Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

3/5

There’s nothing like the warm fuzzies of Christmas time….. until you throw in a string of murders. I enjoy the concept of this book, in that a fun murder mystery role playing group ends up in the middle of a real life murder(s). I stayed interested until the very end.

My biggest issue with this book is that it was a little confusing. There were a lot of characters and they kept switching between their real names and the names of who they were playing in their murder mystery party, so it was hard to keep track of who was who. This did keep me guessing, but not always in a good way.

This was a really creative locked room mystery/ pick off everyone at the party mystery. This is also a murder mystery about people who like to have elaborate murder mystery events. At their last event, 12 years ago, Carl disappeared from a locked room. No one ever found him... so in present day, the group gets together for another murder mystery event... but it's actually a trap. Everyone has secrets, and Carl's twin is still determined to get to the bottom of his disappearance all those years ago.
With 8 characters this book was confusing at first, but the characters each had their unique quirks and luckily we didn't get too many POVs so that kept it a bit cleaner. Our main narrator has always felt like an outsider trying to prove she belongs... but as people start getting picked off one by one will she figure it out who is behind it before it's too late? I definitely predicted zero of what happened in this book. It was enjoyable and this is the perfect Christmas thriller, if you're into that kind of weird festivity.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Twelve Days of Murder by @andreinacordani is a Christmas themed murder mystery that is clever and full of twists. The story follows a group of friends who began have fictional murder mystery game weekends/parties. They act out characters and elaborate murders. This year they gather in Scotland with the theme of 12 Days of Christmas. However, people actually are murdered this time around. Who is next to die and who is the killer?!

This audiobook is so well done and held my attention. It was published this week and is available so make sure you listen to this before Christmas Day!

Thank you @dreamscape_media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

(This review was also posted to the Barnes & Noble website)

This is a whodunnit mystery that occurs through two timelines. In one, a privileged group of students attending university are part of a murder masquerade society, when a member goes missing. The other timeline brings us forward 12 years, when the same group gathers for a Christmas-themed murder masquerade in the Scottish Highlands. And there is a lot going on! These characters are seriously narcissistic. While listening to audiobooks, when there are multiple view points and only one narrator, I sometimes find it hard to keep track of all of the details for each character, especially when there are a lot of backstories and secrets. However I think the narrator of this one, Ella Lynch, did a great job! Overall I thought it was entertaining, perhaps a little slow at times. But I was curious to know what would happen, and the end delivered a great twist. If you enjoyed Lucy Foley’s The Guest List, then I think you’ll appreciate this.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andreina Cordani for providing me with a complimentary digital audiobook ARC for The Twelve Days of Murder coming out November 7, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed the set up of the novel. I loved the two timelines and murder mysteries are one of my favorite genres. I think the writing was good from what I could tell from the audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator. I just don’t think any of the characters were likable. It was hard to tell some of their personalities apart on the audiobook but there wasn’t really anyone I was rooting for. So overall, the plot was good but not the characters for me.

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Wow! I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which is the first I've read by Andreina Cordani. A Christmas murder mystery is always an interesting prospect, but I really enjoyed it!

Some very privileged university friends (and one common girl, of course) belonged to a murder-mystery masquerade club in school. They acted out mystery scripts together, until one of them disappears during a game and things aren't ever the same again. 12 years later, they gather together again to enact one more mystery, with deadly results.

I kind of rolled my eyes when I read the comparisons to "And then there were none" but even though there are obvious similarities, this book seems to avoid directly lifting from the hallowed text. It was extremely interesting and kept me engaged right till the end. I will definitely look for other books by this author. A really fun read!

Rating: 3/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
They were the Masquerade Murder Society in college. The eight of them would get together and have murder mystery dinners. That is until their final masquerade when one of them went missing. Twelve years later they are called back for one final masquerade, but thats when everything goes haywire and people start dying.
•
This was a really cool concept, when I requested it I was definitely thinking I was going to be getting some Agatha Christie vibes. It’s not that I didn’t but I definitely struggled with certain aspects of this story.
•
What worked for me in this one was the entire idea of this final meeting of the Masquerade Murder Society. Absolutely loved the atmosphere of this one, the snowy setting and the locked room mystery. I liked how secrets were revealed and all of the red herrings. Definitely got those Agatha Christie vibes. This is told in a dual timeline and in through the eyes of each of the characters, which as you all know by now I am a huge fan of. I found the ending to be twisty and I definitely didn’t call it (which is a huge bonus) and the reasoning was super satisfying.
•
What didn’t work for me was how often these characters were referred to their “dinner party names” which literally meant nothing to me and honestly confused the hell out of me. I did eventually get each character down, it just took a while. I struggled to connect with majority of the characters and I definitely think this one dragged on at points. I listened to this one via audiobook and I think that this is one that would be better read in the physical form because of the wide cast of characters.
•
Ella Lynch did a good job narrating this one. I wish there had been a bit more distinction between each of the characters to help me figure out who was who especially in the beginning.
•
Overall this Is one that I have mixed feelings on. It wasn’t anything I can rave about but it I definitely did enjoy it. I’d say if your an Agatha Christie fan and your looking for a Christmas mystery - pick this one up. The Twelve Days Of Murder was just released on 11/7 - check it out! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Andreina Cordani and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an entertaining audiobook. The narration was well done and the story kept me engrossed. It was a solid thriller that I would recommend to others.

This one was interesting! A group of friends created Masquerade Murder Society when they were in college which is a club where they basically just have those murder mystery dinners. The last dinner they had one of the members went missing and was never found. Years later they are meeting up again to do another party. Everyone has a secret they are hiding and when someone is found ACTUALLY murder they soon realize this isn't pretend.

