Locked Room Mystery

Review: Rose/House by Arkady Martine

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

Rose/HouseRose/House by Arkady Martine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Rose/House is a tense Sci-Fi Techno-Mystery by Arkady Martine. This novella was originally published in 2023, but has been recently re-released by Tor.

The edition I read came in at 115-pages. With this being said, I’m not going to go into too much detail about plot.

In short, this novel features an AI house, not a house with AI capabilities, but a fully-AI house. The designer/creator/architect/inventor/owner, whatever designation you choose for him, died over a year ago.

As far as anyone knows, the only other person allowed inside Rose House is the creator’s former protege, Dr. Selene Gisil.

When the local policewoman, Detective Maritza Smith, gets a call from Rose House saying that there is a dead body in the house, she’s shocked.

The creator is gone and Dr. Gisil is overseas. Who the heck is the dead body, and how did they even get in there?

Maritza is dispatched to investigate, but if she’s able to get into this fortress of a house, will she be able to get back out after? The house is being less than helpful, so that outcome is definitely unclear.

This was interesting and unlike anything I have read lately. I enjoyed the 1st-half more than the latter, but still found the concepts compelling throughout.

From the moment I started learning about Rose House, I didn’t want Maritza to go in. Who cares about the body? Rose House acted deceitful and it creeped me out.

To be fully transparent, anything involving AI actually creeps me out. It’s like one of my biggest fears, pretty much in any iteration. I have nightmares about it.

At first, I’ll admit, I was thinking the writing felt a little choppy, but the further I got in, the more it made sense for the story. The feel of it is actually a bit robotic, which makes sense considering it centers around a fully AI house.

I feel like for me, the length was its biggest drawback. I wanted to know more about everything, all the concepts and all the characters. Martine gave me enough to want more, and that’s a good thing, however, as far as my experience goes, I can’t rate it any higher.

Nevertheless, it’s good and I recommend it for any Sci-Fi fan, in particular if you enjoy stories featuring AI. Also, I did appreciate the blending of Mystery into this Techno-heavy setting. It was unsettling.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to picking up more from this author!

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Review: The Holy Terrors (Holy Terror Mysteries #1) by Simon R. Green

~ megs14malloy

The Holy Terrors is a good book. Particularly, if you go into it expecting a Cozy Mystery with potential Paranormal aspects.

Unfortunately for me, I went into this expecting Religious Horror, which it absolutely is not. I think at the time I received this as an ARC, it was not designated as Book #1 of the Holy Terrors Mystery series.

If it had been, I think it would have tempered my expectations a bit. Nevertheless, I do highly recommend the audiobook if you are going to pick this one up, and now that I know what the series is about, I would be interested in picking up the 2nd-book, [book:Stone Certainty|217105077].

I love Cozy Mysteries and I think that the MC of this, Bishop Alistair Kincaid, could be a fun one to follow. I feel we have so much more to learn about his character and I’m down to explore that.

It also seems like he may be pairing up with another one of the characters from this book, Diana, an actress. They had some interesting chemistry, so that could be fun, watching them work together again.

This story also has a fun set-up. Alistair and Diana are involved with the filming of a television ghost-hunting show, where they, along with some other folks, get locked into a reportedly haunted hall overnight.

Unfortunately, while that set-up is great and should lead to a lot of creepy action, I feel like the narrative is much more focused on the interpersonal dynamics going on between all these trapped show people.

I feel like it was a bit of a missed opportunity to create a genuinely-creepy vibe. With this being said though, there’s nothing wrong with a more character-focused mystery, it just wasn’t what I was expecting, or in the mood for, when I picked this up.

Overall though, I think if you go into this with the right expectations, this could definitely be a quick, fun read. Again, check out the audio if you plan to pick it up. I flew through it.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It’s def more likely than not that I will be checking out the next book now that I know more what to expect

Review: One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

~ megs14malloy

One Big Happy FamilyOne Big Happy Family by Jamie Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

One Big Happy Family is an entertaining Summer Thriller set in a small town, Jonesport, on the rocky coast of Maine. I adore that setting, so was sold on this one by that fact alone.

