Okay, I knew this was going to be a fun mystery, but what I didn’t expect was actual puzzles built into the book—and a whole choose-your-own-adventure element! Like… what?! I haven’t felt this involved in a book since my Goosebumps days. 😂

The mystery itself was clever and quirky, with just the right balance of suspense and humor. Bianca Marais clearly had so much fun writing this, and it shows. You can tell she wasn’t just trying to write a whodunnit—she wanted us to play along, and I was totally here for it. I caught myself flipping back and forth between pages, making decisions, solving clues, and honestly, feeling like a detective with a really good snack.

If you’re into mysteries but want something completely different, this one is 100% worth picking up. Just make sure you’ve got a pen and your inner sleuth ready.

Reading A Most Puzzling Murder made me think of the merit of pen names. This is such a departure from the heartfelt, social commentary of my favourites How To Make God Laugh and Hum If You Don't Know The Words, that I needed to adjust my headspace before I could truly enjoy this very unique book.

The language is simpler and the story is straightforward, the many characters have such crazy stories and names and the way the story twists and turns is masterfully done, I just needed to put aside my expectations and embrace A Most Puzzling Murder's intricate plot, immersive storyline, interactive puzzles, and "choose
your own conundrums." The option to email the main character, Destiny Whip, for help solving the puzzles AND for bonus content takes the experience beyond just reading! More than a book, A Most Puzzling Murder is a memorable and unique adventure where you get to solve the mystery right alongside Destiny.

I attended Marais' launch party and gained insight into her process and personality and that helped to reframe my expectations, and be prepared that Bianca Marais' writing is going to be as unique and beautiful as she is!

A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais is a fun, imaginative, and dramatic murder mystery filled with puzzles. I loved the interactive nature of the puzzles and how they advanced the plot. The ability to email the main character for clues was a fun addition.

I also loved the worldbuilding! I wasn't expecting this to be a magic-filled book, but it worked so well. There's prophecies, twisted family trees, and multiple people vying for succession to a magical throne. I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere and the way the different POVs made for dramatic twists and turns.

The puzzles were well designed, not too hard, but with some harder than others. The art was also very cool. I really liked the conundrum choose-your-own-adventure style chapters and how they gave greater insight into the characters and their pasts.

I loved rooting for Destiny as she tries to figure out how she's connected to the Scruffmores and what is actually happening. Marais does a great job revealing information in a subtle way so all the pieces are there, but they're hard to put together.

A note on format: I found the puzzles a bit hard to do in ebook form, particularly the first puzzle since I couldn't zoom in on the picture. It was a much more enjoyable experience in paperback.

This was such a fun read! Not only did I enjoy the plot, characters, etc., but the puzzles throughout the book were such a unique touch. I love solving puzzles so they added a really nice element to the book that kept me even more engaged with the story than I already was. The story, itself, was intriguing. I liked the mystery and felt the book was well-written.

Such a fun book. A mystery, with puzzles, an ‘eerie’ island and crazy characters. Riddles and secrets and magic. Add a brilliant girl who wants to find who her mother was and hopefully a family. Add a ghost, cats and a castle with a dungeon and you have a novel that keeps you entertained right to the end. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for this ARC.

This was such an interesting idea for a book. Though, at times keeping the characters and their backstories straight was a bit hard for me to juggle. The puzzles were entertaining--a few were super simple, but most of them I did actually have to put some brain power into, which was fun. I definitely didn't solve the murder, but honestly I wasn't expecting to. This was a fun concept/read, however, it felt a little lacking only in that the clues put forth didn't quite feel baked into the narrative/weren't quite helpful in actually solving the murder. Kudos to trying something more out of the ordinary, though. Overall, a cool concept with okay execution.

Here I am on the blog tour for a new and fun-to-read novel: A Most Puzzling Murder, by Bianca Marais, complete with puzzles and choose your own next step! Just a note that I recommend getting this one in a physical copy as I personally struggled with my older Kindle in navigating the pages and also clearly seeing the puzzles. That said, this was great fun and something that I would have enjoyed as an older teen as well. Definitely a unique choice that was fun and engaging – thank you for my copy and having me as part of the tour!

