I completely loved this take on the Clue game/movie. I received a copy via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. In the Hall with the Knife will go down as one of my most enjoyed books for this year. I am an avid fan of the Clue movie.I especially love how the ending was handled. I do not want to spoil it for those who have not seen the movie. I have not played the game so I was unaware of the Orchid character. I have now gone and found an online version of the game and plan to familiarize myself with these updates. I was unaware that the game was evolving. This sounds like fun.

One thing I can say is that the reader does not feel like they are just reading a transcript of the movie. The author has definitely made her own twist on the story. The movie had comedic aspects where the book definitely has dark turns. They both provide a great mystery. It is difficult to discuss this book without some comparisons to the movie. My interpretation is that the author welcomes this as she is definitely a fan.In the Hall with the Knife includes some of my favorite book themes, i.e., mystery,young adult, in a boarding school environment. The book does a great job respecting how each of the characters are protagonists, Not just one of the characters. Each character has a background or problem they were escaping when choosing to come to the school-and throw in the antagonism from some of the locals and ramp up the tension with an emergency or disaster and each person starts to show more of their true character and secrets start to be exposed. It is a recipe for a well written story and a great beginning to a new series.

I was nine years old when the movie Clue came out. We lived out in the country with no kids close enough for me to play with, and my sister is five years older than me, so she rarely wanted to do anything with me. Because of this, when I wasn’t wandering in the woods or reading, I was watching movies. And I must have seen Clue at least 20 times.

After reading In the Hall with the Knife, I believe Diana Peterfreund has watched it even more than I have! You could feel the love for the original story and characters in this book. Her nods to the movie were wonderful. Peacock having a meltdown like Mrs. White did in the movie and the splitting up of the students to search the three floors, to just name a couple similarities.

I really enjoyed how adult this YA book felt, as well as its complexity. The romantic relationships were not all wishy-washy with the, does the other person really love me vibe, being rehashed over and over. Instead you get a power couple who are not even intimate, and the others are not even looking at each other in that light because they are too busy trying to survive the raging storm and each other.
The descriptions of the mansion and its surrounding grounds were the perfect amount of detail so you could easily visualize everything. If you’ve played the board game or watched the movie, you know there is going to be secret passages. The teen who originally finds one is interesting in regards to the plans they have for the passage. It plays into the thought of secret passages being used for nefarious reasons. And then how one of the other passages is found makes for a bit of levity.

You get to know some of the characters a bit more in the first book in A Clue Mystery series. But Peterfreund still gives you enough insight into the others to make sure you are questioning everyone’s motives and who the killer could be. She also ends it in such a way that you know other characters are going to get more detailed in future books as the storyline progresses. And while the main mystery is tied up at the end, there is a small cliffhanger that plays perfectly for the next book.

While the killer wasn’t a big surprise with Peterfreund’s excellent placement of clues and some of the red herrings that were thrown in, I still found In the Hall with the Knife an excellent read, and am very much looking forward to the next one in A Clue Mystery series.

What a great novel to bring back the characters from Clue in a whole new way! I loved this series starter and can’t wait for the sequel to see what happens next at Blackbrook Academy and what our sleuths will uncover!

Clue is one of my favorite movies of all time, so as soon as I found out there was a book following the same idea, I requested immediately from NetGalley. However, being one of my favorite movies I was also a bit skeptical. I wasn't sure it would be a good idea to mess with a story people love so much.
I shouldn't have worried because Diana Peterfreund does a wonderful job with this YA/mystery book. I reminded me a tiny little bit to 'The Naturals' series, so when I read Jennifer Lynn Barnes' name in the acknowledgments, it made all the sense in the world.
The book uses Clue's character names and some great lines from the movie, and it also starts when a group of people is stuck together in a house, each one with their own secrets, when suddenly one of them turns up dead. Sadly, although I kept expecting someone saying "Mr. Boddy, dead-- AGAIN!", it never happens :D

Although it has some serious formatting and editing issues, it was still a good, fun, story and I will definitely read the second installment as soon as it gets out!

I love the Clue board and I loved reading the Clue books when I was a kid. I found the idea of a teen Clue book intriguing. Overall I felt it was a solid book with many of the hallmarks of a locked room mystery. The biggest drawback for me was the characters. As the book is set at an exclusive boarding school, the majority of the traditional characters are students and they felt very stereotypical teen characters. I hope that the next book allows the characters to develop.

I grew up reading the Clue books and I’m nearly 30 and still have some of the books in my bookcase. They were dark, exciting, and triggered your mind to think and solve. It was everything.

Unfortunately this book was not what I expected and seemed like a cliche of the characters as well as millennials. It was hard keeping track of all the characters and the plot was pretty weak.

I did enjoy the mystery aspect and of course the throwback memories of Clue but unfortunately this wasn’t for me.

When I first saw this book, I was so hesitant to pick it up.

