Old-fashioned “fair play” mysteries of the sort popularized by authors like Agatha Christie were always firmly rooted in the real world. While crimes in those books might appear at first to be caused by supernatural phenomena, the author’s eventual solution to the mystery provided a natural explanation for all that transpired. In “A Most Puzzling Murder,” author Bianca Marais creates a complex mystery that she invites readers to solve alongside her detective, Destiny Whip. However, the book has a significant drawback that may make it frustrating for would-be puzzle solvers. Most of the book’s characters have magical powers and can cast a wide variety of spells. The mystery then becomes a game of Clue with a seemingly infinite number of supernatural weapons at the killer’s disposal.

The protagonist of “A Most Puzzling Murder” is Destiny Whip. She’s a former child prodigy who, at 21, is now a member of the Council of Enigmatologists. While Destiny’s career has flourished, her personal life is a mess. Her mother died when she was very young, and her two adoptive mothers also died. Her only friend, Bex, died a year ago, but Destiny still converses regularly with Bex’s ghost. Destiny’s only other confidante is her therapist, who stays very busy. Destiny’s life appears to improve when she receives a letter informing her she’s a finalist for the position of Scruffmore family historian and an invitation to travel to Scruffmore Castle on Eerie Island for an interview. However, Destiny never applied for the position and never heard of the Scruffmores or Eerie Island. Further, her internet research reveals no trace of those names. Still, Destiny is intrigued by the letter and travels by ferry to the isolated island for her interview.

The Scruffmores are no ordinary family, however. The patriarch, Mordecai Scruffmore, is descended from a long line of sorcerers and holds the title of Sorcerer King. It’s a position that sounds more powerful than it is, because his dominion is limited to the several dozen remaining families in the world with similar powers. (He’s somewhat like the ruler of a tiny European principality.) Destiny’s arrival on the island coincides with Mordecai’s summoning all his relatives together to hear his announcement regarding the successor to his throne. Anyone who’s ever read a mystery knows that summoning one’s relatives for such a meeting usually leads to a poor end. Sure enough, the get-together culminates in an occult ceremony that proves fatal for Mordecai. Destiny witnesses Mordecai’s death and then tries to figure out the who and the how behind his death. The latter task proves difficult since the various Scruffmores can cast dozens of spells that do almost everything besides flush the toilet in the royal bathroom. There are allegiance spells, explosive spells, paralyzing spells, disfigurement spells, memory-erasing spells, binding spells, and quite a few others I’ve forgotten.

The solution to the mystery in “A Most Puzzling Murder” is as convoluted as any I can recall reading. The author eventually explains all the details, but the story becomes so complex that it almost collapses under its own weight. Marais includes a recurring Scruffmore family tree in the book, which is edited and re-edited a half dozen times as readers learn about several illegitimate Scruffmore offspring and other children whose parents aren’t who they initially appeared to be. Destiny suspects she is Mordecai’s daughter, and her efforts to prove her lineage keep changing her opinion about the various family members. Although it would be easy for an author to turn this material into broad slapstick, Bianca Marais eschews some obvious humorous opportunities. The result is a serious book that becomes more confusing as it progresses.

The author intended “A Most Puzzling Murder” to be more than a straightforward mystery. As she said in the book’s introduction, “Murder” contains “myriad cryptic clues, puzzles, and riddles.” These puzzles and riddles usually take the form of hidden messages or secret codes that readers must decipher. If readers are stumped, they can email Destiny at the Gmail address provided in the novel for a clue. I was hesitant to send off for a clue because I didn’t want to give out my email address and get on a publisher’s spam list. However, I have received no follow-up marketing correspondence from the author or publisher. The clues take the form of notes from Destiny to the reader, essentially instructing the reader on how to solve each puzzle. Readers who don’t want to test their puzzle-solving skills can find all the answers at the back of the book.

“A Most Puzzling Murder” also contains several “choose your own adventure” chapters, in which readers assume the role of minor characters and make a choice between two possible actions. Neither choice makes much difference in the final storyline (and most readers will probably read the results from both options). For example, one “adventure” involves a peasant out for a nighttime walk who must choose which path to take at a fork in the road. Both choices end up at the same spot, albeit with different scenery along the way.