This novel is an inheritance story of sorts, with murder to boot. We’re transported to The Precipice, a family-owned hotel, in Jonesport. The elder, George Bishop, has recently passed and his daughters, Iris, Vicki and Faith, are arriving for a weekend to hear his Will and claim what is now theirs.

The three sisters bring with them a whole host of dangerous secrets, heavy baggage and more. Tensions are running high. It’s not exactly a lovey-dovey family reunion.

Also in the mix, are a few employees of The Precipice, including 19-year old chambermaid, Charley, who desperately needs to hold on to her job.

This is the kind of book so full of drama that once you start, it’s hard to stop. I found it to be incredibly fun with the toxic family relationships that I love to watch play out.

I was gnoshing my popcorn the whole way through!

The setting was fantastic, made better by the fact that a hurricane stranded the characters at The Precipice. I love inclement weather stories and I feel like Day absolutely nailed that vibe here.

I actually listened to this audio while I was on vacation in Maine, so that’s a bit fortuitous. In a way, that made it extra fun, but in another way, I actually think I may have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t had vacation brain at the time.

I did find the narration by Saskia Maarleveld to be a perfect fit for the story. She def succeeded in bringing it to life. I highly recommend that format should it be available to you.

Overall, I was really impressed with this. I found it to be gripping, entertaining, fast-paced and dramatic. The setting and set-up were both fantastic.

My only small gripe would be that I sometimes found it hard to distinguish between the sisters. With this being said, that could be 100% attributable to the aforementioned vacation brain. It’s hard to tell. Either way, I am looking forward to more from this author.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

I think a lot of Readers are going to love this one!

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Review: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham #2) by Benjamin Stevenson

~ megs14malloy

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham, #2)Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect is the 2nd-installment in the Ernest Cunningham Mystery series.

I read the 1st-book in this series, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, immediately preceding this one. I listened to the audiobook for both and absolutely loved the experience. Barton Welch, as Ernie, is bloody brilliant!

In this story, Ernie is now a published author, having written a book following the events of the 1st-novel. He continues directly addressing us, the Readers, so his recognition that he wrote about the events we read in the first book is all very meta. It makes these stories stand-out.

Ernie has been, in a way, invited by the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide. He accepts, hoping something will happen aboard that could inspire ideas for his next book — fiction, this time.

There are five other crime writers attending as part of the festival, in addition to Ernie. One of them ends up dead. After that happens, the remaining writers do what they do best, they investigate the crime.

There’s so much experience amongst them, they should be able to figure it out. Of course, this logic also works the other way. They are all students of crime. They can solve it, but they could also probably commit it; and well.

The train setting of course makes one think of Murder on the Orient Express. It was such a lovely doff of the cap to that classic, even bringing solid Locked Room Mystery vibes.

I loved having all the various writers, all thinking they have the expertise to figure everything out, bumbling around together, sleuthing it up left and right. At times it was utter chaos and I was delighting in every minute of it!

I’m a huge fan of this series. I think Stevenson has maintained such a sense of fun within these mysteries. They’re so clever and charming.

As with the 1st-book, I did feel like things got a little muddled towards the end, but honestly, I didn’t really care. I love Ernie Cunningham and I’m a devotee of this series for as long as it runs. Bring ’em on, Stevenson!

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Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie

~ megs14malloy

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally had the pleasure to pick up The Mysterious Affair at Styles with a Book Club I’m a part of. I read it over the course of the past 24-hours, and we had a Solve-A-Long with full discussion tonight.

This was actually Christie’s debut novel, which I was unaware of upon starting, and unsurprisingly, the Queen of Mystery had most of us stumped!!

This story features Hastings as our narrator. He’s gone to visit his friend, Jonathan Cavendish, at his family estate of Styles. It’s there that we meet all of Jonathan’s family, including the eventual victim, the elderly Emily Inglethorp, Jonathan’s step-mother.

It’s believed the lady was poisoned, but she was locked in her room at the time, so how exactly did that occur?

Hastings, knowing his good friend, the ever keen, Hercule Poirot, is currently living close by, extends an invitation to Poirot to come to Styles, hoping he can figure it all out.

Poirot arrives and quickly begins his investigation, including performing a thorough examination of the victim’s room and interviewing witnesses. I loved following along as he methodically worked his way through the property and the people; Hastings at his heels the whole time.