I dont know how Mrs Bianca does it! She has written one of my favorites novels. she wrote a novel about witches, and now this gem! Are you kidding me? A mystery and puzzles to solve??? I cant put into words all the fun I had reading this! I even shared the puzzles with my friends and family and they all got a kick out of it! Such an entertaining way to read and i most definitely need more books like this one. There were a few moments thta i gasped, almost from the start (aka best friend ghost) ans just had to finish it in one sitting!

I love solving murder mysteries and am a fan of puzzles, number puzzles, and word puzzles, so I was very excited to have this opportunity to review A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais.

The story begins with Destiny Whip, a savant and enigmatologist, receiving an invitation to an interview for an historian position, for which she had not applied, on a remote island. Destiny decides to go when she finds a hidden message in the invitation.

A bit of Destiny’s back story is needed here to explain why she would go. She is twice adopted and orphaned, estranged from an adopted brother, and having visions of a friend who died in some mysterious way. Destiny is isolated and alone, and has always wondered about her birth parents. In going, she hopes to find a clue to her past during the interview.

The story jumps back and forth between Destiny’s adventure and a multitude of characters belonging to the family of Mordecai Scruffmore, the man who is seeking a new historian. I found keeping the characters (wives current and ex, children, siblings, and household help) and their backstories straight a bit confusing at first. And, found myself keeping a log for each character.

Needless to say, there is a murder, more intrigue, and several puzzles to solve. All on this creepy island and in the gothic mansion.

The puzzles were entertaining. Some familiar types that I could solve right away, and others that required more thought or a bit of help. However, I didn’t find the clues they put forth to be as helpful in solving the murder as I thought they would be. And although I got my list of suspects down to just two, I missed the mark on the solve.

I give A Most Puzzling Murder 3.5 stars out of 5.

This was one of the most fun times I’ve had reading since I was a kid. It took me back to the Choose Your Own Mystery books which I still have a bunch of. Throughout the book there are places you have options of deciding which way you would go, depending on your answer different things happen. There are also puzzles throughout the book that they encourage you to try to solve although you don’t have to the answers are in the back of the book. If you read on kindle don’t fret there are links that take you to the answer and then can return you to where you left off, making it a very user-friendly read.
Magic, mystery and murder surround the mysterious island that Destiny Whip finds herself on. She solved a riddle hidden in the invitation and is in search of her biological father whose identity was withheld from her by her mother.

When I agreed to review A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais, I’ll admit to jumping in pretty much blind. I read the blurb but mostly saw the tagline of the email that stated it was a Choose Your Own Adventure, and I said, ‘Sign me up!’

In A Most Puzzling Murder, the reader follows Destiny as she is drawn into a mystery. It begins when she receives a letter informing her that she is on a shortlist for a job she never applied for, but then she spots a hidden message within the letter. The author then has the reader attempt to find the hidden message, offering the option to send an email for hints before providing the answer at the end of the book. And thus, this goes on throughout the book.

As I was reading this on my e-reader, which was an advanced reader copy, I found it a little hard to view the images within the text. However, I then went back to read the forward and found that a “workbook” was available on the author’s website with all the puzzles. That made this interactive story a little easier.

The story jumps around between several characters’ points of view, which can get a little exhausting. However, it was also interesting to see all the scheming that was going on around Destiny. Thankfully, the new point of view is always the start of a new chapter, and the reader gets a warning that it’s changing. It’s just not something that I’m used to.

I enjoyed the few chapters that ultimately became the “choose your own adventure” part of the mystery. It only happens a few times, and up until the last one, I only read the option that I took and didn’t see how the other path unfolded. However, from the one I read, I imagine that the paths were relatively polar opposites. It would be interesting to revisit those small changes. However, those few divergent points don’t significantly alter the story as a whole, as the plotline eventually converges after a few pages.

I will admit that I was expecting something more cozy than I got, and that’s entirely my fault for not researching the book more thoroughly before picking it up. It was a bit darker and fantastical than I usually read, so I often felt out of my comfort zone, which isn’t a bad thing.

