Published August 21st, 2025 by Michael Joseph
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Ficiton, Historical Mystery
Welcome to my bookish thoughts about The Game is Murder. Thank you Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
THIRTEEN GUESTS. THIRTEEN SUSPECTS. AN IMPOSSIBLE MURDER.
A MYSTERY YOU MUST SOLVE – OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES…
What if a Great Detective reinvestigated the most famous unsolved murder case of the century?
What if that Great Detective was you?
You have been invited to a very special murder mystery party.
Thirteen guests have been gathered – rather, thirteen suspects.
But only one of them is a murderer. And only you can find them.
Your task is simple. Listen to the witnesses, examine the evidence, and solve the case.
Be careful. Trust no one. In this story, all may not be as it seems.
The ultimate murder mystery is yours to solve.
A word of warning, though – catch the killer, or face the consequences…
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MY REVIEW:
You are invited to a murder mystery evening at a London home. But soon you realise that this night is not going to be your typical murder mystery evening. Because tonight you are being asked to solve a real murder – or face the consequences. There are thirteen guests and thirteen suspects. Can you unmask the killer?
YOU are the Reader and the Great Detective in this inventive murder mystery debut. Atmospheric, inventive and original, this isn’t your usual whodunnit. It starts out strong: full of mystery as you arrive at the home and take your seat at the table. You learn that the murder you will be solving is the murder of Sally Gardner, who was bludgeoned on November 7th, 1974 in this very house. The suspect in the crime, Lord John Verreman, vanished the next day. Now his son wants you to examine the evidence and decide if his father really did kill his nanny on that cold night all those years ago.
Debut author Hazell Ward has crafted a novel that feels unique. She grabs your attention from the start by talking directly to the reader, making you a part of the case and invested in solving it. And I felt even more invested as the crime in the story is based on the real life case of Lord Lucan, a case that has long fascinated me. There is a large cast of characters that I enjoyed reading for the most part, though it did sometimes get confusing. I liked how Ward captured the feeling of a 1970s dinner party with Babycham and cocktails, transporting me back fifty years to the night of the crime and adding an authenticity to the story.
The inspiration from classic detective fiction is evident throughout the book, with many references to the rules of these books and to titles and authors. Ward has taken these rules and added her own to create a new kind of narrative that puts the reader at its centre. It’s multi-layered, complex, full of red herrings and misdirection. You have to pay attention and I found it a bit confusing after a while.
The Game Is Murder is a creative and twisty debut that would be great for fans of books such as The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
Rating: ✮✮✮✰✰
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hazell Ward spent years as an adult education teacher, before completing an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She enjoyed it so much, that she is now working for a PhD. She was shortlisted for the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition in 2021, and won the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2023 for her story, Cast A Long Shadow, published by Honno Press.
She lives and works in Wrexham, Wales.
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BUY THE BOOK:
Bookshop.org* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx
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