I have this “thing” with the whole:
“Let’s remake or bring back everything that was glorious from Shelby’s childhood…and then RUIN it”.
I’m ACTUALLY old. So I grew up in the 80’s.

Some of the atrocities that they have committed so far I will STILL get ranty about if you bring it up.
It’s probably crappy remakes that will push me over the edge one day. That will be what eventually turns me into a bitter old woman.
HOWEVER, I HAD TO GIVE THIS ONE A SHOT, BECAUSE CLUE HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS.

IT BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF GOOD TIMES WITH SOMEONE LONG GONE.
PLAYING FOR HOURS, MAKING THE NEVER ENDING RAINY AUTUMN DAYS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST SEEM NOT SO LONG. NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD.

REMEMBER THOSE DAYS? THE ONES THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE BORING AT THE TIME, BUT YOU WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO REVISIT NOW?

EXCEPT, EVEN IF YOU COULD, YOU COULDN’T REALLY, BECAUSE,( I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU), BUT I KNOW MY BRAIN IS WAAAYY TOO “ADULT-Y” TO EVER ROLL AROUND WITH “NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD.”

THE CLOSEST I COME TO THAT IS IN BOOKS. THE PERFECT TOOL FOR ESCAPISM…

SO, HOW DID THIS ONE DO ON THE ‘HEAD IN THE CLOUDS’ SCALE?
I. FREAKING. LOVED. IT!



First of all, hats off to the author, for braving some dangerous territory. Cult classics are never easy. She was able to creatively take the game we all know and love, turn it into a story, but somehow give it duality. The story is its own, but at the same time the reader is very aware of all the things that parallel traditionally as well.

The setting may be a secluded elite private Academy in Maine, but you can be damn sure we visited The Library, Billiard Room, Study, Conservatory, and even Secret Passages.

The weapons? Some are more obvious than others, but you will notice them all mentioned. It almost feels like you’re finding “Easter Eggs” here and there throughout the book, little nods here and there.

For instance: I think one of my favorite little plays on the original is the creative spin on character Colonel Mustard. He is replaced by a young man named Sam “Mustard” Maestor. A transfer FROM MILITARY SCHOOL. Do you know it took me a good while to catch on to that? JEEZ. I hate when you are kinda excited that you figured something out, but also, you know that you should probably be embarrassed at how long it took and NEVER speak of it. To anyone.

As for our characters: THIS is where it really counted for me.
I knew that the BONES of the general idea of CLUE were fleshy enough to make a decent story.
BUT…as I read the synopsis, ( Elite Academy, BIG storm, mismatched group of Alumni are forced to wait it out together… then BAM! MURDER…)
I’ll admit, my first thought was:
“If you make the characters some stereotypical, vapid, cliched versions of Prep School Kids, I SWEAR ON THE GREAT BOB ROSS…!”

I was actually extremely impressed by how well developed they were!
Here I was, thinking I’d find some cringy dialoge, annoying Middle School level drama, and that it was going to play out like a Soap Opera, but instead, I found a level of depth that was so refreshing.



Will you still have your typical stereotypes? Yep. Why?
Because, If we’re being honest, the game itself already has the personalities of each of the characters pretty pigeonholed into some stereotypical categories.


If anything, the author was able to take that and give these kids some backstories, some secrets, some insecurities to maybe give the reader some insight into WHY they have become these stereotypical kids.

I didn’t really feel that any of the characters were portrayed in an over the top manner stereotypically, either. If any, it’d be MAYBE 2 side characters, but in my opinion, that’s done in good fun, like a wink to maybe that character in EVERY high school movie EVER DONE.

Here’s what I have to say about the characters and the stereotypes. Because I’m sure there will be critics complaining:

YOU’RE GOING INTO THIS KNOWING THAT IT’S BASED OFF OF A KITCHY BOARD GAME FROM THE 80’S. (Maybe even 70’s. I should do my research before I get sassy.)
Anyways, If you can’t see the book for what it is, IT’S PROBABLY NOT FOR YOU. This isn’t Tolstoy. Have some fun and LIGHTEN UP.

So, anyways, the book is bounced around from each character’s POV as they discover a murder has been committed and each person subsequently tries to deduce what happened.

Are they safe? Is the murderer next to them?? GASP!!

As suspicions mount and paranoia escalates, so do the twists and turns.

If I had to summarize my experience reading this, it’d be just GOOD OLE FUN.
I’m so happy this is part of a trilogy, I’d happily read more.

I’d recommend this to anyone ( I thought this was funny, it says on the website: “Between the ages of 12-99” ) And I concur.


I’M GIVING THIS ONE A 5 KNIVES.
BECAUSE I JUST HAD SO MUCH FUN. GOOD TIMES AND NOSTALGIA WITH A TWIST.
*I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS FROM THE PUBLISHER (THANK YOU, ABRAMS, FOR BEING ESPECIALLY KIND WITH ME OF LATE. YOU'VE GIVEN ME MORE CHANCES THAN MOST, I APPRECIATE IT, SINCERELY. AND NETGALLEY. THANK YOU!
ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.

