometimes come across as a bit much. We also get introduced to all the family members in one go, and I had some trouble keeping straight who was who. But as the story went on and we got to the crux of the murder, I acclimated to the style and was thoroughly intrigued.
Regarding the mystery itself, I do feel it was on the complicated side. There were so many parts to it, and while the reveals were fun, I also got a bit confused. There were moments when I didn't understand how the narrator arrived at the conclusions he did based on the information he had, even when he explained in detail how he got there.
Still, I had a lot of fun with this. The story feels unique and there was a compellingness to it that had me turning the pages. And while the twists weren't as succinct and clear as I'd prefer, they still satisfied and made for an entertaining read.
Readaroo Rating: 4 stars
My heartfelt thanks for the copy that was provided for my honest and unbiased review.
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