I loved the premise of a real murder at murder mystery weekend. What I didn't love was the Becca's constant monologuing and self examination about how Blake made her feel when he cheated on her. I wanted more details about the mystery less details about how this narcissistic main character is suffering.

Two Mysteries in One!

After some marriage difficulty, Blake is determined to get his marriage with Becca back on track. What perfect way to accomplish this than to take her out of town, out of the “real world” and transport her into a 1920’s Murder Mystery Weekend escape.

A lover of mysteries, Becca has a knack for solving riddles. But when the in game clues seem to overlap some strange and unexpected “real world” happenings, Becca can’t discern if she’s being paranoid, her psyche still a bit burned from her marriage problems or if something more troubling really is afoot.

With each of the four pairs of guests playing an in-game character, each responsible for giving and receiving clues, Becca has trouble knowing of what is being said is in-game or in reality. This confusion may occur to the reader as well.

As the in-game mystery proceeds apace, the in-reality mystery deepens to a surprising end.

Astute mystery readers will spot the in reality clues faster than the in game clues and The Who Done It will become fairly obvious. However, the pace and originality of the novel will keep them happy.

A fantastic and fun read!

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really enjoyed the lively, entertaining voice of the narrator. I’ve always wanted to go to a murder mystery theme getaway and it made for a clever setting for a real murder. Keeping what was part of the game versus the real murder separate added a pleasant sense of confusion that kept me guessing. I look forward to more from this author.

What a fun book! I loved the kitsch of the story inside the story, it was such fun.

Anyone who is a fan of Murder Mystery Dinners, closed room mysteries or well written fiction will enjoy this one!

Thank you to publisher for gifting me a copy. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

This is a one day sitting mystery novel. Once you start it, you're going to finish it. Becca and Blake are on a weekend getaway to save their marriage, to a 1920s themed resort. What Blake didn't tell Becca? It's a murder mystery retreat. There's a whole cast of characters. Millionaire playboys played by regular guys from the city, but it's easy to follow along with who is who. Becca notices a member of the cast goes missing and the layers of mystery unfold. This is a book that tackles anxiety, paranoia from relationship trauma, and realistic relationships in marriage.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys 1920s themed cozies that aren't too serious, Agatha Christie locked room mysteries and anyone that binge watches Murder She Wrote

I really enjoyed this book!! I love a good murder mystery, like Clue. The author weaved together stories brilliantly here. I couldn't put it down.

I was excited for All Dressed Up after reading the blurb and reviews. It’s just the type of story I love to get lost in! I anticipated the fun of being thrust into the middle of a murder mystery game.

The novel is light on mystery and more of a story of a woman dealing with her husband’s infidelity. The narrative was difficult to follow due to the characters’ double identities and the wordy sentence structure. Many sentences were so long and wordy that I forgot the point by the time I got to the end. It quickly grew tedious.

I personally did not care for the heroine Becca’s coarse language. I cringed every time she took the Lord’s name in vain. The premise of this story is something that could appeal to a vast range of readers. Why risk offending any group of readers with language that does nothing to add to the story? Just my two cents.

Regardless of my opinion, I want to thank you for the opportunity to read this novel,

Becca and Blake's relationship has been rocky since Blake's infidelity was uncovered. In the hopes of trying to repair their relationship (along with therapy and other actions), Blake has booked a "Roaring Twenties" themed murder mystery weekend for them. The location is perfect, although the characters are a little "campy" -- the host is Ida Crooner, her housekeeper is Miss Ann Thrope, and Becca and Blake are Miss Debbie Taunte and Mr. Reid A. Daily for the weekend. Among the other guests are Phil and Heather, a couple whom Blake and Becca have known for years. When the "murder" happens, the guests are "surprised", but none more so than Becca, who knew it was a theme weekend, but did not know it was a murder mystery weekend, and therefore thought that someone was really injured or dead. Becca loves murder mystery novels and TV shows, and so this theme is perfect for her. However, with her passive aggressive personality and the relationship tension, keeping the "murder mystery" aspect a surprise does not go over well, adding to an already tense situation.

