I really liked the setup for this mystery, it was very Agatha Christie meets Clue/Cluedo meets only Murders in the Building. The way the mystery unfolded was well-written and there were just enough clues that you could solve it yourself without it being too easy.

There's something so very cosy and comforting about Alexis Hall books, and this one is no exception, even when characters are being picked off, one by one!

Murder Most Actual takes us away for what should be a romantic trip in the Scottish Highlands, with no cell reception and frost in the air. Unfortunately (or very fortunately?) for true crime podcaster Liza and her wife Hanna, the people they're stuck with keep disappearing, and one of them has to be the murderer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel- Alexis Hall has a way of writing that is so simultaneously amusing and emotional that you can't help but love the characters, and the interesting plot is a bonus.

I'm a big fan of illustrated covers, so when I read the synopsis and saw the cover of Murder Most Actual I knew I needed to get my hands on this book as quickly as possible! Add the chapter titles that made me feel like I was in the middle of a game of Clue and I was sold. The only reason I even put this book down was when I had to work. I needed to know how it would all play out.

Our main character Liza and her wife Hanna head to a hotel to try and rekindle their marriage. Except neither of them expected their getaway to include a really bad snowstorm an even worse...murder! This definitely puts things in perspective. It was nice for a change to have a couple already married in a book like this instead of a relationship actually starting. In the midst of everything I loved that there was time taken for them to really talk and try to sort out their problems, because it's clear they both love each other.

Murder Most Actual is a mystery how I liked it. It's dark enough, but it's not really gruesome. Which is exactly why I'm more of a cozy mystery fan. Yes, there were deaths and it wasn't taken lightly, but it's definitely different than the darker mysteries/thrillers out there. I loved trying to figure out who did it along with Liza and being stuck together in a hotel like that with a killer definitely added some suspense.

All in all, this book was exactly what I was looking for when it comes to an interesting read. I got to puzzle along with the characters, there was some humor, interesting side characters, and I wasn't able to figure out who was behind the murders before everything was revealed. Also, the description of the hotel and land around it definitely has me wanting to visit there. Without the murders thank you very much, haha.

I received an advanced copy of Murder Most Actual so I could share my review with you!

Hanna and Liza’s marriage was never perfect, but recently things have been even more tense than usual. As Liza’s true-crime podcast has grown more and more successful, the distance between them has only grown. In a big-romantic gesture meant to bring them back together, Hanna takes Liza on a surprise trip into the Scottish Highlands. When they reach the luxurious manor hotel Hanna booked though, things quickly turn from romantic to downright dangerous. Everyone seems to have their secrets, and when guests start being murdered, it will be up to Liza (and a very reluctant Hanna) to solve the case without being killed first!

You can get your copy of Murder Most Actual exclusively as an eBook now from Kobo Originals!

This book has the perfect winter vibes for snuggling up with to stay out of the snow! Set in a wintery vacation landscape, Murder Most Actual has everything I look for in a winter read. The twists and mysteries kept me guessing until the last page. I love a good golden-age inspired murder mystery, and Murder Most Actual was exactly to my taste. My favorite part of this story was the relationship between Liza and Hanna as they fought to find each other in a struggling marriage. Their moments of tenderness were made even sweeter by witnessing the work they’d put in to save their relationship.

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy a classic-style murder mystery full of plot twists and zany personalities, you should pick up a copy of Murder Most Actual! This would be a great pick for fans of Knives Out or Clue!

Unfortunately I did not love this. I was really looking forward to it. I found I had a good connection to the main characters and their story, but the mystery element just didn’t work for me. It was hard to follow sometimes, and I didn’t feel any sort of investment in the investigation or the crime. I know I’ll love Hall’s next book, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kobo for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: murder, marital tensions, brief mentions of homophobia

I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries but if Alexis Hall writes it I must have it. This had Alexis' particular brand of snark and wit and I really enjoyed it. I wanted more romance from our sapphic couple, very opposites attract, marriage in crisis as they find their way back to each other while in a bed and breakfast that people start getting killed off one by one. But that's entirely my desire as a romance reader and not a critique on the book.

Definitely recommend for people who refer their books to have a romance subplot (rather than it being the A plot)

Steam: 1.5

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley
#netgalley

The book of cozy lovers have been waiting for. Real representation!!!

This was a fun novella to read. I loved the concept of a Clue type mystery with a locked room aspect. I also liked the marriage side of it. However, I'm not sure the two actually meshed together as well as I would have liked. It sometimes felt like you were taken out of the mystery in order to read a marriage drama and then went back and forth between the two which was a lot for such a short book. I did like it overall but did not love it as much as I'd hoped.

Alexis Hall is easily one of my favorite authors. AH is constantly delivering addictive, REALISTIC, queer characters that stay with me long after a book has ended. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and cannot stop raving about it.

A solid book to add to Alexis Hall's bibliography. The premise of this is very interesting. Liza and Hanna go on a winter retreat to reconnect as their marriage is strained. Once there, they are snowed and bodies begin to drop like flies. Can Liza and Hanna overcome their differences, beat the sinister forces around them, and make it out alive?

Great in theory, okay in execution. I liked Liza and Hanna a lot. I really liked the premise of the plot. There was just a lot of moving parts and characters that I found difficult to keep track of. That being said, I would recommend it to murder mystery fans--specifically Agatha Christie fans.

Rating: 2 stars

I was not a fan of this book. I thought it was a fun concept: a true crime podcaster enbroiled in a cozy mystery, Agatha Christie (or Clue) style. A podcaster and her wife find themselves in the midst of a real true crime mystery when they go to a retreat in Scotland where they are snowed in and the guests keep dying.