The various puzzles and adventures did not enhance the value of “A Most Puzzling Murder” for me, and instead were a distraction. The author inserts several puzzles Destiny must solve as she makes her way to eavesdrop on the big family meeting where Mordecai will eventually meet his demise. This sequence had the potential to be the most suspenseful part of the story, since it intercut between Destiny’s point of view and those at the meeting. Instead, the various delays and trips to the back of the book to verify answers dissipated much of the tension.

“A Most Puzzling Murder” is Bianca Marais’s first attempt at writing any sort of mystery. She tries to do too much here, and the result squanders a potentially interesting premise to the extent that the book becomes unintentionally comical in places. “Murder” has too much storyline (especially for a book with relatively few main characters), too many hidden relationships and unrevealed affairs, far too many unexplained spells, and too many needless and distracting puzzles and adventures. Destiny’s efforts to understand her past and put all her ghosts behind her make an interesting subplot, but one that is buried under the complex main storyline. The puzzles are moderately challenging, but those interested in such diversions will find more similar puzzles in most brain teaser books. “A Most Puzzling Murder” presents more of a challenge for readers to finish than to solve its puzzles and mysteries.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

🕵️‍♀️🔮🏰🧩🐈‍⬛

Imagine being invited to a creepy island by a family you’ve never heard of, only to find yourself stuck in their creepy old castle, solving cryptic riddles, dodging family drama, and having visions of a murder that hasn’t even happened yet. Oh, and you’re the only one who might be able to stop it. This one’s packed with puzzles you get to solve right alongside the main character, giving major locked-room mystery vibes but with humor, heart, and just the right amount of eerie atmosphere. Honestly, it feels like playing Clue come to life. I will say this is a book you'd want the physical copy of because you keep having to jump back and forth to solve individual puzzles. And not gonna lie, I didn't solve a single one, but I liked the option!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review..

I wanted to LOVE this book; and I did love the premise and how immediately immersive this story was. I was truly intrigued and the interactive parts were done so well. I wanted aa little bit more from the story as I felt confused and lost often. However, I do believe that this book is a very strong book in a new genre for this author!

That was disappointing. One star for the concept and one star for the puzzles, but that's it. It's very YA, which I wouldn't have minded so much if I had been expecting it to be YA. I appreciate that romance wasn't the focus of the story, but it's still about a young super special snowflake who must discover who she is and use that knowledge to bring down a tyrannical throne. I understand why the magic was there, but the ghost could have been easily replaced by recollections of how she reacted to things in life. Nobody was interesting or memorable, and just one of those might have made up for how incredibly predictable the plot was.

I do think the author should write another book, one with puzzles like this one (which were more fun than necessary, but I read for fun so that's fine). I just think she should work on her plot and character building skills before then. Give us an actual mystery with interesting (or, perhaps, likeable) characters.

This is a somewhat complicated mystery, with a supernatural element and puzzles to solve. I enjoyed the characters and the story, and I always love puzzles, but I did think the "choose your own adventure' component was unnecessary. I also do not like interrupting the flow of a book to solve a puzzle, but you can download a printable PDF of the puzzles and solve them ahead of time, which worked for me. Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the digital advance reading copy.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I found there to be too many characters to follow and it was just very confusing. I also found the fantasy/magic part of this book to be confusing and not needed. I liked that the author tried to put puzzles in here but it just made the story even more confusing.

I hope others love this one.

I eventually ended up finishing this on audio and referencing the e-book as well. What a creative and unique story! I am blown away by Bianca Marais' talent in bringing this story to life and taking the reader along for the ride. I do think that having both formats available to me helped to engage me in the story as well.

I very much enjoyed reading this, and it might be one of the most puzzling mysteries I've ever read (pun intended). Marais' ability to weave numerous different puzzles into the book is incredible and I cannot imagine how she even kept it straight throughout writing. My only tiny qualm is that due to the puzzles, I would have preferred a physical copy- I normally am all for ebooks, but I found navigating backwards and forwards to solve things to be tough.

