A young adult Clue with puny names and teen angst. It's amazing. Blackbrook Academy is set in the woods of Maine, lovely on a good day, deadly during a storm. A body turns up, namely Mr. Bodie the headmaster, and all eyes are on the students stranded in the dorm. It's corny in the best way, and sets up a series.

Yesss...Clue! As a preteen and teen in the 90s I was fascinated by and loved the board game Clue. When I head about In the Hall with the Knife, I was pretty excited. This book did not disappoint! Also, the novel is an easy sell to my students. They may not have been born in the 90s, but they love this story. I recommend to adults who are nostalgic for their childhoods , fans of boarding school stories/mysteries, and any preteen or teen looking for a good mystery.

The first in a trilogy based on the classic board game Clue, “In the Hall with the Knife” is a YA thriller set in an East Coast Prep School. With a plethora of characters to keep readers guessing “ who dunnit” (all with colour names), this is a novel that had great potential but ultimately left me wanting less in order to enjoy the story more.

Usually a sucker for prep school settings, I fear this novel struggles due too much going on to really take it all in and become invested in the atmosphere, suspects, and plot. Too many characters with too few descriptions left me struggling to connect to key players and caring little about the drama that unravels around them. Cliffhangers are a plenty as many strings are left undone in anticipation of the next book.

Fans of the board game will want to give this one a try but those hoping for a dark and twisty atmospheric read may be disappointed.

In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund is the first book in the new young adult Clue Mystery series. The story in this new young adult mystery/thriller is based on the board game of Clue. As a kid I loved playing and who know over the years that game would end up with so much attention. Seeing that the books were based on the board game I took a closer look and what the author has done is set this in a boarding school which also has always been a draw for me so of course i had to check the series out.

The story is set at Blackbrook Academy which is located in the woods of Maine and takes place during a big storm. The students of the academy, Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry are stranded at the academy along with Mrs White and a handful of other school employees. Already what seems like an endless night becomes even more unbearable when the headmaster is found dead of what seems to be a murder.

In the Hall with the Knife was told from multiple points of view along the way but was easy enough to follow, especially when you are reading about people with the oh so familiar names of the board game. It was perhaps a little campy and silly but it did bring a smile to my face while reading. While this first book came in at three and a half stars for me I had hope that the next in the trilogy will be even better as I will know the characters and what to expect of the style in book two.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I absolutely loved this book. The author did a phenomenal job of using the game "Clue" to create a story. From the conservatory to the billiards, to the study, the library, the secret passages, the weapons, and the characters, the author turned the game into a compelling story.

The characters were well developed. I particularly liked Orchid and Vaughn's backstories. The author does use the character names from the game: Scarlet, Plum, Peacock, Green, White, and Mustard; Some are used as nicknames, first names, or last names. All the characters had secrets that they were keeping from each other. Some secrets were revealed, while others remained unknown. The ending of the book left me curious about how two of the characters backstories will play out in the next book.

The plot was enticing and the book was well paced. The storyline is similar to if you played the game. It has plot twists and accusations, secrets and lies, and I think the author did a great job keeping us questioning who the killer was.

I read the book in two days. I highly recommend reading this book, even if you've never played the game Clue, and cannot wait for the second one to come out.

What a fun story!! The 1985 Clue movie is a big favorite of mine and I've always loved the Clue board game so I was super excited to see a book based on these characters. I thought that In the Hall with a Knife was a fun adaptation of the game and really enjoyed the movie references that were peppered into the story. I loved the multiple POVs and how each was as distinct and unique are each of the characters. There was lots of fun red herrings and had trouble putting this story down once I started it. Where this one fell a bit flat for me was with the final reveal as the killer didn't seem like the killing type. Though I suppose that everyone does have their breaking point....even **********

Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the second book!

I really really liked In the Hall with the Knife. I had a hard time at first keeping track of the characters, once I did though I really enjoyed it. I loved all of the characters, I loved how they were all different. I also really liked the mystery and how it actually felt like the old clue movie, which is one of my favorite movies. I loved the twist on it and I couldn't put this book down.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In the Hall with the Knife was so much fun and the exact vibe I was hoping for. This story brought all of the Clue movie over-the-top drama and I was living for it. I decided to pick up this novel over Halloween week. I had no idea how perfect that choice would end up being.

Set at a posh boarding school, Blackbrook Academy, on the coast of Maine, this story follows multiple perspectives including Peacock, Green, Mustard, Scarlet and Mrs. White. When a winter storm hits, the academy's access to the mainland gets cut off, stranding a hand full of students, the headmaster and a couple of other school employees.