I thought the murder mystery party was fun but having everyone playing someone else when there is already a bunch of character was confusing. There were a few that stood out though-Charley and the girl who was a little too into horror and fantasy.

I also felt like the big secret and reveal at the end was so good that we could have done without the murder mystery dinner aspect and just had a group of friends together hiding secrets and still do a play on the 12 days of Christmas song as people started dying. Overall, a decent holiday thriller.

No one is likable and it’s SO much fun!

Premise - a group of spoiled rich kids (but adults now) get together to throw a murder mystery party… but then the murders turn real. Can they solve the closed room mystery before it’s too late?

I guessed the final twist, but not the one before that. It was fun to have a twist after the twist! The penultimate twist, however, was a bit of a bummer - I wish we’d had the clues to play along on that one.

I loved the snowy setting and Christmas atmosphere. I may revisit this one next month… have I mentioned it was so fun?

Thanks, NetGalley and Pegasus, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, locked room murder mystery. Clue with a Christmas theme. There’s some twists along the way but I was still able to partially guess the ending. Didn’t ruin the experience though! I enjoyed the audiobook narrator, and I think this would be ideal to read or listen to during a cold and cozy winter night.

Wow! What a clever murder mystery this was!!
Super engaging and fun right from the start! I loved getting to know all of the characters and their secrets and the constant game of cat and mouse
It kept me wondering who the killer was and how the mystery will unfold and was a constant work out for my brain cells, haha
Just when i thought i had it all figured out, the author threw another plot twist and i loved how there were little clues along the way which i was apparently too dumb to notice at the time lol
Couldn't put this down tho i had an 8 am class in the morning 😆

Twelve Days of Murder🔪
By Andreina Cordani❄️

A murder mystery game that turns into actual murders! This definitely gives off Agatha Christie vibes! It went back and forth between two timelines, which I always love. The entire book felt like a game of Cluedo, and I am here for it. All the characters had something to hide, and everyone was a suspect. Christmas thriller lovers, pick this one up!

Mystery⁉️
Thriller💥
Christmas🎄
Crime🚔
Plot twists🌀

4 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an interesting murder mystery and I like that it loosely follows the Twelve days of Christmas. I was able to guess who the killer was before the reveal and it did not stop me from enjoying the story. I liked the binders each of the murder mystery attendees were given and the secrets they were supposed to reveal.

Ella Lynch did a good job narrating the story and I will definitely look for books narrated by Ella in the future.

This book was amazing. I enjoyed the twists and turns. Great storyline, characters and format. Definitely recommend.

Who do you read AND listen to a book on audio?

Well, why do you blend and eat your food ? For the different experience, duh,

I don’t know why I do this but I do . I listen to the same book on audio in the car as I do snuggled up to a book at night .

I fully submerge myself into the all consuming plot and start to talk about characters like I know them.

The Twelve Days Of Murder

Oh hey now!!! You know this girl loves all the seasonal reads!!

My heart was beating and my soul was radiating . This book set fireworks off into my blood stream!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Andreina Cordani, you have exceeded my best book-gasm!

Gasp!

Hey y’all! You need to read and/or listen to this fantastic showstopper!

I’m gushing.,, it happens when I fall in love .

Check out this teaser :

Eight friends created the exclusive Masquerade Murder Society while in college. The murders they solved were fictional—until their final masquerade, when one of the group disappeared. Twelve years later, the remaining members are invited to a reunion in the Scottish Highlands . . .

Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Masquerade Murder Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, and brilliantly staged, but they were always fictional—until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now our young, privileged cast of old university friends are summoned to the depths of Scotland for a Christmas-themed masquerade party. But all are hiding something deep below the surface that could make or break their careers. Charley is a struggling actress who has always been on the periphery of this high-flying group, but has decided to reunite with her frenemies on the promise of career help if she joins the old cast for one last weekend.

When they arrive each is assigned a new identity themed around the "Twelve Days of Christmas"—they become Lady Partridge or Mr. Gold; Lord Leapworth or Doctor Swan. The game begins, and it feels just like old times. Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging—dead—from a pear tree.

It quickly becomes clear that in this game the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. Will Charley’s discerning eye and outsider status allow her to uncover the truth, or will she, too, fall prey to the murderer among them?

If the group hopes to win the game and survive until Christmas morning, they will need to face the truth about their history together and who they have become—and what really happened on that fateful night twelve years before.

I’m not one to read seasonal stories but I couldn’t resist this one. A locked room disappearance 12 Christmases ago was never solved. The Masquerade Murder Society, a group of spoiled, rich kids never got over it and are now returning for another Murder Mystery weekend in an isolated manor, I’m sure everything will work out OK, right? This is so much fun! The clues to the original disappearance, the secrets that the suspects are hiding, the fake clues to the fake murder, the real ones for the real crime, the red herrings and misdirection, all set to the lyrics of one of my favorite Christmas songs, the Twelfth Days of Christmas. I guessed the baddie but had completely the wrong motive even if all the clues were there. The characters are a riot… spoiled, eccentric and completely unrelatable, but still likable enough to be invested in their survival. It helps that the main character is Charlie, a normal person who only wants to be one of them but who would rather spend Christmas with her Dad. Ella Lynch performs all the voices flawlessly and imbues each character with their own personality so, even when everything is in a chaos, it’s not hard to know who’s saying what. Just a wonderful listen for the holidays, Halloween or any day of the year.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Dreamscape Media.