Nothing like a good murder mystery to get you in the Christmas spirit! I wanted to review at least one Christmas book this year, but despite extensive searching, I couldn't find any that piqued my interest—until I found this.
Dark family secrets, a spooky old house, a killer on the loose, and a blizzard trapping everyone inside? Finally, a Christmas story I can get behind.
“Fear and excitement are twins; they live on opposite sides of the same door. It's up to you which room you live in."
It's Christmas once again at Endgame House, which calls for the Armitage family's annual Christmas Game: a scavenger hunt through the house and grounds to find the stash of gifts, with an additional grand prize gift for the winner.
Lily Armitage, however, hasn't played in twenty one years—not since the tragic suicide of her mother, Mariana. Lily hasn't been back to Endgame House since, and she plans to keep it that way.
Imagine Lily's annoyance when she receives a letter from her late Aunt Lilianna, written shortly before her own death, summoning her back to Endgame House for one final Christmas Game, with the deed to the house as the grand prize.
However, that isn't the only prize on the table for Lily. Liliana's letter goes on to explain that Mariana's death was no suicide: she was murdered, and the clues within the Game will lead her to the truth.
"Search the past for memories that can help you solve the clues and what happened to Mariana Rose. You'll need to remember everything. Don't trust any of your relatives, for their sake as much as yours. Knowledge can lead to death."
Reluctantly, Lily makes her way to Endgame House, where she is reuinited with her favorite and least favorite cousins, as well as her childhood friend, Isabelle.
Now the family attourney, Isabelle performs the reading of Liliana's will, as well as presenting the six rules of this year's Christmas Game.
The players, Sara, Gray, Rachel, Ronnie, Tom, and Lily, must remain on the grounds from Christmas Eve until the twelfth day of Christmas (that is, January 5th). If they leave, they are disqualified from the Game.
No smart phones, tablets, or internet—all devices with internet access will be confiscated.
One riddle, in the form of a sonnet, will be received on each of the twelve days.
Each riddle will lead them to a key, hidden somewhere within the house and grounds.
On the twelfth day, twelve clues will have been given and ideally, twelve keys will have been found. One of these keys will unlock a secret room hidden somewhere within the house. A clue to the room's location will be presented somewhere within the Game.
The deed to Endgame House is hidden somewhere within the secret room. Whoever finds it first is the winner, and Isabelle will return at the conclusion of the Game on January 5th to sign the deed over to them.
"How can things get worse?" "Never ask that question. Fate has a tendency to answer."
From the moment Lily arrives at Endgame House, she feels uneasy. At first, she chalks it up to the horrible memories she has there, but she quickly begins to suspect there is more to it. She hears whispering in the walls, movement from the attic, and has the constant feeling that she is never truly alone, even when locked in her childhood bedroom at night.
When one of the players is murdered on the second day of the Game, Lily realizes that she truly can't trust anyone in the house, family or not. To make matters worse, a huge snowstorm has taken down the phone lines, making it impossible to call for help even from a landline phone.
The roads are also impassible, but someone has stolen everyone's car batteries and cut down a tree to block the driveway—just to be sure.
Trapped in a house with a mysterious killer, Lily has no choice but to play the Game. As the clues roll in and the bodies begin to pile up, she finally uncovers the truth behind her mothers death, and discovers that isn't the only dark secret her family has been keeping.
“Leaves have fallen onto the snow like punctuation marks. They've held on for so long, but winter gets to us all in the end.”
Boy, was this a fun read!
In addition to solving the riddles and the mystery along with the characters, Alexandra Benedict hid her own riddles for the reader within the story itself. There are anagrams for each of the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas poem ("A partrige in a pear tree," etc) hidden within the corresponding chapter for each day, and she cleverly snuck the titles of twelve of her favorite mysteries that take place at Christmas into the mix. The acknowledgements at the back of the book are also presented in the form of a word search puzzle
This is a great, festive read for any loves of prose, sonnets, or just a classic murder mystery.
Please let me know if you decide to give it a read! I'd love to get a conversation going on Discord, especially about who you thought the killer was.
Thank you so much for reading, and I wish you the merriest Christmas imaginable!
I'll probably be taking some time off to enjoy the season with family and friends, so this will likely be my last post until after Christmas.
If you don't celebrate Christmas, I wish you the best in whatever you celebrate instead, and I hope you'll stick around with me in the new year.
'•.¸♡ Happy reading! ♡¸.•'