I requested this book solely on the premise and the comp this book got to Clue. And I love a good cozy mystery. Unfortunately, there was a few things that kept pulling me out of the story. The biggest one being that it seemed like we were having a POV switch but the POV never actually switched. It was weird and happened several times and it pulled me out of the story each time. I ended up DNFing this one around the 45% mark.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I was really excited about this book -- Alexis Hall, a locked room mystery inspired by Clue -- but it was ultimately a big letdown for me. The heavy emphasis on the main characters' failing marriage was depressing and all other aspects of the story were too shallowly drawn to have an impact. I couldn't visualize any of the characters and could only keep them separate based on their Clue counterparts. Also, to have it end the way it did, with multiple murders being committed for banal reasons...ugh, what even was the point?

I pushed through the entire thing but did not enjoy it.

I normally love everything this author writes but this was just not for me. I didn't love the characters or really even the plot.

Not for me. First there was the difficult relationship between the two married women Liza and Hanna which was too much in the foreground. Second, the characters were all a bit much, so outspoken (the colonel, vicar, detective, Sir Richard, the other couple that kept bickering) to my humble opinion.

Cute quirky Murder mystery. I thought it was a bit…. Weird but I did enjoy the characters and setting. Alexis really has a knack with descriptions. Would recommend

I had a tough time getting into this book. In fact, I ended up putting it down after several chapters. The two characters were not very likeable. They were constantly at each other's throats. It made you wonder how they stayed married. But not only were they grumpy. Virtually all of the characters they met at the hotel were miserable.

I know that there are lots of miserable people in the real world. But that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy reading about them. Next time, let's get more likeable characters!

This was a very fun, cute and lovely cosy mystery.
It was my first (and definitely not my last) cosy mystery, and I enjoyed it for how easy and lovely it was to read.
I would love this one as an audio book, too, because that would just add to my love of it.

Murder Most Actual is a fun, LGBTQ+ friendly, cozy, amateur sleuth, romantic mystery by Alexis Hall. Released 9th Nov 2021, it's 302 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats. One additional codicil for retail buyers: the book is not currently available on Amazon and seems to be marketed exclusively through Kobo.

This is such an interesting modern day mystery with a golden age feel. The setting is an isolated castle in Scotland with a fixed set of suspects which has a bit of a Christie And Then There Were None meets Clue vibe. The main character is a podcaster who is fascinated with true crime and who wants a weekend getaway for herself and her partner to try to patch up their failing marriage. They get more than they bargained for when murder follows.

The plotting and characterizations are competent and engaging. Some of the dialogue was a bit tropey and over the top, but not extremely so. There's a fair bit of drama and relationship angst along with the romance, which will certainly please readers who enjoy a large side of romance in their cozy mysteries. Since it's a cozy mystery, the murders occur off-page (though there are mentions of blood and violence in the text of course). The language is a bit rough for the average cozy mystery ("F bombs", shit, damn, and bloody). The spelling and idiom are UK English (torch, biscuits, etc), but shouldn't pose any problems for readers from elsewhere in context.

Three and a half stars. For readers who love large helpings of romance and campiness in their cozies, it's a 4+.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The premise of this story drew me in. It almost sits between a thriller where things are going terribly wrong in a hotel and a cozy mystery, with one protagonist trying to use her amateur detective skills to (successfully) crack the mystery.
A couple decides to take a holiday to take a break and recharge their marriage but finds themselves cut off from the outside world when they get to the remote location. This was supposed to be a good thing so that their busy lives could be put on hold as they spent quality time together. But when people around them start to die, and everyone is snowed in on location, the situations feel really dire.
The writing was entertaining, and some of the characters were more intriguing and entertaining than others. There were multiple strands of the story, and I will not go into the details because that would be too revealing. The mystery itself and its resolution was my favourite part of the entire tale. I must mention that there was one particular plotline that I thought the story would have done better without. It changed the tone of the story and did not add much suspense to the rest.
Because of that additional thought process, I felt like the story dragged a little. It took me longer than it should have to finish, given the simplicity of the narrative, it should have been easier. The relationship conversations between Liza and Hanna were well done and added some depth to the story.
It is not easy to write a story with this kind of a setup, and although I enjoyed the overall story and would probably read another book by the author, this is not one I would especially recommend.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This adorable cozy mysteries follows a true crime podcaster and her wife on a weekend getaway to Scotland where the two become wrapped up in discovering who's behind a series of murders, hoping they won't be next. Very Clue-esque and cute. Highly recommended.