The following morning, Bethany, the young actress playing the role of the maid, has disappeared, and it is evident from the overhead conversations among other staff that her absence was not part of the program. However, her disappearance seems suspicious to Becca, especially because of the conversation she had with Bethany the night before, the belongings she left behind, and other strange events. Becca cannot come out and state her suspicions bluntly, and her efforts to hint that something serious might have happened do not succeed. As she works with the others to solve the themed murder mystery, she also tries to figure out what happened to Bethany. A series of misunderstandings muddles things further, making it difficult to determine what is part of the program and what, if anything, truly sinister is going on. There will be plenty of twists and turns, with the weekend not turning out the way any of the participants expected.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A murder mystery weekend, where everyone dresses in 1920s attire, at a remote hotel. Only 8 people and the staff. Becca has come with her husband to try to repair their marriage. Everyone has reasons for attending. When one of the staff/actors seems to leave suddenly, where have they gone. Is the disappearance part of the mystery they are trying to solve or is it something very real. Becca tries to find out.

This story will keep the pages turning. Is the disappearance real or part of the game? Will Becca solve the case or will she become another victim of it? You will be guessing what is real and what is part of a game. It will grab your attention and you will be following the clues. This book is an enjoyable read.

Thank you to #netgalley, @PenguinRandomHouse, and @JillyGagnon for a copy of this book.
#AllDressedUp

If you enjoy a mystery within a mystery, you may enjoy this book.

An attempt at marital reconciliation is the trigger for the main character, Becca's involvement in a murder mystery weekend. The multi layered plotline of the book maybe confusing to follow - many names to keep track of, two mysteries to solve and many revisits to broken trust and wedding vows.

I would have preferred less emphasis on the affair and more emphasis on the workings of a murder mystery weekend, the 'real' murder.

All Dressed Up has places to go. In its mind, anyway. It’s got a clever idea, an idea bound to set it apart from the countless similar thrillers out there. A murder mystery weekend, stylized like a golden age era mystery from 1920s, flappers, gangsters and all.
The merry event is sprung on the book’s protagonist by her loving but cheating husband as a sort of I’m-sorry-I-slept-around-on-you-for-six-months-but-I’m-back-now-and-see-I-notied-you-like-tv mysteries-so-yeah-let’s-do-this-together-and-get-back-on-track.
Funsies, right? Well, kinda, until art begins to imitate life too closely or no, actually, life begins to imitate art too closely. And a pretend murder might just be a real one.
Lots of potential here but ultimately the book gets dragged down by all its freaking estrogen. It’s like yeah, we get it, Blake cheated, boo-hoo, but can we get back to murder, please? This is a mystery thriller not a marriage counseling session. Can we talk less about marriage in general, maybe? Sheesh.
They can’t, though. It’s a ladies for ladies and about ladies affair through and through. And as such, it ends up way slower and less exciting that it ought to be. With a predictable killer to boot.
Decent enough, overall, but nothing special. At all. When it might have been, easily. The book just never quite lives up to the cleverness of its concept. Something like a beach read, maybe. Thanks Netgalley.

Four couples are spending the weekend at a large, old estate home to play a game of "whodunit." The servants are all actors with various roles to play and once guests have entered the grounds, they too must remain in their 1920's assigned character while they are in the common areas of the estate. Blake has surprised his wife with this weekend away as a peace offering as she has recently found out that he'd had a six month long affair with a coworker and their marriage is on the rocks. Since Becca is a fan of murder mysteries, Blake believes this weekend may be able to jumpstart their reconciliation. But when Becca discovers not only the staged "body" for the event, but a real body as well, things turn up a notch. Who can she trust with the information she's gathered? More importantly, who will believe her as everyone on the estate is playing the game and gathering clues so no one will take her suspicions about a real murder seriously. If readers can keep the characters straight, as each one has a real name and backstory as well as an assigned 1920s persona, they will be in for a fun read.

I really, really enjoyed this book! I loved the storyline, once it picked up, and the characters! Look forward to adding this to my physical collection!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this eARC!

The cover and description pulled me in to request this copy and I was pleasantly surprised how quickly it pulled me in once I started reading. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the murder mystery theater taking place at an old house deep in the Catskills. I know some readers found Becca's focus on Blake's infidelity too much, but I found there to be a good balance of the mystery for both the game and the real life mystery and her personal problems. I also really enjoyed the ways in which her perspective shifted regarding the future of her marriage. It felt realistic and humanizing. Definitely didn't guess the killer which was a fun twist! Overall found this one to be a delightful dabble into locked room mystery.


