I really enjoyed the way the author moves back and forth in time to give you two accounts of two stories that soon become one.
Filled with twists and turns I enjoyed the intensity of the story.

Book Review: You've Been Summoned by Lindsey Lamar

Rating: 4 stars

I recently delved into the intriguing world of "You've Been Summoned" by Lindsey Lamar, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the unique experience this book offered. Set against the backdrop of the historical Sophomore Manor, this interactive mystery novel invites readers to step into the shoes of a detective and unravel a complex web of secrets and deception.

The story unfolds during a costume party at the Sophomore Manor, where a group of twentysomethings find themselves entangled in a gripping mystery. When one of the guests goes missing and is later found dead, the stakes are raised, and it's up to you, the reader-turned-detective, to piece together the clues and solve the puzzle.

What truly makes this book unique is its interactive nature, allowing readers to engage with integrated clues and analyze interviews to crack the case. The writing is top-notch, keeping the pace brisk and the suspense high throughout. The dual mysteries woven into the plot are cleverly plotted, keeping you guessing until the very end.

I particularly enjoyed the captivating setting of Sophomore Manor, with its rich history and enigmatic past adding an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative. The diverse cast of characters brings depth to the story, each hiding their own secrets and motives, keeping you on your toes as you navigate through the twists and turns of the investigation.

As I turned the pages, I found myself engrossed in the story, eager to uncover the truth behind the mysteries lurking within Sophomore Manor. The ending took me by surprise, delivering a satisfying conclusion that tied up all loose ends while leaving me wanting more.

In conclusion, "You've Been Summoned" is a refreshing and engaging read that seamlessly blends traditional mystery elements with interactive storytelling. With its captivating plot, well-developed characters, and unexpected twists, this book is a must-read for fans of mystery and suspense. Lindsey Lamar has crafted a compelling narrative that will keep you guessing until the final reveal.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

Rating: 3.5⭐️
I initially requested the ARC for this story because I was genuinely intrigued by its interactive features. It felt like one of those unsolved case file games that were immensely popular a few years ago. The narrative was gripping and fast-paced as I tried to unravel the mystery.
However, I found the layout of You’ve Been Summoned somewhat distracting. It reminded me of reading a computer game or a video game from the past—where you’d click on an envelope to reveal another clue in a letter, and an NPC (non-player character) would provide additional hints or instructions. While this unique approach was interesting, it became confusing in the Answer chapters when the detectives referred back to specific clues (like saying, ‘Remember clue 5.3?’).

In my opinion, the book would have been even better if it followed a more traditional format. Still, if you enjoy interactive books, You’ve Been Summoned is worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Experiment 42 for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Overall I enjoyed reading this interactive mystery. There are two mysteries. One historical mystery and one present day. In the modern day a group of friends have gathered at an old mansion for a party. Unknown to them the hostess is also hoping to solve the mystery of the original owner’s disappearance. When she disappears it is up to the reader to solve the mystery. It was a fun quick read. The clues are all presented so you can solve the crime but there are also a lot of twists and turns. I enjoyed the historical mystery the most. I was able to solve it. Enjoy this unique mystery

A little confusing at first with the duel timelines but I’m glad I stuck it out. The characters were interesting and the story line engaging. A little different but I enjoyed it.

Thank you Experiment 42 and NetGalley for the eARC of You've Been Summoned! All opinions in this review are my own.

I love that the author took a risk with the format of You've Been Summoned! I couldn't put this one down and while I wasn't able to solve the murder, I liked feeling like I could! While I wish the connection between the past and present was made more apparent earlier in the book, this was overall a really fun read and I look forward to more from this author!

An Interactive Mystery..
An interactive mystery, a whodunit with a twist - complete with the ideal Manor House backdrop and a costume party weekend theme. A mystery where you, the reader, plays detective - pick up clues, identify red herrings and consider the cast of suspects to come to a conclusion- whodunit? A fun and attractive concept, a great premise, which is largely well executed.

This was a really fun read, and I loved the interactive aspect to it! The two timelines and POVs was done very well, and I really enjoyed how everything all came together in the end. Such a great book, and I definitely recommend it!

This was a different book than I have read before and I throughly enjoyed it. I thought it was fun and enjoyable and kept me on my toes. If you are into mysteries this is worth the read!

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

This was a ton of fun to read! The format is really unique and fun! If you enjoy mysteries, I would highly recommend this! Special Thank You to Lindsay Lamar, Experiment 42 and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an intriguing format for a book! This was my first "interactive" mystery novel and I had a lot of fun following the clues and coming up with my own theories. I think this would have been a better book to read a physical of so I could have annotated and had notes around me. I really enjoyed that there were two mysteries being unraveled simultaneously and trying to figure out how they were interconnected. While I guessed the "bad guy" correctly, I did not expect the motive or fully understand what the motive was. I would have liked that flushed out a bit more. There was a large cast of characters but the format of the book made it easier to keep track of who everyone was. I liked the different media that was presented in the book as it kept me engaged in the process of solving the mystery. I'm looking forward to see what else this author comes up!

