Thank you Viking Books @vikingbooks and Claire Anderson-Wheeler for this free book!
“The Gatsby Gambit” by Claire Anderson-Wheeler⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: Historical murder mystery. Location: West Egg on Manhasset Bay, Long Island, New York, USA. Time: 1920s.
“It was fortuitous, Greta reflected, that the future of women’s liberation did not depend on Daisy Buchanan.”

Copper-haired Greta Gatsby (21), infamous Jay’s younger sister, finally finishes her education and comes home to stay, sporting a daring new bob and a bohemian pair of trousers. She looks forward to summer at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. Greta loves it all: breathtaking views, gimlets, parties, primrose yellow Rolls Phantom, even disapproving housekeeper Mrs. Dantry. Unfortunately, golden-haired Jay’s dubious friends (luminous, mercurial Daisy Buchanan, boorish Tom Buchanan, handsome Nick Carraway, and incorrigible Jordan Baker) are also summering there. Then a body is discovered in Jay’s boat, the Marguerite. Greta turns amateur sleuth, because something is not right and everyone else seems to be living in a make-believe world.

Author Anderson-Wheeler has written a book about money, power, and freedom that’s a tribute to 2 of her favorite writers: Agatha Christie and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s a mystery à la Christie, with a message à la Fitzgerald.
(“Where wealth flowed ever upward, and the chasms between halves and have-nots widened every day.”) Along with the mystery, she includes class, privilege, and wealth realities, race-based disparities, and women’s changing roles in the early 20th century. (”….Greta wondered if she hadn’t been overestimating freedom, her own perhaps, but more important, others.”) Anderson-Wheeler’s glamorous Jazz Age mystery definitely kept me guessing-and pondering the morals and sensibilities of the ultra-privileged class. There’s no map or house plan, and it was hard for me to imagine the location of the many rooms, halls, stairs, lawns. Overall, it’s a bit more upbeat Great Gatsby, a page-turning mystery, the Roaring Twenties, a determined female lead, and it’s 4 stars from me! 📚👩🏼‍🦳#thegatsbygambit

Greta Gatsby returns to her cherished home in West Egg, Long Island, after spending years at an elite boarding school. Her older brother, Jay, is hosting a party at the Gatsby mansion with his gaggle of cronies: Nick Carraway, Jordan Baker, and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Upon returning, Greta, who sought to reinvent herself by sporting a new bob, is frustrated to find these interlopers in her home. Worse yet, is the fact that they will be there all summer. While she is not excited about the Buchanans, she doesn't mind Nick's presence.

Conflict is introduced into the party in the form of Edgar Buchanan, Tom's rude younger brother. He storms his way into the Gatsby mansion as if he is ready to pick a fight. The situation becomes worse when Tom is found dead in the Gatsbys' boat. Greta and Nick discover his body accompanied by an all-too-brief suicide note: "Old girl. I'm terribly sorry about all this." From the start, she suspects that something is quite off about the whole thing. Was it really suicide as it appears? Or was there some more sinister party at work? Was it murder? Greta is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Before diving in, I am going to preface by saying that I never read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. What attracted me to this book was the title, the book blurb, and the cool cover. So, I went into this book with little to no knowledge about the original book that inspired this one.

While reading The Gatsby Gambit (awesome title, by the way), I enjoyed watching the world of the Jazz Age come to life. It was rife with all kinds of cool slang that was used in that time period, especially from a character like Jordan Baker, Daisy's best friend. It was neat to read descriptions about what people wore, such as Daisy's stunning pearl necklace that Tom gave her when they were married. It was fun to envision Gatsby mansion with its devoted cadre of servants. It was like something out of Julian Fellowes's Downton Abbey.

The mystery and the whodunnit aspects of the story were a lot of fun. Greta was my favorite character, and I had a blast following her along on this journey. While the others were very much wrapped up in their own worlds, she was the only one who consistently focused on finding the perpetrator. At times, it felt like she was the only sane one in the group, aside from dependable, friendly Nick.

My favorite aspect of Greta was that she was strong and brave. As a young woman in the 1920s, she grapples with being "Jay's sister" and the social expectations of that. It was interesting how she balanced her role as hostess at the Gatsby mansion and amateur sleuth solving a dastardly crime.

Overall, I found the writing to be fun and accessible. However, there were times when the story was slow and meandering. It felt like there the book could have been more condensed. Sometimes there was time spent on boring or pointless things. This book was not as suspenseful as I had hoped.

Some of the characters fell a bit flat for me. Daisy was a frustrating character who it was difficult to connect with. Perhaps that is the point. Traditionally, she is a character who is viewed from afar, on a pedestal. I found her to be childish and lacking in substance.