There were a lot of suspects, basically everyone at Styles, with a variety of different motives. I had my theories, but none of them turned out to be true. One of them was close, but the reasons were all wrong.

Christie got me again. She’s bloody brilliant. She has this uncanny ability to give the Reader so much that they don’t see the truth hidden in the details. It makes for a fun story.

Poirot is a quirky little man with a big personality. I’ve actually read more Marple books than Poirot, but this reminds me that I still have a long and exciting way to go in my Christie journey.

Overall, this was such an enjoyable read, with a great cast of characters an an intriguing mystery. I would definitely recommend it to any Christie fans, Murder Mystery fans, or Locked Room Mystery fans.

There’s so much to love within these pages. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

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Review: Murder by Candlelight by Faith Martin

~ megs14malloy

Murder by CandlelightMurder by Candlelight by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Murder by Candlelight is a Historical Cozy Mystery set in the village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh, in the Cotswolds, in 1924.

Arbie Swift is an author, who has found new found success after the publication of his book, The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting. He’s the kind of famous now, where since he’s an expert in all things ghost,has individuals seeking him out, asking for assistance with their own hauntings.

For example, he gets asked to the Old Forge, where the lady of the house, Amy Phelps, believes she is being haunted by a spectre. Arbie should know what to do, right?

Hesitant at first, both with his new-found fame, and with the idea that he can actually help Amy with her problem, Arbie finally agrees to go stay at the Old Forge. After all, it could provide good content for his next book.

Unfortunately, while Arbie is there, Amy is murdered. Now Arbie finds himself in the unlikely position of detective, along with his dear friend, Val.

As the two dig into Amy’s life and family, they discover all sorts of potential suspects and motives. It’s a race against the clock as they try to discover the identity of the killer, supernatural or not, before anyone else falls victim…

I have been in such a mood for Cozy Mysteries lately. I’m not sure what it is, the changing of the seasons, or the amount of stress that I have been under at work and in my life, but either way, I am eating them up.

I picked this one up on a whim and devoured it in a day. I loved the quaint setting and Arbie as a main character. I think this story set-up a perfect jumping off point for a potentially long-running series.

As with many other Mystery series, I feel like this is the kind of story where you would just get more and more attached to the characters as the installments add up. It also had a distinct Christie vibe, which really worked for me.

I loved that Arbie was an author of a ghost-hunting book, and whether or not he truly believes in all that, is something you’ll have to discover for yourself upon reading. However, whether he does or not, it certainly sets him up to meet a lot of interesting people.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Arbie and Val, which definitely deserves some more attention. I’m not sure if there are plans for this to be a series, or not, but I certainly hope so. I would be genuinely excited to continue on.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Cozy Mysteries, particularly if you enjoy Historical Cozy Mysteries, Mysteries set in a small town/village, or even if you are just a fan of Agatha Christie’s work.

I feel like Martin did a great job plotting this story, and keeping the Reader engaged, while also creating likable, believable characters.

Thank you to the publisher, HQ Digital, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I truly hope this isn’t the last I see of Arbie and Val!!

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Review: She Left by Stacie Grey

~ megs14malloy

She LeftShe Left by Stacie Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been twenty-years since the Memorial Day Massacre that claimed the lives of five of Amy’s friends. It happened at a small house party they’d been enjoying together.

After Amy was made to feel like she didn’t belong though, she left. Little did she know, that was the luckiest choice she could’ve ever made. Within an hour, all of those left at the house were be dead.

In the present, Amy, along with ten other people connected to that night have been invited to a cliffside lodge by a journalist preparing to do a piece on the murders.

After arriving at the home, and being introduced to one another, events quickly take a dark turn. With inclement weather closing in, isolating them even more from the outside world, it becomes clear that this weekend isn’t what any of them expected it to be.

As bodies start dropping, Amy and the others must fight to figure out who orchestrated this event and stop them before they complete their goal; keeping the secrets they’ve been hiding for twenty-years.

Y’all, I really enjoyed this. I went into She Left with zero expectations. I hadn’t heard anyone talking about it and I was unfamiliar with this author’s other works. I was attracted to it purely for the cover and synopsis.

