I'd give this 4.5,stars, if I could. A mystery within a mystery. Blake brings wife Becca to a murder mystery weekend at a remote country manor in an effort to begin to rebuild their marriage after his cheating. Becca loves mysteries, so he thought this would be away to engage and show he is willing todo things that interest her. His first mistake was not telling her it was a murder mystery manor. Becca was traumatized when the "body" first appeared.
When one of the "cast" goes missing, Becca suspects foul play. As clues unfold over the weekend, which ones are for the fictitious murder and which are for the potential real one? Jilly Gagnon's All Dressed Up is great fun.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For fans of The Guest List and Knives out? I think not.

The premise is fun and interesting. A couple goes away for a murder mystery weekend at a fancy hotel, only for a real murder mystery to occur. Unfortunately, the execution was very thin in my opinion. The never-ending discussions of whether or not this was "part of the game" really pull you away from the primary and secondary mysteries. Even though the guests keep saying they really love this thing, I also felt that there was a lot of side-eyeing like "this is ridiculous". For full enjoyment, I feel that the story should have really blurred the lines between the mysteries so that you really felt like you didn't know what was real or fake. Lean in on it because it is a really excellent premise.

Jilly Gagnon has a great style and voice and I would definitely read her again.

2.5⭐

Becca and her husband Blake travel to a remote mansion in the Catskills for a murder mystery weekend. Blake's affair with a colleague has added to the problems in their marriage and they have been seeking counseling. Given Becca’s love for mysteries and fondness for books and tv shows in the genre, the “Roaring Twenties” getaway where they get to dress up for a three-day Gatsby-themed weekend, is a peace offering on Blake’s part. The weekend starts with an embarrassing moment for Becca, having not been provided with all relevant information before the commencement of the evening. With a total of four couples one of whom are friends of Blake and Becca and a full cast of staff dressed for the occasion, notes and schedules and amusing names and roles assigned to each of the participants, this weekend has a lot to offer. However, when one of the staff, Bethany, disappears and Becca overhears a strange conversation between a few of the members of the staff, she begins to suspect that there is more to Bethany’s disappearance than meets the eye. She also notes the suspicious behavior of a few of her fellow participants. In addition to following the clues for the staged mystery, Becca does some investigating on her own leading to an interesting sequence of events.

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is built around an interesting premise and has all the makings of a classic whodunit. The unique setting of a murder mystery weekend- an actual mystery within a staged mystery, multiple clues and red herrings, and the intricate plot should have made this a page-turner. But the slow movement of the plot and an unlikeable main character (equally unlikable other characters as well) made this difficult to get through. While I loved the murder mystery plot structure and the roles assigned to the participants as well as the atmospheric setting, we spend way too much time in Becca’s head as she ponders over the state of her marriage, and compares her marriage to that of others, is constantly reminded of her husband’s infidelity (in turn so are we) and in her more enlightened moments waxes philosophical on the very institution of marriage. Repetitive and annoying to say the least and it distracts from the main plot. After a point, I simply lost interest in the story. I wish there had been more emphasis on the mystery instead.
In short, this novel started with much promise but failed to deliver. I really wanted to love this one much more than I did.

Many thanks to Yewon Son , Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy eBook

Rebecca and Blake Wilson are off on a weekend getaway at a glamorous manor hotel where they will participate in a 1920s Murder Mystery role-playing game.

It isn’t long before Becca discovers the “body” of speakeasy singer Ida Crooner. Who could be responsible for her death? Is it Becca, now playing the role of Miss Debbie Taunte, an ingénue trying to keep her enigmatic past a secret? Or Blake, playing the role of Reid A, Daily, an heir to a newspaper fortune? Or was it one of the other six guests?

Whoever did the dastardly deed, it’s up to the eight amateur sleuths to reveal the murderer’s identity.

But the next morning, the actress playing the maid, Miss Terry Yuss, fails to appear, and it isn’t long before Becca is sure there is something more to the story than offhandedly describing the young woman as “flaky.” Becca decides to find out more. Eventually, her investigation will put her in a difficult position.

A pretend murder, a case for the guests to solve. And a real murder. Could one of the guests be responsible for the young woman’s death? And what possible reason could anyone have for murdering the young actress?