While I enjoyed the majority of the book, the ending was somewhat anticlimactic and underwhelming. I would definitely read future books by Claire Anderson-Wheeler. This book was fun and definitely had potential. I just wish it was more suspenseful.

I graciously received this complimentary Advanced Reader Copy from Viking and Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group VIKING Penguin for an eARC copy of The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson Wheeler.

I was honestly so excited for this as The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite classic novels, but, The Gatsby Gambit stumbled more than shined for me. While the idea of telling a story from Great Gatsby's perspective - a character invented as Jay Gatsby's younger sister - was intriguing, the execution left much to be desired.

The writing style aims for wit and charm but often feels forced, with overly modern dialogue that clashes with the 1920s setting. Greta, though meant to be a fresh and bold heroine, comes off as underdeveloped and inconsistent, and her transition from socialite to amateur sleuth feels abrupt and unconvincing. The mystery element, which should have added intrigue, unfolds in a predictable way, lacking both suspense and payoff.

As a fan of The Great Gatsby, I was disappointed by the portrayals of the familiar characters. Tom is reduced to a caricature of rage, and Daisy's complexity is flattened into a shallow foil for Greta. The book tries to critique the glamorized world of West Egg, but it never quite escapes indulging in the very tropes it claims to subvert.

Overall, The Gatsby Gambit is more style than substance. There are glimmers of fun and a few clever nods to the original, but they aren't enough to carry a narrative that feels stretched and unfocused. It was a good idea let down by weak plotting and unconvincing characters.

The Great Gatsby is one of the most well-known novels of all times. But did you know that Jay Gatsby had a little sister? And that she is quite the detective?

In this retelling of the famous story, we meet younger sister, Greta Gatsby. She has just arrived back at the Gatsby mansion as a fresh-faced 21 year-old graduate. All of the usual characters, Nick, Jordan, Tom and Daisy are there. But this time, there is a murder. And it is up to Greta to solve it.

This is a charming story that leverages some charming characters. The story is fresh and intriguing. I highly recommend this book.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I thought the premise was good, but the writing style and the dialog was too young ie cheesy feeling to continue. I did not finish this book.

I'd literally just read The Great Gatsby when I stumbled upon this title, and was so excited to read a murder mystery set in that world, which felt prime for such a book. All the regulars are back--Jay and Daisy, Nick and Jordan, plus Greta, Jay's younger sister. Greta is visiting her brother, hoping for a bit of respite, but his friends re already there. The next morning, one of the group is found dead from what APPEARS to be suicide, but no one believes it. They try to solve the crime, of course!

If you are a fan of The Great Gatsby you have to read this and grab a copy for your bookshelves. I'm not a retelling of my favorites reader usually but thoroughly enjoyed this book so much! I think it would be a lot of fun to read The Great Gatsby and then The Gatsby Gambit back to back for a buddy read or book club.

In this 100th year of the Great Gatsby, it was s'wonderful to read what could be a sequel of sorts! Greta Gatsby, long away at boarding school, is home at last only to be quickly enmeshed in a murder in her home.

The whodunnit weaves through the household in a self-aware look at class differences from the Roaring Twenties in a way that perfectly encapsulates the wealth gap of these modern times.

From start to finish, a true delight as we go through Greta's investigations. I wasn't prepared for the killer - or the victim for that matter.

S'marvelous!

What a fun twist to a favorite classic! A murder mystery with all of the Gatsby characters we love (or not love! ) with the addition of Greta, Jay's younger sister. Greta is returning from finishing school and finally will be spending the summer at the Gatsby estate.
There is a murder amongst their crowd and Greta is set to figure it out. The story plays out with strong characters from the staff of the estate as well. A fun book for lovers of Gatsby as well as mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for this electronic copy. This review is my opinion,.
Estimated pub date April 1, 2025

I love the concept of this and loved being back in the world of The Great Gatsby! I love that time period and mysteries too! I think this does a good job of character development and of keeping you second guessing if you actually think you know who did it. I will say it was hard for me to keep wanting to read at moments because things felt drawn out. I think the first have world building/story building was too long and it was hardest to get through. Overall it was a fun read! Thanks Netgalley for the copy!

***ARC from NetGalley***

Like many U.S. high school students, I had to read "The Great Gatsby" in high school. So imagine my surprise when I started reading this book and he has a sister named Greta. Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Nick are still in the story, but in a very different way.

I won't share any spoilers, but Greta is a very interesting and nuanced character. A young woman home from finishing school and not sure what she wants to do in life or where she belongs. During the course of the book, she loses a lot of her naivete, but grows as a person. She discovers her privilege and some harsh truths about the world. But instead of recoiling or rejecting, as many would expect from this time period, she reflects and examines herself.

This is a murder mystery/who dun it. I think there is great potential for a series for this character. Think an American Agatha Christie in the Jazz Age.