The synopsis was giving me a classic mystery/horror set-up, where people get invited to an event, like a dinner party or weekend retreat, only to arrive and realize it’s not what they thought. It’s very And Then There Were None, amongst others.

Grey succeeded in her delivery of that set-up. I loved how this started off, meeting all the characters and learning how they were all connected to the Memorial Day Massacre.

They’re not all as directly connected as Amy was, so it was interesting to figure out all of that. We do get glimpses into all the various character perspectives, but Amy is definitely our main focus, and as an FBI Agent, Amy really had the most to offer as far as figuring the whole thing out.

Grey also succeeded in really building out her atmosphere. I loved the setting of this. She didn’t just tell us it was remote, it felt remote. The inclement weather, and potentially hazardous mudslides, added an extra element of danger that only aided in the feeling of anxiety and desperation.

This is extremely fast-paced, as well as engaging and easy to follow. I listened to the audiobook and loved that as a format choice. I absolutely flew through it.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say there’s anything particularly ground-breaking about this story, but I didn’t need there to be. It was still highly-entertaining and that’s exactly what I was looking for.

Overall, the plot is gripping and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still delivers a well-plotted, intense mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’m pumped to read more from this author!

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Review: Crooked House by Agatha Christie

~ megs14malloy

Crooked HouseCrooked House by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Crooked House was a joy to try to solve. I read it with a bunch of other people and we all tried like heck to figure it out. There were so many different theories, and honestly, all of them could have worked.

This is one of my favorites out of the Christie work that I have read. It’s pure entertainment and Agatha slayed her red herrings here. Everyone is a suspect!

I say it is one of my favorites, and it is, but the author herself also described it as such. She must have been feeling especially clever after she penned this exceptional work.

I love to think about Christie’s work in context to the time she wrote it. This novel has a twist, which now, reading it in 2024, I’ve read before. We’ve probably seen this twist multiple times across all different mediums at this point.

But it’s important to remember, it didn’t start with them, the other works we’ve watched and read, it started WITH HER. With Christie herself, who went on to inspire decades, nay generations of creatives.

This is a standalone for Christie, meaning it doesn’t include one of her two most famous characters, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Jane Marple. Shocking, I know.

I’ve recently been reading the Miss Marple works in order and loving them. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this as much, not having one of those iconic characters in it.

I’m happy to report, I didn’t think of that at all once I got into this story. It’s so interesting, so compelling, the plot so tight and engaging, I was hooked from the start, no matter who the characters were.

As far as content, if you require more to spur you to pick this up, this story involves a man whose love interest asks him to look into her Grandfather’s death. Her very wealthy Grandfather, who left behind a substantial inheritance.

He has to travel to the family estate, meet all of her family members and try to determine whether or not the old man’s death was natural, an accident, or murder. And if the latter were true, then whodunit!?

I absolutely recommend this one to any fan of Christie’s work, as well as anyone looking to try her work for the first time. If you love a closed circle mystery, an inheritance story, or just good old-fashioned mystery writing, you should absolutely pick this one up!

I’m looking forward to getting to more of Christie’s standalones after reading this. Christie is an absolute gift to the literary world and I shall continue to pick up her books for years and years to come!

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Review: The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

~ megs14malloy

The Christmas Murder GameThe Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

The Christmas Murder Game was the perfect audiobook for me to listen to over my Christmas holiday.

It didn’t require surgical-levels of concentration and the plot was easy enough for my holiday-fried brain to follow.

In this story we meet Lily Armitage, who is returning to her family’s lavish estate, Endgame House, for the first time since the tragic death of her mother, twenty-one years ago.

The Armitage family has an annual tradition called the Christmas Game and this year, the stakes are higher than ever. The winner receives the deed to Endgame House itself.

Lily doesn’t really want the house, but she receives a personal invitation she can’t refuse. If she attends, she may be able to get further information about her mom’s death, which Lily has long not believed the official story on.

The Christmas Game takes twelve days, with riddles and clues to finding twelve separate keys, and Lily must compete against her estranged cousins for the ultimate prize.

When bodies start dropping and the family gets snowed in, it’s clear someone will do anything to win this year’s game, even if it means killing off the competition.