=========

Despite an intriguing premise, the narrative suffers from the continual whining of Becca; her continual mean-spiritedness makes it impossible for readers to empathize with her. Yes, her husband is guilty of an indiscretion, but he’s trying to make amends. But Becca is so busy being angry and feeling sorry for herself to make an effort to move past Blake’s betrayal.

An interesting effort to reveal the masks people wear as they interact with others offers some interesting insights, but does little to develop the characters. In addition, it tends to take the characters away from what is purported to be the purpose of the weekend: solving the “murder.”

While none of the characters are particularly likable, Becca, with her continual harping at [and whining about] her husband, fails to pull readers into the telling of the tale. They are not likely to feel any sympathy for her. In fact, readers are more likely to sympathize with Blake because of Becca’s behavior.

The narrative would benefit from spending less time dissecting the couples’ infidelity and other marital issues. The Clue-like moments in the telling of the tale were bright spots in an otherwise frustrating story.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley
#AllDressedUp #NetGalley

The idea of this book was much better than the execution unfortunately. Maybe some more editing will happen before its release date and that will help tighten the story up. Right now it's quite repetitive, not only the story but also the word usage. On almost every other page we hear about someone "sucking in their breath", "sucking through their teeth", and so on and so on....you get the picture. Also the main character is very unlikeable and the story is very long winded.

Thank you Little, Brown and Company ​and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
Murder mystery party + real murder = one good book. I picked it up because it reminded me of a modern version of Clue. Lots of twists and intrigue. I read it pretty quickly. Would make a great book club read.

Murder mystery themed weekend getaway meets actual murder mystery in All Dressed Up.

Becca and Blake are at a 1920s murder mystery party that spans a whole weekend while also trying to work on their marriage. They, and other guests, try to work out who the fictional killer is while Becca is plagued by a strange disappearance within the house.

I really loved the premise of this book. Actual murder at a murder mystery party, how cheeky! However, Becca as a main character fell a little flat for me. She was so negative and mean, not only to Blake, but to others in the book and to herself. Her character development came too little, too late for me to really enjoy her as a character. I liked her narration, though, and the book was well-written and exactly the style of writing that I liked.

This would be a great book club read, I think. It gets 4/5 stars from me.

To apologize for his affair and make amends, Blake schedules a weekend at a mystery house for himself and Becca. Three other couples are guests in the lavish setting, and Blake and Becca know one of the couples. I was expecting the story to revolve closely around solving the mystery, but it turned into something else entirely. The main character, Becca, spends most of the book whining about being cheated on and the rest of the time thinking Blake is trying to cheat on her again. This results in very little mystery except to figure out why one of the staff disappeared the night everyone arrived to start the mystery weekend.

I didn’t find any of the characters to be likeable, the opposite, actually. Each of the players are given “stage names” as are all the employees, making for a massive confusion when, at any given time, the characters may be referred to by either name. I spent half of the book trying to figure out who was who. Each couple had a script to follow, and there were instructions to not read ahead or speak to the other players about the mystery except when in character. They are also to use character names whenever talking about the mystery and free to use you real names when not in character, but some players switch back and forth at will adding to the confusion.

The premise of the book is great, a mystery weekend and a make-believe murder to solve. In actuality the story was confusing and the characters were not particularly interesting. Very little attention was paid to the scripted mystery with most of the drama provided by Becca as she went from one mood to another and then back again while trying to figure out the status of her marriage and what happened to the maid that disappeared.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of All Dressed Up, this is my honest review.

Special thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of All Dressed Up

When I read the synopsis I was so excited to pick up this book - a weekend away, in a hotel...a murder mystery game that revolved around the 1920s (I mean it had Agatha vibes all over it!). While the idea was great the execution fell short - there was an initial grab but that feeling died off when the book moved on...I almost DNF but wanted to know who did it....so I did finish. This book just wasn't exciting - its a face paced read but not sure I'd recommend

My thanks to Net Galley, Random House, and Ballantine for the arc of this book.

Blake treats his wife Becca to a murder mystery weekend to try to repair an indiscretion he had done to.his wife. They gather with other couples to solve a "murder" of one of the characters. However the maid of the "murdered" character disappears thus activating a real mystery along with the clues throughout the book to solve the fake mystery.

Kind of a fun read, shades of Agatha Christie, but uninteresting flat characters. Was expecting more.