Another winner from Alexis Hall! I will read anything they publish at this point. Truly enjoyed this mystery and hope to see more like it!

This book was fun in a way I forgot that mystery books could be if that makes sense? It was cozy and the setting of a small, luxury boutique hotel nestled in the Scottish Highlands, cut off due to snow somehow seemed to raise the stakes.

Places of comfort being turned into crime scenes is a thing for me, but only in fiction.

The cast of characters (suspects) is ridiculous and I loved them all so much. They’re over the top in one of the best ways possible, reminding me of Clue and a lot of the classic mysteries.

Liza and Hanna were two characters that I loved but who frustrated me endlessly because I just wanted to beg them to talk and listen to each other without snapping or attacking the other. This book might be a mystery but at the heart of it is a relationship that might not yet be broken but is fractured and in need of some work.

To see two characters try to work together, when they’re not sure if they should still be together was good, and the admittance of wrongdoing between both of them was good to see.

This book was fun, and often outrageous, and I loved it.

A little off the mark, but all together an entertaining read. Murder Most Actual is much closer to the cozy-mystery genre than the classic locked-room mysteries, but that doesn’t stop the reader’s thrill of playing whodunit. The solutions to the mysteries were reasonably satisfying, but nothing memorable. Guests are stuck in a secluded mansion with no access to the outside world, and then the murder starts.

The draw of this story seems to be the interesting mix of characters- they’re either entirely fleshed out or over the top caricature. The couple at the heart of the story – Liza and Hanna- are the shining high point of the novel. They’re portrayed with such empathy and realism that their contrast with the rest of the cast at times felt jarring. The supporting characters are a mashup of mystery cliches and Clue game pieces. That’s entertaining, but the pairing of those over-the-top elements with the relatable main couple might not be the right fit for everyone.

I enjoyed the book and I think others will too, as long as they’re fans of fluffier mystery reads instead of the more serious novels in the genre.

I really really wanted to love this book. Being a fan of Clue, Agatha Christie, the Scottish Highlands, Alexis Hall's Boyfriend Material, and anything to do with true crime podcasts, I was ready for it. But something just didn't hit the mark for me. It didn't come together. I'm not a huge fan of cozy mysteries or quirky mysteries, and this was both. I did think having an established lesbian couple was a nice change of pace, but the choice to only have one POV, especially in a third person narrative, was off putting. I think this is a fun book, just not for me.

Super charming book that meets the comp of Only Murders in the Building for sure. I'm so glad to see a story about queer women that isn't about white lesbians. I can easily see this being adapted into a mini TV series.

[ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL]
~ENGLISH~
The ARC for this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review: Thank you very much!

Uff, there are so many things to say about this novel… First I would like to mention that I recently discovered my new taste for mystery or police novels where the theme of romance is also touched on, I haven't read too many books like this and that is why I was very excited with this story!

This book focuses on Liza and Hanna, a marriage that is having many problems, one of them due to the almost non-existence of coexistence between their partners. Hanna has decided that taking a vacation and spending a few days in a hotel that looks like a castle with many passageways, secrets and mysteries is the ideal thing to save her marriage, after all her wife Liza loves mysteries, so much so that she has a podcast where she talks about multiple murders that have occurred around the world, a very famous podcast btw.

This is the perfect opportunity for Liza and Hanna to solve their marital problems and revive the flame of love, but everything starts to go wrong when a murder occurs in that same hotel, just before a storm that ends up leaving them, and the hotel guests, locked up with the killer.
Now they have to survive long enough for the police to arrive, but this is the perfect opportunity for Liza to put her analytical skills to the test and solve the crime.