I liked this. It’s a solid story with a lot of reveals and red herrings along the way. I really enjoyed the setting, including the harsh weather that helped build tension.

With this being said, while it did feature a lot of elements I enjoy, such as a locked room feel, unlikable characters, inclement weather and deeply-held family secrets, I didn’t find the overall story that gripping.

Most of the characters were a bit one-dimensional, but I did definitely want to know what was going on. I had many theories, none of which panned out 100%.

This is the second story that I have read from Alexandra Benedict. I think I preferred Murder on the Christmas Express a bit more, but reading this over Christmas probably did have a slight impact on my enjoyment level.

I do always find it a bit more challenging to really focus around this time of year, particularly when traveling.

Either way, I will be continuing to pick up anything I can from Alexandra Benedict, and you should too!

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Review: Murder on The Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

~ megs14malloy

Murder On The Christmas ExpressMurder On The Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Murder on The Christmas Express is an engaging and dramatic Locked Room Mystery by Alexandra Benedict.

This story is set aboard a Sleeper Train, traveling from London to the Scottish Highlands, on Christmas Eve.

I have a thing for stories set on trains. It’s one of my favorite set-ups and this story did not disappointment in that regard.

I was a little nervous starting this one, since the overall rating seemed on the low-end for a newer release. I almost didn’t pick it up because of that. I’m so glad I ignored the rating and gave it a go. It sure paid off for me.

This story mainly follows Roz Parker, a former Met Detective, who is about to become a Grandmother for the first time. She’s traveling on the train to try to reach her pregnant daughter’s side before Christmas.

Unfortunately, due to a severe storm, the train schedules are a mess, with many routes cancelled. This Sleeper Train is the only way to get to the Highlands for the holiday.

Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.

That tagline sold me, and for the most part, I feel like this story delivered on that. It did give me what I was looking for. I’ll admit, initially, the writing style did feel a little wonky. It took me a minute to get myself grounded in this author’s style and to connect with the narrative voice.

I did end up enjoying Roz quite a bit. Her no-nonsense attitude drew me in. She’s tough, but she’s also at a turning point in her life and still grappling with some earlier trauma that’s had a hold on her ever since. In that regard, I found her realistic and relatable.

We did get various other perspectives as well and some of those were a little strange. I did feel most connected when I was reading from Roz’s perspective.

The other passengers are quite a mix and it was fun watching them all interact. There’s some real jerks aboard, make no mistake about that. I tend to really enjoy an unlikable cast of characters though, and that was definitely the case here.

There is a murder foreshadowed in the beginning and then it takes a wee bit to catch up with that event. I had a lot of theories as the story was building-out.

I liked how this is a true locked room mystery. That type of set-up, figuring out how the killer would have been able to achieve their goal is always so fun for me and I enjoyed Roz trying to piece it together here.

There were many red herrings and false leads. Enough to keep me engaged and guessing throughout. Some things I got right, others I didn’t, but regardless of the outcomes, I enjoyed scratching my head about it.

I think some Readers may have been turned off by the repetitive theme of sexual assault and its aftermath. I think perhaps this was marketed as a Cozy Mystery and you generally wouldn’t explore that type of thing to the depths that this story does in a Cozy.

I will say, for me, I didn’t think this was a Cozy going in, so didn’t end up having that experience with it. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Cozy with a black cover, so when I picked this up, I was just expecting a straight-forward Adult Mystery, which I would argue this is.

Either way, Readers should be aware that this does discuss sexual assault, as well as abuse, in detail on page. If that could be triggering for you, proceed with caution.

For me, I was much more invested in the actual mystery than in the side details of the characters lives, so that portion of it didn’t really impact me. Further, I think just anticipating an Adult Mystery, versus a Cozy, I felt this fell right in line with my expectations.

While this isn’t perfect, I enjoyed it a lot. The ending dragged a bit, but I still felt it to be a solid Locked Room Mystery. The train setting was an absolute delight and I always love when inclement weather traps characters in an unsavory circumstance.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a with a copy to read and review.

I had fun with this and would actually love to see another story with Roz Parker in the lead. Perhaps she can solve a New Years Eve murder next?

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