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is a story involving an interactive murder mystery similar to the dinner theater presentations at the end of the last century wherein the diners have to uncover the murderer. The twist here is that the novel takes place at a hotel/guest inn over the course of one weekend. Each of the four couples attending are given clues and assigned parts to play and the staff doubles as both staff and actors in this very silly play.

The couples and characters are not well developed, have marital problems and are all uninteresting. This reader only felt compelled to finish reading the book in order to write a review for NetGalley and Bantam Books, the publisher.

This is such a fun premise. A couple goes on a Clue-like murder mystery weekend with 3 other couples, and the main character begins to believe a real-life mystery has occurred. The real-mystery within a fake-mystery concept should have been a winner. But I had trouble following along because all of the guests as well as the staff had their real names and their game names and it got confusing. Plus only one of the mysteries was solved. And the main character is just annoying. Her husband has brought her on this weekend as a gift to somehow make up for cheating on her and she spends an inordinate amount of the novel obsessing about his cheating and about her perceived insufficiencies. Now I'm not saying she isn't entitled to be upset, but I don't want to read a whole novel about it. More mystery, less whining please.

This book reminded me of clue and the westing game but more modern I’d guess you’d say. I enjoyed it, I love a good mystery but my biggest ick for a book is infidelity. So that’s an instant turn off. I felt that didn’t really even need to be in the story to be successful. It was a bit predictable with only maybe 2 things I didn’t guess, but I am an avid mystery and crime lover so it may not be obvious to other readers. Otherall a good book I would recommend to friends.

Blake has surprised his wife, Becca, with this weekend mystery retreat so they can get away. Blake knows that Becca loves mysteries. He hopes that this time away will help heal their broken marriage. With five other couples, they set out to find out who killed Ida.

I am a mystery book addict so when I chose to read the advance copy of All Dressed Up it seemed to be a perfect fit for me. The idea and theme of the book - experiencing a weekend based on finding who did it - was great. I just wish the author had kept to that theme. There was too much emphasis placed on the marriage problems of Becca and Blake. Becca's character became very irritating and repetitive as she constantly whined about how Blake had cheated on her. I must admit that about a third of the way through the book I was skimming over parts of her dialogue as I was bored with it.

The author did pull it all together by the end of the book with a few surprises thrown in. The mystery was solved but I did not like that some of the issues were left hanging.

All Dressed Up is a murder mystery set within a Murder Mystery Weekend game. The main characters, Becca and Blake, are working at putting their marriage together after Blake had an affair. Knowing how much Becca enjoys mysteries Blake made arrangements for them to go away to a mansion that hosts Murder Mystery Weekends. It's an intimate affair with only 6 other people attending. As the events unfold Becca begins to suspect that a real life crime has been committed and sets off to investigate, putting her own life at risk. I found parts of the book to be predictable, but there were a few twists that surprised me. Within the story there is a definite thread exploring the masks we wear with strangers, friends, and even spouses. I found this to be a quick read for a rainy day. #netgalley #AllDressedUp

A themed murder mystery weekend was a fun setting for an actual murder mystery. Becca and Blake are in a rough patch so their weekend away turns out to be a little more than they excepted. I enjoyed how the book interwove the dossiers of each guest as well as the scenarios and benchmarks of the fictional murder. One of the cast members goes missing, but Becca is sure there is more the the story so she's trying to solve a real mystery, a pretend murder and decide if she can get past the challenges in her marriage. I did figure out the murderer, but I had the murder weapon wrong. Overall a satisfying read for mystery lovers.

This book was a fun treat! I loved it! It was a good reset after I read a heavier book. It kept me flipping pages well past my bedtime!!

Such a fun mystery within a mystery. It is Agatha Christie meets real like Clue. It makes you question relationships and what you think you know. What feels like a typical “who done it” turns out to be anything but one. Great, fun read with lots of intrigue and twists. I highly recommend it to every arm chair detective.

A really fun mystery! Becca attends a murder mystery weekend with her hubby and several other couples. Then things get very sinister very quick. Really good writing, unlikeable characters and lots of twisty turns. All of my favorite things!

This murder mystery was not for me. I thought it would feel more Agatha Christie from the descriptions but that’s not a good comparison. The main characters felt more like characters from a thriller than mystery.
I think the premise of a themed 1920’s murder mystery vacation weekend is fun and other readers might enjoy.