I really enjoyed this murder mystery. I felt that it was just barely still a cozy mystery—even though our main character is in danger, the tone overall felt like a cozy—but there were a lot more deaths than I'm used to reading in a cozy mystery. (I think the final body count was 6?)

I enjoy the closed circle mystery trope a lot, where a small group of people are all stuck somewhere and can't rely on outside help to keep them safe or solve the mystery. (In this case, they were snowed in at a castle in remote Scotland, with no cell service, and the phone lines went out due to the storm.) It was also nice to have a reason why the main character started snooping around: Liza is a true crime podcaster, and so this was like having an inside scoop dumped in her lap.

But I think my favorite part of the story was the relationship aspect. Liza and Hanna are an established married couple when the story starts, but they have been having relationship trouble. Hanna booked this getaway as a surprise treat for Liza, but Liza would have rather been consulted on the vacation instead of surprised with one. It was very refreshing to have a story featuring an established couple at its heart, especially when the end result (spoiler) is not them splitting up to chase a shiny new relationship. Marriage can be hard, and it was really nice to have a fictional book show that in such a realistic way.

If you like Clue (the movie, not necessarily the game), you’ll probably like this. It was pure quirky, campy fun, plus a number

6

of non-graphic murders. The audiobook was pretty fun with all the voices. There’s a great balance of clues for people who like to try to solve it themselves and some complicated twists for people who like to be surprised. 

I liked our main characters Liza and Hanna once it hit about the halfway point. My least favorite part was their marriage troubles. There were so many other things going on that I don’t think it was necessary to include unless there was going to be a point where one wife genuinely suspected there was a slim possibility that the other could be a murderer. In any case, an Easter vacation was probably not what their marriage needed; it was to genuinely just talk to each other.