I ended up reading most of this book in one sitting. I was pulled in, even though I felt a bit uncomfortable, but that’s probably the point since none of the characters were exactly comfortable either. I needed to see where the story was going and how everything would turn out, and having fun puzzles to try to solve alongside Destiny was a nice perk.

If you like a good mystery and don’t mind a bit of fantasy mixed in, A Most Puzzling Murder might be for you.

I really wanted to like this but I thought the addition of the magical elements was super unnecessary and took away from the mystery & puzzles. The puzzles were fun and I did enjoy the choose your own adventure vibes.

Although I loved the story and I admire the dedication to writing a book of this caliber, I found it to be way too much.
Between solving the puzzles (which I loved), the choose your own adventure and then the nature of the complexity of the book, it was all just so confusing at times. Also, all of the different character POVs.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book and all of the puzzles, I just found it all to be too much. I usually read a book in a day or 2, but this one took me 8 days.

Destiny, a child prodigy, has had a lot of loss and has become a recluse. She receives a request for an interview for a job that she did not apply for. The message contains a secret code, which Destiny solves very quickly. The job as Scruffmore family historian has her interacting with a family that mistrusts each other and has many secrets and Destiny fears one of them is going to die. Through solving puzzles and deciphering cryptic messages, Destiny slowly gets to the truth. As a reader this was great as I also got to solve the puzzles and find clues. Loved the idea of choose your own adventure! What a fun read!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Conspiracy Fiction

A MOST PUZZLING MURDER has a great set up like a puzzle book for kids but aimed for an older group.

I was so interested to see how the author handled the puzzles. I was expecting to see the clues and be able to stop to figure them out myself. But I didn't get very far because I was disturbed by the main character's body dysmorphia. I knew other reviewers said this—I didn't expect it to bother me, but it did.

This is such a great concept! And I really wanted to get into it. I'm leaving this as 4 stars because I'm positive the right audience is out there. :)

Happy reading!

A MOST PUZZLING MURDER
BIANCA MARAIS
AVAILABLE

First of all, the book package is a gift in itself with French flaps, beautiful paper and puzzles and clues throughout the book.

The heroine, Destiny Whip, is trying to uncover secrets of the past and find her family.

Something I’ve never done before, is write on several pages throughout the book ( I have permission from the author), but if the book you are reading is from the library, download the booklet on the author’s website (BIANCAMARAIS.com).

Now enjoy a Succession-level mystery with magic, puzzles, death and a few choose- your-own-adventure pages throughout as well.

It was a joy to be involved in the mystery solving!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to review this novel. All opinions are my own.

Having listened to the author’s podcast, The Shit No One Tells You about Writing, and hearing a lot about this book’s journey peaked my curiosity to read it. The new genre alone brought back childhood memories of Clue board games and reading Agatha Christie.

From the first chapter’s ending, I read much slower than usual. I took so many notes to solve the puzzles along the way because I was afraid of missing something. It was so much fun! Even though I failed each one, it was such a great literary escape.

Thank you, Bianca! Now, who would play each character when Hollywood calls to make this a movie/series?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of A Most Puzzling Murder.
I thought this was very unique. Family mystery, a murder that hasn’t happened yet, no obvious storyline.
But, it will be interesting to see how other readers feel about the interactive nature of the books with clues for the reader to solve along the way.
I found the character development to be solid and I thought the theme was fun.
Overall, I think readers will enjoy this.

Bianca Marais delivers a delightfully twisted locked-room mystery packed with wit, riddles, and more red herrings than a fish market. This book is part puzzle, part comedy, and all chaos—in the best way. If you love solving clues alongside your characters and laughing through murder (yes, really), this one's for you. The humor is sharp, the pacing is fast, and the whole thing feels like an interactive game night gone murderously wrong.

I liked this book, it was good. Destiny sets off to Scruffmore Manor on Eerie Island to interview as family historian. The Scruffmores turn out to be A LOT! This is a mystery where you can choose what happens at certain points of the story and there are puzzles to solve. The puzzles were easy for me, and the story was more fantastical than I expected, but I thought this book was a bunch of fun. I would recommend it to younger audiences probably, around teen to young adult.