Tag: mystery

3.5 star

Review: One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters—Iris, Vicki, and Faith—have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there’s murder in the air—and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out.

Each sister wants what is rightfully hers, and in the mix is the Precipe’s nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley: smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits.

The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or even worse, learn that she’s using a guest room to hide a woman on the run.

With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day delivers a unique brand of SUMMERTIME SUSPENSE.

I saw this ARC ready to be picked up on Netgalley and figured, why not? It sounds right up my alley. And overall, I’d say that it was, and it does kind of fit into that “summertime suspense” that is advertised above. Thanks to them for providing this in exchange for an honest review.

One Big Happy Family is an aptly named book, in two ways. It speaks of two families: the Bishops, who have just inherited the Precipice Hotel after the tragic demise of their father. It also speaks of the “family” that now finds themselves trapped at The Precipice after the storm, Larry, hits. In a typical closed-room fashion, strange things start happening, including deaths. How can these deaths be explained, and who will be next on the killer’s list?

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4 star, YA

ARC Review: The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of They Wish They Were Us and The Counselors, comes a page-turning murder mystery set at a prestigious New England boarding school and the dark secrets a killer desperately wants hidden.

Secrets don’t die when you do.

It’s the first week of senior year at Meadowbrook Academy. For Amy and her best friend Sarah, that means late-night parties at the boathouse, bike rides through their sleepy Connecticut town, and the crisp beginning of a New England fall.

Then tragedy. Sarah and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in their dorm room. Now the week Amy has been dreaming about for years has turned into a nightmare, especially when all eyes turn to her as the culprit. She was Sarah’s only roommate, the only other person there when she died—or so she told the police to cover for her own boyfriend’s suspicious whereabouts. And even though they were best friends, with every passing day, Amy begins to learn that Sarah lied about a lot of things.

Liz, editor of the school newspaper and social outcast, is determined to uncover the truth about what happened on campus, in hopes her reporting will land a prestigious scholarship to college. As Liz dives deeper into her investigation, the secrets these murdered seniors never wanted out come to light. The deeper Liz digs, the messier the truth becomes – and with a killer still on campus, she can’t afford to make any mistakes. 

The Meadowbrook Murders is a gripping mystery about the inextricable way power, privilege, and secrets are linked, and how telling the truth can come at a deadly price.

**The Meadowbrook Murders comes out February 4, 2025**

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always down for a boarding school story, but what makes one even better? When there happens to be a murderer among them. In what I’m starting to see as Jessica Goodman’s usual writing style, The Meadowbrook Murders was a fast-paced and fun murder mystery to dive into on a slow afternoon.

Written in two first-person POVs, we follow Liz, an avid student journalist, and Amy, the suspect (ahem I mean, roommate) of the two students who were killed. I’m seeing a trend in YA murder mysteries to be written in at least more than one POV to give us more insight into the investigation, and thereby suspect more people, but in this case, I am not sure if it was my favourite use of it. I’ll get back to this point later. But with senior year about to start and fellow students in the lower grades still yet to arrive on campus, this book gave almost a locked-room mystery vibe as who else could have done it than someone with access to the school dorms on a private campus?

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3.5 star

Review: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckley. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.

Poirot quickly takes a particular interest in the young woman. Recently, she has narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. Something like a bullet! It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.

Another Agatha Christie! Hopefully I can make my way through the Hercule Poirots eventually, but maybe not all at once. I saw this at a used bookstore, and I didn’t want to pick it up, but I did end up borrowing it from the library and quickly read through it. I love how short these are, and these writings are honestly timeless. I seriously can’t believe these were written so long ago.

Peril at End House revolves around the mystery of the attempted murder(s) on Nick Buckley, the young heiress of End House. End House is aptly named. Although it is large and vast, it is also run down, and currently a place of unhappiness. The recent attempts on Nick’s life have definitely made the title even more apt. Luckily again, Hercule Poirot is in town, and quickly steps in to prevent Nick’s assassin from claiming her life. Will Poirot be able to save her life and the culprit? Or will he have to give up one to save the other.

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