Released just in time for the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, this mystery pays homage to the characters while adding a few twists. Nick, Jordan, Jay, Daisy and Tom are joined by Greta, Jay’s younger sister when there is a murder and she investigates. I loved the original and found this one entertaining.

I enjoyed this murder mystery set in Jay Gatsby's mansion in West Egg kicked off by his younger sister's return from finishing school. Naturally Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Nick Carraway are all on the scene and one of them is murdered. Greta Gatsby starts sleuthing with some unintended results. It was a fun mystery set in a world I last inhabited as a senior in high school.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC of this novel via NetGalley.

I wanted to love this booked, based on the premise but there was nothing about it that was enjoyable.

An entertaining and fun repurposing of Fitzgerald’s iconic characters.

This is a really enjoyable read, but please be advised that this is not a prequel or a sequel to The Great Gatsby. It’s an original story that makes use of the characters and the setting of Fitzgerald’s novel and should be taken as such. Characters meet different fates here than in The Great Gatsby, making it a sort of permutation of the bones of the plot rather than something that is in dialogue with it directly.

That said, it’s fun to be back in such an incredible corner of the imagined world, and Claire Anderson Wheeler does a lovely job of paying homage to the sense of time and place that Fitzgerald so vividly created so long ago.

This isn’t a tragedy like Gatsby, it’s more of a caper/golden age-style mystery, and these things seem to harmonize perfectly with the world of Jay, his friends, and the protagonist, a newly-drawn younger Gatsby sibling, Greta. She’s just the kind of plucky heroine that a book like this needs, and overall this was a terrific way to pay homage to a beloved novel without trying to retell it or alter the canon appreciably. A fun, clever whodunit.

I'll preface this review by stating that not only is F. Scott Fitzgerald one of my all-time favorite Great™ authors, but THE GREAT GATSBY is genuinely also one of my favorite – or, at least to me, the most memorable – classic reads... which is why I've been both excited *and* slightly hesitant in seeing all these different retellings/reimaginings being published as of late. I've read my fair share of them because, truly, anything aesthetically adjacent to TGG or to this era/time period as a whole is 100% my ~bread & butter~..... and, while there have def been some winners, there have, of course, also been some not-so-great ones. THE GATSBY GAMBIT - a cozy mystery that introduces a new, original character to us in the form of Jay Gatsby's little sister, Greta - falls into the former category— I really enjoyed this book! I particularly love how accessible Anderson Wheeler's story is to both fans of the original source material AND to newcomers; you don't necessarily have to have read TGG to fully understand or become invested in these characters and their individual motivations/arcs/etc. In terms of the mystery, I don't want to spoil anything, but I honestly thought it was very well-paced and plotted out, with clues/hints + foreshadowing littered throughout the novel to keep readers on their toes as to what actually happened that fateful night. All in all, a fun, solid historical mystery with great writing and compelling characters!

The Great Gatsby is an American classic, and I really enjoyed this mystery novel that continues the storied tale of love, betrayal, and longing. While it changes some of the cannon, it is a fun insider look at the Gatsby world from its hedonistic parties to its careless wealth. Add in a new feisty heroine in Jay’s younger sister who is a budding sleuth.

Gatsby enthusiasts will want to read this, and it’s perfect for fans of Enola Holmes. A great caper!

I am a huge fan of anything Gatsby-themed, and I when I saw that The Gatsby Gambit was releasing around the time of The Great Gatsby's 100th anniversary on April 10, I knew I had to read this book!

Any person who loves the Gatsby-themed lore will like this book. It is a departure from the source material and is a bit more like fan fiction, but it is quite enjoyable. I am usually not interested in murder mysteries, but this book kept me captivated. I also enjoyed that the household staff were integral to the story. Introducing a new character, Greta Gatsby, also kept the century-old story fresh. It's always nice to analyze these characters from different angles, and Jay's younger sister Greta brings out some interesting qualities in people.

This was fun! It suffered a bit for the fact I don't have a preexisting fondness for the characters and plot of The Great Gatsby. I thought it would be a new spin on it, and it is, but the story covers the same characters and year. What happens is pretty different, though. I wonder if Gatsby lovers would be more invested or if they would object to the reimagining? I definitely think they (and you!) should give it a shot, especially if you want to see Tom suffer more consequences.

This was a very cosy murder mystery set in the Gatsby house. I enjoyed this Great Gatsby spin off which follows Greta, younger sister of Jay Gatsby, as she conducts on her own investigation on whether the death of an acquaintance was a suicide or something more sinister.
I enjoyed being reunited with familiar characters and seeing them from a different perspective.
It wasn't an overly exciting storyline but it was a fun, easy read with all the cosy murder mystery vibes. Very enjoyable!