I liked the twists the book took but felt that the writing was a little clunky (which may have been the point as we were supposed to be the detectives). There were a few plotlines that were difficult to follow but I did like the summaries given, which gave me a bit of help.

You’ve Been Summoned is a delightfully unique take on a typical mystery. Jane Parks finds herself in quite a predicament when she is invited to her twin sister’s party in a historic house despite also being invited on a romantic getaway weekend camping with her boyfriend. Fortunately, the two events take place close enough where Jane can make it between the locations with relative ease. During her treks back and forth, the unthinkable happens and Jane’s twin sister goes missing.

The fun twist with this novel, though, is that the reader is able to take advantage of the same information as the detectives and are given the opportunity to solve the case themselves. From suspect interviews to diary entries and character narration, the different types of clues offer a plethora of ways to solve the case of the missing twin sister.

This was such a fun and unexpected way to read a mystery novel. It was a nice change to read a mystery with the expectation to be able to solve the mystery myself, rather than having last minute information thrown at me out of nowhere. Treating the case as a series of case files, rather than a linear novel made it easy to separate the information and take a deeper look at it all individually.

The characters themselves fell a little flat, but that is probably because they are being looked at from the lens of a police case file instead of a story that is based on the lives of the characters. With such a large cast of characters, it was relatively easy to keep track of them, but more difficult to give them consistent personalities that made sense with the narration style.

⅘ stars for this uniquely interesting case that kept me questioning from start to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley and Experiment 42 for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish reading it. I was so excited about it because the premise seemed really fun and completely unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s possible that’s I just had too much going on to be able to focus on it. The part I did read was well written.

The interactive mystery novel, a murder mystery party for introverts, features a detective working on a case involving Jane's twin sister Sillian's disappearance. The reader is tasked with reviewing firsthand accounts, interviews, and artifacts to find the culprit. The story is well-crafted, dual-timeline, and features believable yet misleading clues. The interactive element enhances the reading experience, making it a great buddy read. The author takes the risk on this concept, and NetGalley and the author are grateful for the ARC.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.
Wow this was very different from anything I've read before a murder mystery but you are the detective reading looking for clues and trying to piece it together through files and hints. This book was so intriguing and made me really focus and get to no the characters. Well worth the read!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Experiment42 for the book #YouveBeenSummoned by #LindseyLamar. This is a very interesting book wanting you to be the detective and solve the case. It is quite enjoyable and was a lot of fun. What is the connection between two sets of twins and why is one of the twins missing?

I very much enjoyed reading this book as I am a huge fan of mysteries, especially those where you can sift through the evidence as you are reading and try to figure it out along with the characters. In this case, *you* are an investigator reading the evidence and trying to piece it together from packets of data like police interviews, narratives, newspaper articles, sketches, etc. Uniquely well done and I hope for more of these! The concluding chapters, however, felt super rushed and very convoluted. Various mistakes jarred me from the story. As this is the first book of this type from the author, if future similar stories are published, it would be my hope that these mistakes can be alleviated.

Spoilers to follow:
There were a few items that threw me out of the story, however. Since this is supposed to be a contemporary mystery, certain "facts" annoyed me. For instance, historical evidence states that DNA testing in the 1960s identified the body but DNA testing wasn't done AT ALL until the 1980s. As a scientist, this bugged me greatly, and was so obvious I thought the newspaper article was a planted clue. The historical diary written had several errors. When referring to one of the brothers or one of the sisters, they were misidentified by name. In light of the solution to the mystery, some of these were intentional, but some were clearly not and that lended to the confusion. I went back through the book after reading the conclusion to see if it was just my memory tricking me, but it was not - in light of the conclusion, there were definitely errors.

Still spoilers: The jewelry box was referred to both in the contemporary storyline and the historical storyline, such that you are led to believe they are one and the same. This might count as a red herring, but the contemporary jewelry box is not satisfactorily defined as being different from the historical one. If the same, then there was another person in the basement. If different, then I find it hard to believe that someone would bring an entire jewelry box to a masquerade party where rooms are not locked.

BIG spoiler: The historical storyline in the basement was at times hard to believe and confusing. Weeks? Months? And it didn't seem to correlate well with what was occurring "up top". At times it seemed the police were investigating, but the brother was still free even though it was said he was arrested? And, in light of the sister's identity, why drag out the basement so long? And, even though the sisters are identical twins, anyone that really knows the twins would be able to tell them apart. They make a big deal about how Mary's stuntwoman was the closest thing to a friend - she would definitely know the difference! And if the women were in the basement that long, the pregnancy would have been severely affected, perhaps leading to a miscarriage or birth defects, especially stunted growth.

TL:DR - unique and enjoyable, but the mistakes bugged me. 2.5 stars