They corral everyone into Tudor House, which seems to be a highpoint and therefore escaped major flooding and damage. The manse generally acts as a girls boarding house, with Mrs. White at its head, but they manage to find room for everyone. The house includes all of the stately charm you would anticipate with hardwoods, stained glass, and rooms such as the lounge, billiard room and conservatory. Oh, and secret passageways, don't forget the secret passageways.

When on the first night, the headmaster ends up dead, our intrepid characters are left to figure out what happened. Some suggest an accident, other suggest suicide, but very quickly it is clear that it was murder.

I had a ton of fun reading this. It was campy, it was ridiculous and I thought it was a blast. I think if you go into it with the right mindset, you will have fun with it to. It is definitely not a story to take too seriously. I'm actually really excited to pick up the next installment. This one left off at an interesting and sinister spot.

I want more!!!

I love a good murder mystery and IN THE HALL WITH THE KNIFE hit all the right notes for me! There was mystery! Boarding school! And a classic whodunnit inspired (as was the title) by the board game Clue. I loved every moment of this :)



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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I have never played Clue nor watched the movie so I came into this book with zero expectations. Having said that, i thought this book was a mixed bag. Moreover, I felt like we really don't get to know about the big twist surrounding Vaughn? I felt like even though a lot happens in the story, we really don't get to know much about the characters and I found myself not really caring for what happened to any of them. But after reading this book, I am tempted to watch the movie to see the connections between the book and the movie.

Blackbrook Academy is an elite school in Maine with rigorous competition. When a storm strikes, a group of students, their headmaster, and other campus personnel are left stranded at Blackbrook. Students Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry all have something to hide and something they’re fighting for. When the headmaster is found dead in the conservatory, everyone knows something dark is afoot. The only question is who killed him...and will they kill again before the storm clears?

Diana Peterfreund’s IN THE HALL WITH THE KNIFE is a delightful mystery romp, perfect for fans of Knives Out and murder mysteries. Blackbrook Academy is rich in creepy, academic atmosphere that becomes extra spooky when the storm hits. This is the perfect read during a dark stormy night when you want your spine to tingle.

While balancing an ensemble cast during the logistics of a storm can be complicated, Peterfreund weaves a seamless narrative that places you right in Blackbrook Academy alongside the students. Each character has an interesting potential motive for the murder, and even while I wanted not to trust them, it was hard to fight becoming invested in their story and hoping they weren’t the killer. I especially enjoyed the range of relationships between the characters, from ex-significant others to political allies to reluctant friends. This is a book rich with sharp dialogue and surprising growth.

While the main mystery is solved, IN THE HALL WITH A KNIFE leaves plenty of other mysteries open to continue in the next book.

In the Hall With the Knife is the first of what is to be a series of books based on the Clue (British Cluedo) board game. The novel is set at a posh, elite boarding school in Maine. The school caters to the intellectually elite student. The author worked the expected names into the novel nicely. I award bonus points in making nearly every name in the novel a color, including Rusty the handyman and the school itself, Blackbrook. Fans of the 1985 movie will love a few nods to some favorite scenes, and fans of the board game will appreciate the room descriptions. Each room and weapon is worked organically into the plot. The cataclysmic freeze/flood and how the characters fared in it was uneven and not always believable. The murderer reveal seemed like a stretch. I give this one 4 stars for playing on my fond memories, but the story was intended for younger minds who perhaps don't have my rose-colored glasses.

Review: 4 Stars

I requested an ARC of this book because of a recommendation from Susan over at Novel Lives. She kept talking about how excited she was for this one and after she read it she told me that it was a good quick read. I’m so grateful that she got this book on my radar because I wound up really enjoying it. I grew up playing the Clue board game with my family and I absolutely love the movie. This Clue mystery re-telling gave me all the nostalgic feels and was everything I wanted it to be and more.

While the plot is similar to the board game, it differs quite a bit from the movie. I really loved that Diana Peterfreund decided to have the book set at a boarding school rather than a mansion. The classic suspects were students and school staff rather than party attendants. I absolutely love boarding school settings and the YA twist on Clue made it even more interesting. While there are many differences from the movie, the classic mystery still gave me major nostalgic vibes as I tried hard to puzzle out whodunit. The book had me guessing up until a chapter or two before the murderer was finally revealed.