However, my big issue were the two main characters. They are having marriage problems, and continue to fight throughout, and I honestly didn't care about them as a couple. A large part of their characterization in this book was their marriage problems, which I didn't care for. We were told that they had personalities outside of each other, but I never actually saw it. Also their fights were so ridiculous and founded almost entirely on miscommunication. Perhaps it would hit differently if I were in a marriage or long-term relationship with a human I cannot communicate with, but I'm not so I just found it irritating.

The mystery aspect was a lot of fun, but not enough to make me walk away with positive feelings towards the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kobo for the advance reader's copy. This title released on 11/9/21 (I started it well before that date, it just took me forever to read because I kept putting it down)

Murder Most actual by Alexis Hall this is such a delightful book. It's a cosy mystery with several murders in it. And at the same time it's a story about a marriage in trouble.
Lisa heads up a podcast about true crimes called Murder Most actual. Her wife Hanna is a investment banker. They have been slowly drifting apart over the years and this holiday in a remote Scottish Highland hotel is Hanna's way of trying to get them back together, except things go very wrong, and one of the guests gets murdered, and then several other guests also get murdered sequentially. Lisa turns amateur detective and uses her expertise from the podcast to try and solve the mystery.
The mystery itself is very twisty.
I enjoyed following Lisa and Hanna. I especially enjoyed the sharpness of Hanna's banter. I really liked the way they slowly patched up their relationship, partly because the danger that they were in made them realise how much they meant to each other.

This is a great romp and as always with Alexis Hall, a great read. I heartily recommend it. I got a free review copy from Net Galley and this is my honest review. This is a Kobo original. So probably just available on Kobo. Go read it. It's great.

A glorious romp through a whole bunch of murder mystery tropes, all one one great sapphic marriage-in-trouble package. What’s not to love? I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and that’s no small feat, believe me.

This was a cute cozy mystery full of Clue and Agatha Christie bits (and probably others I don’t recognize).

It is a queer cozy mystery with romantic elements. Liza and Hanna have been together for 10 years, but their marriage has lost its spark. So they travel to the Scottish Highlands for a long weekend. Thus starts an Agatha Christie-esque weekend of murder and mayhem that only true crime podcaster Liza can solve!

If you like cozy mysteries (or Agatha Christie mysteries, especially Poirot), pick this up.

Note: it is a Kobo original, and only available there, but will be coming to Libby soon. Download the free Kobo app to read it.

Murder Most Actual is a sapphic modern day Agatha Christie style murder mystery. It wasn't predictable, which kept the book entertaining. The growth of our MCs was a rollercoaster to read and at times uncomfortable because you are peering into a relationship that is on the rocks. The author does a great job at making you believe that the relationship is authentic. Overall, it was a fun read!

Your mileage may vary. I found myself pretty indifferent to the actual murder mystery, but I loved the main characters and the depiction of where they are in their relationship. It just felt like a really honest and accurate depiction of knowing someone well and loving them and being deeply irritated with them.

This book was very fun. It was a mystery that had many twists and kept you guessing. It was somehow realistic and ridiculous at the same time. The story also featured a couple dealing with a sort of midlife crisis of their marriage. Alexis Hall has a handle on how to create broad casts of developed characters and clever dialogue. I will continue reading his work.

Murder Most Actual is like reading a game of CLUE set in a snowed in hotel! I absolutely adored all the references to CLUE and the characters' names. It was delightful and full of little "Easter Egg" nods to the game and murder mystery tropes.
This mystery is perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, true crime podcasts, and second chance romance. Liza and Hannah have grown apart in their marriage and are taking a trip to the Scottish Highlands to hopefully rekindle their relationship when they find themselves accidently in the middle of a murder mystery! I was rooting for them to work both their marriage and find the killer!
The "locked room" setting plus all the fun British terms and sayings were engaging and entertaining.
(Just a note- Murder Most Actual is more of a cozy mystery so the murders are thankfully not too graphic or gory. And the romance is swoony but not very open door/steamy.)
Thank you to Kobo Originals, Netgalley, and the author for this advanced electronic copy to read, reviews and love for all things CLUE are my own!

To my surprise, I found this book difficult to read or, more specifically, difficult to read on. I had the impression that the story would have been better as a novella, as the mystery was much to slow to unravelled and the context unrealistic (if I could understand why nobody chose to run away in the wild and the snow, I don't see why anybody didn't think about taking food from the kitchen and then barricade themselves in their room, waiting for the police to come).
I liked the relation between Liza and Hanna, but was bored by the main story (which I should have like), a shame.

If it hasn't been made obvious, I am a huge fan of murder mysteries. Alexis Hall's Murder Most Actual is particularly fun because it combines two of my favorite things: throwbacks to the "Golden Age" of mysteries (parody-like) and true crime podcasts. Add in main characters Liza and Hanna who are in a really rough patch with their marriage and trying to work through it and I was HOOKED. Those of you who have read Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers will definite appreciate the nods to two particular characters of theirs...and there were probably more allusions that I missed. :) All of the talk regarding Liza's true crime podcast reminded me 100% of Luminol Podcast--my favorite true crime podcast run by some dear friends of mine!

I really liked that the focus in this book was not only about the mystery, but also on the struggling marriage between Liza and Hanna. The fact that they are trying to salvage their marriage while simultaneously trying to not get murdered brought some needed depth to the story, and I really liked both of their characters! They have flaws but are so cool and sweet and I want to be friends with both of them...but honestly, especially Liza. Bear in mind, this book purposely parodies some aspects of the classic murder mystery. While some happenings in this book border on the ridiculous, they didn't really bother me because I knew it was meant to be that way. There were many funny moments!

I highly recommend this book to those who love murder mysteries and and lgbtq+ protagonists. I have no idea if this was meant to be a standalone novel or not, but honestly, I really hope there are more books with these characters because I would love to read more!