Sounds very exciting! I'm not going to lie to you, I devoured the book, I was too interested in the history and the murder. Alexis Hall did a good job of putting the mystery into the story, making everyone look suspicious, setting the mood for this whole situation. As I read I felt like I was inside the book looking for the killer with Hanna and Liza and suspecting everyone equally. It was very exciting!

Hanna, my precious queen, is all that is right in this world, she was my favorite character. She is smart, super realistic, considerate, adorable, sophisticated, I love her with all my heart and during the book I could only admire her. Seriously, she's the only person here who has a super high sense of survival! Normally in the books we see the protagonists enter dangerous situations without measuring the danger as if it does not even exist or they are not aware of it but Hanna is not, she is very realistic, very focused, and I honestly think that if they had listened to her, the situation would have finished better than it did. ✨Queen Hannah✨

However, as much as I enjoyed her appearances, her and her greatness couldn't make me love the book, which is very sad.

The book is narrated from the perspective of his wife Liza, and I think that from there the situation becomes awkward. Don't get me wrong, the author can choose whoever she wants as the protagonist and if she chose Liza as the protagonist of this story I respect that but, in my very humble opinion, narrating the book from Hanna's POV would have been better.

You don't know how hard I tried to sympathize with Liza. She is enthusiastic, she loves mystery and crime and she loves her podcast and working on it, which is why she was so upset when her wife Hanna decided that they would both have a vacation without consulting her.
I repeat, I tried to sympathize with her but I COULD NOT!
Throughout the book, Liza is constantly complaining about Hanna, no matter what. If Hanna chooses this specific hotel for Liza to have a good time on her vacation, Liza gets upset because Hanna is considerate. If Hanna talks about her and her podcast with pride, she gets embarrassed and upset because Hanna wants to defend her. If Hanna doesn't want to spend her vacation chasing a homicide and prefers her and Liza to stay safe, Liza gets upset. There's just nothing that makes her happy and that's a big part of the reason I couldn't fully enjoy the book.

Liza is inconsiderate, whiny, impulsive and frankly I think throughout the book she comes across as if she doesn't want to work on her marriage and she just wants to let it die.

That, combined with the ending of the book, made me a bit disappointed in the story.
I can't tell you about what happens at the hotel, you'll have to read it for yourself, but I think with a change of POV and a different ending this book would have been wonderful.
It's a shame that it didn't meet my expectations but yes, it entertained me too much and I know that Alexis Hall can do wonderful things with her books so I haven't lost faith in her, she is still one of my favorite authors.

~ESPAÑOL~
El ARC de esta novela fue proporcionado por la editorial a través de NetGalley a cambio de una reseña honesta: Muchas gracias!

Uff, hay tantas cosas que decir de esta novela… Primero quisiera mencionar que hace poco descubrí mi nuevo gusto por novelas de misterio o policiacos donde también se toca el tema del romance, no he leído demasiados libros así y es por eso que estuve muy emocionada con esta historia!

Este libro se centra en Liza y Hanna, un matrimonio que está teniendo muchos problemas, uno de ellos por la casi nula convivencia entre pareja que tienen. Hanna ha decidido que tomarse unas vacaciones y pasar unos días en un hotel que parece castillo con muchos pasadizos, secretos y misterios es lo ideal para salvar su matrimonio, después de todo a su esposa Liza le encantan los misterios, tanto así que tiene un podcast en donde habla sobre multiples asesinatos que han ocurrido alrededor del mundo, un podcast muy famoso por cierto.

Esta es la oportunidad perfecta para que Liza y Hanna resuelvan sus problemas maritales y revivan la llama del amor, pero todo empieza a salir mal cuando un asesinato ocurre en ese mismo hotel, justo antes de una tormenta que termina por dejarlas a ellas, y a los huéspedes del hotel, encerrados con el asesino.
Ahora tienen que sobrevivir el tiempo suficiente para que la policia llegue pero esta es la oportunidad perfecta para que Liza ponga a prueba sus habilidades de análisis y resuelva el crimen.