Review has been posted on my blog, Instagram, and Goodreads. Will post on Edelweiss as well. (links below.)

If you are a fan of the board game clue or the movie than In the Hall with the knife is the prefect book. I loved how the characters from the classic game was intertwined in this story. The mystery had be guessing till the very end who dun it. Great book for all ages and I can't wait to read the next one.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of the novel. I enjoyed both the boardgame and the movie so I was excited about the book. It geared for a ya audience. Read it if you like both.

This book was...fine. I love the concept, but the execution was off. The side plots and character backgrounds are all over the place and very cliche.

Loosely based on the Clue boardgame with hints of the movie from the 80s, In the Hall with the Knife follows several teens at an elite boarding school in Maine stuck in a residence during a storm. When Headmaster Boddy's body is found in the conservatory, the students must figure out who is responsible before the killer decides to clean up loose ends. Told from multiple perspectives, each character is hiding something from the other students - some secrets more deadly than others.

This was a light mystery for teens. I enjoyed some of the characters more than others so it was a bit hit or miss for me. If you have nostalgia for the boardgame or the movie, I'm sure you will enjoy the tone of this book. I'm not sure how well it will work for a teen though - it will depend on how much exposure they have had to the game.

I loved Clue, both the board game and movie, so I was pretty pumped for this book. It’s good, entertaining, and I enjoyed it.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, because it's Clue and all, but I felt it came up short. The plot was a little slow for my liking. I loved the concept and set-up, but felt that the story lacked something. Since it's supposed to be a series, I'm wondering what the next book will be like.

The butler did it.

Just kidding, there is no butler in this story, though that’s about the level of predictability we’re dealing with.

In the Hall with the Knife is a fun book that I didn’t mind reading at all, but the solve is as obvious as they come.

<The reader, in the first half of the book, with the cliched mystery plot>

Sorry, I had to.

I liked the setting for the story and the pacing is good. The writing isn’t great (“...crackling on the ground like breakfast cereal.” Wait...what?), but it also isn’t completely awful. Had the murderer not been so painfully obvious, I would have actually said this was a pretty good attempt to adapt Clue to written form.

Aside from the obviousness of the culprit, another thing that bugged me: The reader is given information immediately about the weapon and the location. The “who” is the only thing left up in the air. There is a slight complication regarding the first two, but it still felt a bit disingenuous to the spirit of the game to not write a story where we have the opportunity to figure out all three.

I thought the rooms and the names from the game were well incorporated into the book. The weapons (and they’re all there, even if we know exactly which one the killer used right off the bat) felt forced. Technically speaking, a rope and a wrench do make an appearance, but it’s a cringey, dull thud of a plot point.

In all, this is fun as long as you don’t expect too much. And I think it’s a good pick for readers on the younger end of the YA demographic: Murdery enough to be exciting, but nothing too graphic or upsetting and zero other adult content.

A decent, light mystery. I’ll read the rest of the trilogy.

2.5/5

Although I haven't played the board game CLUE in quite a while, nor have I watched the movie, this book is based on them. I find the game to be fun, but this book, maybe not so much.

Perhaps it's just me, but the names/nicknames made things a bit confusing at times because actual names and nicknames were used interchangeably. I'm pretty sure the weird nicknames were the names in the game, and not gonna lie, they didn't really fit the characters.

For the mystery itself, it was predictable, at least for me. I had figured out who the murderer was pretty early on and I figured out the reason later. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be obvious to the reader or not, but I wished I hadn't figured it out so easily because the mystery was the only thing that motivated me to finish the book. Maybe that's why it took me forever to complete it.

The plot wasn't that bad, but the characters weren't that interesting. Sure each character had their own distinct roles that set them apart from another, but for a majority of the characters, their background (mysterious or not) didn't contribute much to the story. It's a shame because there was potential.

Overall, this adaptation was a miss for me. I see the potential in it and if you are a fan of the game or movie, you might enjoy this more than me.

This book is based upon the beloved board game "Clue." However, unlike the beloved game from my childhood, I did not love (or even like) the book that much.

The book borrows the familiar rooms, weapons, and people (I think? The names weren't 100% familiar, but I'm not sure if it's because my version of "Clue" is like 20 years old or if it's because this is set at a boarding school and the author felt the need to make the characters hip and cool) from the board game, but after that, don't look too deep for any familiarity.

Honestly, the book is just your typical whodunit. Nothing really stands out; the author uses all of the typical tropes. Granted, there's nothing wrong with that, but it just didn't wow me.

If you grew up with the game and movie of CLUE then this book will be one for you to grab!! I thought it was a lot of fun to share with my kids something from my own childhood. This being a young adult title just made it all the more fun! I loved that the author used things from the game! The flow of the story was pretty perfect and I can not wait for the next installment!!



Go Into This One Knowing: Did someone say CLUE?