Posted to Goodreads 5/7/22.

I love a good mystery, and although this is very cleverly written, I didn’t love this book as much as expected. There is a large cast of characters, however, occasionally it was difficult to keep them all straight.

Blake knew how much his wife, Becca loved mysteries, so he planned an entire weekend at the “Roaring Twenties” getaway. Becca felt he was trying to atone for his recent betrayal of their marriage. Everyone dressed as instructed and had assigned parts to play. As the story unfolded, it became obvious there was two sets of characters as well as two stories to follow. The actual people who were the participants, and their make-believe, play-acting characters, which created the two stories. Entwined in those stories, was the obsession Becca had with Blake’s affair with a work colleague. Because of the large amount of dialogue between the cast of characters, both real and pretend, it did get somewhat confusing, and I often had to go back and read a paragraph again for clarification.

The actual mystery was intriguing, and the ending was unexpected.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions and comments are my own.

I thought the premise of this book was great and the author did a great job creating the atmosphere of the locale, but I was a little disappointed in the execution. For me, the double names of the characters bogged down the story and I would have liked a different mix of the attention spent on the real and pretend crimes as well as the personal lives of the characters. There were references made to the characters' backstories which never got clarified, like Rebecca's pregnancy history and her sister Amy. They didn't add to the story and probably should have been edited out to improve the pace of the story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

#AllDressedUp #NetGalley
Cunning writing.
Becca is freshly smarting from her husband Blake’s betrayal and knows this is just an expensive attempt at an apology. She may not be ready to forgive him, but the drinks are strong, the estate is stunning, and the weekend has an elaborate 1920s murder mystery theme. She decides to get into the spirit of things and enjoy their stay. What could go wrong?
Before long, the game is afoot: famed speakeasy songstress Ida Crooner is found “murdered,” and it’s up to the guests to sniff out which of them might be the culprit. Playing the role of Miss Debbie Taunte, an ingenue with a dark past, Becca dives into the world of pun-heavy clues, hammy acting, and secret passages, hoping to at least take her mind off her marital troubles. Then, the morning after they arrive, the actress playing Ida’s maid fails to reappear for her role. The game’s organizer—that’s Miss Ann Thrope to you—assumes the young woman’s flakiness is to blame, but when snooping for clues as “Debbie,” Becca finds evidence she may not have left of her own free will.
I enjoyed it's concept so so much. Although it started off a little slow but if you kept reading then it's the most interesting mystery to you.
I'll definitely highly recommended this.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an advanced copy.

This was a fun book to read. I really liked the murder mystery within the murder mystery, with two sets of characters. (Although there was at least once where I stopped and said "who's Debbie?") I'd give it 5 stars, but the third story, of Blake's cheating, and the excessive time Becca spent agonizing over their relationship was a little tedious for me. I wanted less time in her head and more action. But overall I really liked this book.

The excitement was real when I read the synopsis for All Dressed Up! A weekend getaway at a remote hotel, a murder mystery game that has the guests role-playing as characters from the 1920s. I immediately thought of Clue and every classic, locked-in murder mystery by Agatha Christie. SIGN ME UP, PLEASE!!! Unfortunately, it was not as exciting as I had hoped, but it was a fast, interesting read.

I am going to apologize now because I know that my review is going to sound very nitpicky, but these are the reasons for my 3 stars: I really enjoyed the premise of having a real-life mystery taking place alongside the game, but it did get a little confusing trying to keep track of the real and fake as well as all of the characters' real names and alter names. The 1920s role-playing theme, while a great idea, was so farcical that it was irrelevant. And that's when they were even playing the game. I felt like the majority of this book was Becca inside her head contemplating her husband's betrayal and their marriage. I would have rather had more game play and hunting for clues. The writing was very wordy with sentences that seemed to never end. I found myself reading the same sentence (paragraph size) over and over again just to fully comprehend. I did like Becca though. In fact, she is the only one that I liked. Her character was down to earth, and I loved her sense of humor and sarcasm. OMG!! That diarrhea part had me in tears!! The actual mystery was interesting, and I did enjoy the ending, but was disappointed that the "game" mystery was left unsolved. Despite my mostly negative review, I would still recommend this book to all the mystery fans out there.

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Love a murder mystery theme, this was one for the books. Fun, light and enjoyable.