¡Suena muy emocionante! No les voy a mentir, me devoré el libro, estaba demasiado interesada en la historia y el asesinato. Alexis Hall hizo un buen trabajo poniendo el misterio en la historia, haciendo que todos parecieran sospechosos, creando un buen ambiente para toda esta situación. Mientras leía sentí que estaba dentro del libro buscando al asesino con Hanna y Liza y sospechando de todos por igual. Fue muy emocionante!

Hanna, mi preciosa reina, es todo lo que está bien en este mundo, fue mi personaje favorito. Es lista, super realista, considerada, adorable, sofisticada, la amo con todo mi corazón y durante el libro yo sólo pude admirarla. ¡En serio que es la única persona aquí que tiene un sentido de supervivencia super alto! Normalmente en los libros vemos a los protagonistas entrar en situaciones peligrosas sin medir el peligro como si ni siquiera existiera o no fueran conscientes de él pero Hanna no, es muy realista, muy centrada, y honestamente creo que si le hubieran hecho caso la situación habría terminado mejor de lo que lo hizo. ✨Queen Hanna ✨

Sin embargo, aunque disfruté sus apariciones, ella y su grandeza no pudieron hacer que el libro me encantara, lo cual es muy triste.

El libro está narrado desde la perspectiva de su esposa Liza, y creo que ya desde ahí la situación se pone medio incomoda. No me malinterpreten, la autora puede escoger a quien ella quiera como protagonista y si eligió a Liza como la protagonista de esta historia lo respeto pero, en mi muy humilde opinión, haber narrado el libro desde la perspectiva de Hanna habría sido mejor.

No saben lo mucho que intenté simpatizar con Liza. Ella es entusiasta, le encanta el misterio y los crimines y ama su podcast y trabajar en él, por eso le molestó tanto que su esposa Hanna decidiera que ambas tendrían una vacaciones sin consultarle.
Lo repito, intenté simpatizar con ella pero NO PUDE!
En todo el libro Liza se la pasa quejándose de Hanna, no importa la causa. Si Hanna elige este hotel en especifico para que Liza la pase bien en sus vacaciones, Liza se enoja porque Hanna es considerada. Si Hanna habla de ella y su podcast con orgullo, se avergüenza y se molesta porque Hanna quiere defenderla. Si Hanna no quiere pasarse sus vacaciones persiguiendo a un homicida y prefiere que Liza y ella se mantengan a salvo, Liza se molesta. Simplemente nada la tiene contenta y es en gran parte la razón por la que no pude disfrutar del todo el libro.

Liza es desconsiderada, quejumbrosa, impulsiva y francamente creo que durante el libro da la sensación de que no quiere trabajar en su matrimonio y sólo quiere dejarlo morir.

Eso, combinado con el final que tuvo el libro, me hicieron decepcionarme un poco de la historia.
No puedo hablarles sobre qué pasa en el hotel, para eso tendrán que leer el libro ustedes mismos, pero pienso que con un cambio de POV y un final diferente este libro habría sido maravilloso.
Es una pena que no haya cumplido mis expectativas pero eso sí, me entretuvo demasiado y sé que Alexis Hall puede hacer maravillosas con sus libros así que no he perdido la fe en ella, sigue siendo una de mis autoras favoritas.

Alexis Hall has now conquered two of my favorite genres. This book was a perfect read for a snowy weekend. A modern take on a classic mystery filled with characters who know too much about classic mysteries. Other than the main character & her wife, they were either embodiments of Clue or Agatha Christie characters, but they never felt like silly parodies. Murder Most Actual pairs perfectly with a binge watch of Only Murders in the Building.

I was totally here for this over the top, funny and snarky modern take on the classic "Clue" style murder mystery. Trapped in a remote Scottish B&B as one by one guests start getting murdered, married couple Liza and Hanna work together to figure out what's going on. Ostensibly there to work on their marriage, the two actually grow closer as they have to communicate and band together before the murderer comes for them next.

The cast of characters are hilariously colorful and the sarcasm and witty dialog was 10/10. I LOVED every second of this murder mystery, especially that Liza was a true-crime podcaster. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a fresh take on a classic plot. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.

I was really excited to read this one but unfortunately I found myself bored out of my mind and struggled to pick it up. DNF'ed at 25%.