Great premise for YA mystery readers everywhere. Good plot to sink your teeth into. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

The concept of this was a good idea however, it screamed Hunger games for me way to much the only difference was it was set on a cruise ship and they were trying to find the killer

Such an intriguing premise! I highly enjoyed this YA mystery. It was twisty and perfect! I will recommend this to young mystery readers in the branch!

Thank you to net galley for the advanced reading copy of the murder mystery race by Andrew s cohen. First off the formatting, this was not a ready book. The chapters are way too long. Very dry in the writing. I was excited at the premise but this really needs a lot more work before it will draw people to it. Right now it seems like a first draft. I feel like this has potential but not at it’s currently level.

The Murder Mystery Race
Fantasy, YA
Andrew S. Cohen
⭐️⭐️.5

I wasn't keen on the writing style. It was overly detailed when it didn't need to be, for example "I march to the fridge and grab an apple for breakfast. First, I wash the bright red apple and take a big bite into it. It is very sweet. I keep eating". It just makes everything so drawn out rather than getting to the plot.

Yes, this is a YA book but the characters came across as very immature. There's lots of whining and I almost expect them to stomp their feet or have a tantrum.

There were parts that I did like, such as the use of puzzles and clues.

This author is actually very young, so congratulations to him for writing this book and getting it published. This book wasn't for me but I'm sure there would be younger readers that would be interested.

I think after some improvements to the plot (taking out unnecessary scenes and information) as well as ironing out the inconsistencies, this book has potential.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

I found this book to be a bit lacking for me with the sentence structures to simple and the plot a little disjointed and too unrealistic, such as the main character being only 10, I feel he should be at least 16 maybe. However I have read the author is only 12 years old which is amazing and admirable and knowing this, I do think this is good with a great premise and the characters are interesting, it just might also suit that younger audience with a bit less violence. This is not for me but I do think there is an audience out there for it.

The Murder Mystery Race by Andrew S. Cohen is an intriguing and captivating read. Participants are challenged to solve a series of puzzles and clues in order to uncover the identity of a murderer. The race is filled with suspense and surprises, making it an unforgettable experience for all involved. With its cleverly crafted puzzles and engaging storyline, this review is sure to leave readers on the edge of their seats.

So I should start by saying- I wrote this review before I realised that a child had wrote the book. That being said, I still decided to publish this review due to honestly.

This book feels like it was written by a 10 year old. It’s very blunt and just reminds me of writing homework as a kid e.g “I gasped…” it’s very simple, short sentences and therefore I found it difficult to imagine the scene as the written imagery just wasn’t there for me.
The plot was….. violent for a child, but also very weird. I prefer books that are more true to the real world. Why would you send children on a boat to find a murderer?!

It also felt like there was a lack of editorial reviewing.

What could make this book better?
On a kindle, the chapters were just too long, it could do with being split into small chapters.
Changes to sentence structure.

I wish this author well on his journey to a successful writing career, unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me or my readers.

Firstly, I believe that the author of this book is only 12 years old and to have written a whole book that is ready to be published at such a young age is a big achievement! There are some really good parts to this book which I will talk about, but there are a few things that I also did not like about the book but I want to give as much constructive criticism as I can because of the authors age.

Good parts - One thing that I liked about this book were the characters. As a 22 year old I do think that the main character being 10 years old is way too young to be participating in a 'find the murderer' mystery cruise with so much danger. I also feel like I couldn't relate to him because of his age, but I do think that younger readers will not find this a problem and will like this character. I also liked that he made friends and an alliance with a boy and a girl also around his age. Friendship is really important in a story. His family life including an awkward relationship with his step-father and a fun relationship with his step-uncle was a good addition to the book, I loved his Uncle P! Also, the spelling and punctuation in this book was perfect which was good. The ending was also good, and I like that it kept some of the plot open-ended so that there could be a sequel.

Other thoughts - In quite a lot of the book, the dialogue sounds a bit unusual as you're reading it. It doesn't always come across as though it's a 10 year old boy talking because sometimes he uses a really big, complicated word. Sometimes there were even words included that I had never seen before! The author clearly has an impressive vocabulary, but sometimes simpler is better. Also, I love a murder mystery plot but some of the plot in this was unbelievable and disjointed in places. There were quite a few sections that could have been cut out as they didn't progress the story. One example of this is happens a few times in the book, where Andrew and his friends decide to meet at someones room at a certain time and have nothing to do until then. Instead of time jumping to the appropriate time when they meet, the author includes scenes where Andrew just goes back to his room and describes how he lies down and goes to sleep, which is not always necessary. Also, I think that Andrew being so good at fighting and throwing knives would be more realistic if he had more training, at the beginning of the book we find out that he has never thrown a knife before. Then he practices twice and has a perfect aim for the rest of the book. If he had more time to practice before the MMR or if he had been practicing since he was younger then this would make more sense.

Overall, this is a very imaginative book and it's full of action and danger. There were some good plot twists and a lot of mystery, and the ending was left a bit open for a sequel. I think that a younger audience would really love this book.