Review: Immersive entertaining mystery!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 18, 2013
"They will be playing a game. A game with the highest of stakes." (loc. 174)Oh, goodness! For me this book was beyond fantastic as it took elements of my favorite mystery of all time (Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None,) and mixed it with some CSI, Clue, Ellery Queen, and even the Saw franchise to create a truly chilling, reader participation murder mystery as everyone tries to find out whodunnit. I was hooked from the very beginning and I couldn't put the book down, it was so good! It sort of felt like several separate murder mysteries all components of a larger complex mystery, in which I, unfortunately, did not guess right. DRATS!"Because not only had ten guests arrived at the Westlake Estate that afternoon, but its owner and host was one of those ten." (loc. 270)What became the routine set-up of the murders were extremely thrilling and full of suspense as the author, Anthony Zuiker, describes wonderfully the different clues, the surroundings, the components of the game (Crime Scene, Morgue & Last Known Whereabouts,) as well as the riddles and challenges. I was so glad to be a participate in this twisted game, but even more glad that I'm not one of the guests, ha!"Once again, he had to fight off the strange notion that he was getting himself involved in something he would later regret. Something that he wouldn't ever be able to escape." (loc. 64)Giles, the prestigious butler, I am a fan of you and I'm counting on reading more. If there are more Whodunnit? books I will absolutely need to read more! The ending, while feeling a bit weird and off from the rest of the book, left a bit of a creepy chill in me so I am surely praying there will be more books! I'm also way more psyched to see the show airing on ABC on June 23rd! I'll be front and center in my living room with my snacks and my wits!This book easily brought back the essence of a real whodunnit mystery, in a way that I haven't seen in a while. It's a mystery that I'll want to read again and again, and I'm so grateful that I've found this! If you love Agatha Christie novels, you'll love this! You have a hankering for C.S.I., you'll want to read this! You have a sick fascination with the games of the Saw movies, you'll crave this!I took copious notes and investigative remarks throughout the book, and still I couldn't figure it out! Do you think you can figure out Whodunnit?"Fail to solve the crime, and you may be the next to die." (loc. 418)---------------------First Line: "As the taxi drove up the long gravel driveway leading toward the mansion at the center of the Westlake Estate, the lone passenger adjusted his tie and tried to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that he was making the biggest mistake of his life." (loc. 49)Last Line: "And that curse was real and he would never be able to escape it." (loc. 2476)---------------------Galley provided by NetGalley via Hyperion*Quotes are from uncorrected advanced galleys and may change before going to press. Please refer to the final book for official quotes.