The book was written in third person a the point of view switched between the student suspects. All of the classic Clue characters are present with the addition of Orchid, who actually wound up being one of my favorite characters. There were also two very minor characters, Karlee and Kayla, but they didn’t play a huge role in the book. Every student seemed to be hiding something and several of them had really good motives to kill Mr. Boddy, the headmaster. The teenage drama, secrets and betrayals really had me invested and interested in how this story would turn out.

Overal I am so happy that I got a copy of this book. I have to watch Clue again after reading this not only because I love that movie so much and Tim Curry does an amazing job as the butler in it, but also because this book has me feeling so nostalgic. I tore through this re-telling of the classic whodunit and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I am absolutely thrilled that this is going to be a series and I can’t wait for the next installment. If you like Clue, fast paced mysteries or boarding school settings I would highly recommend you read this book.

All of the classic Clue characters are back in a new murder mystery. This YA reimagining has Mrs. White as the private school "house mother" to privileged teenagers Scarlet, Plum, Mustard, Green, Orchid, and Peacock during the worst storm Blackbrook has ever seen. Stranded on the campus of Blackbrook with no power, everyone is forced to huddle together at the Tudor House for warmth and safety. But when Headmaster Boddy is found murdered, no one is safe -- and everyone is a suspect. It's up to this eclectic group of teenagers, all with their own secrets to hide, to solve this murder mystery before another character meets an untimely end.

Thoughts...
Full disclosure: I am a HUGE Clue fan! I have loved the 80's campy movie and the murder mystery board game since I was a child, so I just had to get my hands on a copy of this young adult retelling of my favorite murder mystery story. When I heard this was the start of a trilogy, I was even more excited. That was short-lived, however. The book started off strong, albeit a bit confusing with such a big cast of characters with their own complicated backstories and secrets, and I enjoyed the "easter eggs" for the original game and movie, such as the references to the classic game weapons and searching of the house in pairs. Unfortunately, though, that's where my enjoyment ended. The plot moved slowly after Mr. Boddy's death and some of the characters' storylines were confusing. I assume part of this was to set up for the rest of the trilogy, but the combination of the open-endedness and plot weaknesses took away some of the fun murder mystery feel for me. I am a pretty harsh critic of horror/suspense/thriller, though, and I would recommend this to my high school students because it could be a good "intro" to the mystery and murder mystery genres. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this title.

I loved playing Clue growing up so reading this was so fun. I love that it was centered on teens in a boarding school. The characters were fun and interesting. I will be recommending this to readers!

In the past, I have had mixed feelings about YA mysteries, but In the Hall with the Knife was a surprisingly good, twisty read. Told from six different perspectives, the story takes place at Blackbrook Academy, near the small town of Rocky Point, Maine. A nor’ easter has arrived and Headmaster Boddy decides to evacuate the remaining students and staff to Tudor House so that everyone can safely ride out the storm. Unfortunately, it is not long before someone is found dead in the conservatory. Was the death an accident? Suicide? A victim of a looter? Or is one of the houseguests of Tudor House a murder?

Each character has his or her own share of secrets as well as a motive for committing murder. It was fun to journey along with each character as he or she learned the other houseguests’ secrets as well as the identity of the murder. The bickering between characters was tiring at times, but I was still intrigued enough to finish the story. The novel is a tribute to both fans of the board game and the cult classic movie. I could not help but feel nostalgic every time that I came across an Easter egg in the book. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

This was so incredibly boring. None of the characters had any significant personality, and it felt like the entire book was just a bunch of whiny teenagers being deliberately obtuse about literally everything. Everyone had some deep, dark secret and I just. Didn't. Care.

For once in my life, I actually figured out the culprit before the big reveal. I'm pretty dumb about mysteries so I usually don't figure it out before the ending, but it really didn't feel like the author was trying to be subtle at all. All the red herrings were obvious red herrings, and the real murderer was obviously the real murderer. This was so underwhelming :(

Clue was one of my favorite games and movies growing up so I HAD to give this a shot. I will be honest I went in with VERY LOW expectations. While I didn't absolutely love this it was still a fun easy read. The characters were distinct and the setting was good. I do wish there was more character development --and this being the first book in the series I am sure there will be more. While I guessed the murderer pretty early on it didn't ruin the rest of the story for me. I also am very interested in one of our character's background story so hopefully they touch on that in the future books. Overall, a quick read that kept my attention.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the story - I mean, c'mon- Clue is like, the best movie. I would read or watch anything inspired by it. So, overall, liked the premise, enjoyed the story at face value, but the e-arc was not great in its formatting.

Super cute YA murder mystery based on the CLUE game. I loved the young adult slant and the boarding school setting.