What a fun book!! The premise of solving a murder before it happens really drew me in, but the puzzles throughout the book made this a fully immersive reading experience! This book is unique, suspenseful, and unpredictable. I absolutely loved it! Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I’m a big fan of author Bianca Marais’ podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, and was excited to read this book. The genre is outside my usual fare, but I found it to be an engaging and playful read. I’m no good at figuring out puzzles, but if you are, there’s a treasure trove of clues for you to pick apart. Marais brings the murder mystery novel to a new level that requires more than simply the reader’s attention. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher MIRA for the advance copy.

I was excited to read this title because of what I read were the "Choose Your Own Adventure" parts. I read so many of those books as a kid, and I even play the CYOA games like Choices, so I was excited to check out this adult mystery. However, I did feel it was a bit lacking as there is little to no impact on the story and conclusion (kind of like Choices to some extent!), which kind of bummed me out. (I do recognize that these options are in the context of a larger story.) I also don't think the author did a good job incorporating the CYOA parts into the novel considering the former point. This may be because so much was crammed into this novel that it dampened a lot of my enthusiasm while reading it.

So much of the other stuff did not work for me: if you're going to do something like a CYOA in a novel, POV should be limited - this book has a lot of them, which made it a bit hard to follow the story at times. There is also a lot going on. It feels like a mishmash of a lot of things (mystery! romance! comedy! magic! fantasy!) and none of it was developed enough to make this book stand out. It was just... a lot. And I hated it because if it would have stuck with a genre, it would have been much better than what it was. Alas, it was a big book of a lot of things and none of those things really amounted to much.

I recommend this book because it was inventive. Just know what you're going to get before you read it.

This is the perfect summer read—an intriguing mystery, well-developed characters, and great pacing. The mystery itself leans more toward the cozy side, but the puzzles sprinkled throughout elevate it to help scratch that itch for keeping your brain active while allowing you to just get lost in the story. Add in a bit of magic and it’s the perfect trifecta.

I highly recommend a physical copy of this one to make it easier to follow the Choose Your Own Dilemma sections and check your answers on the puzzles (also, you can’t zoom in on images in ebooks, which makes a few of the puzzles a little more challenging).

3.5 stars

The novel unfolds like a literary escape room, complete with interactive puzzles, ciphers, choose-your-own-adventure chapters, and even a real email address readers can use to request clues. This interactivity is one of the book’s strongest selling points—it invites you to participate in the mystery, not just witness it. If you grew up loving Encyclopedia Brown, The Westing Game, or played hours of Clue, this format will absolutely appeal to you.

If you’re looking for a unique mystery full of atmosphere, mind games, magical realism, and family secrets—and you don’t mind doing some mental heavy lifting—A Most Puzzling Murder may be just the puzzle you’re looking for.

Unfortunately I think this may have bit off more than it could chew, and as a result, it felt convoluted and bloated. I would still read another book by the author.

Such a fun book. Riddles and secrets and magic featuring a main character who is in search of her mom and her forever family. Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for this ARC.

A Most Puzzling Murder is a well written and engaging standalone meta-puzzle mystery by Bianca Marais. Released 10th June 2025 by HarperCollins on their MIRA imprint, it's 480 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a multi-layered puzzle mystery with a clever, well constructed core, and numerous meta-puzzles for readers to work out themselves. It straddles genres, ostensibly marketed as a cozy, it's nevertheless a fantasy/gothic/mystery with a -large- (often confusing) cast of characters and a dollop of magical realism. Stylistically, the prose is more YA than adult (MC is called Destiny Whip, her foils are the Scruffmore family), but it's not really a YA selection either.

The plot positively meanders along with lots of side trips and dead ends. Overall, it gives a confusing, discontinuous read. Nevertheless, it's full of puzzles, and curses, and creepy murderous vibes. The meta-puzzles are solved in the back of the book for readers who get stuck.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 15 hours, 9 minutes and is capably read by Dylan Moore. The setup and nature of the puzzles do *not* lend themselves to audio format, and readers who choose the audiobook should also have access to a print version or ebook.

Three and a half stars. Odd, disjointed, and brooding. It would be worthwhile for public library acquisition, or possibly a buddy read or home library selection.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I feel my review is not exactly a fair review to the book/author as I did not finish. I read the first 1/3 and while it caught my attention I just wasn’t interested in having to complete the clues in order to figure things out. I love Bianca’s previous books but had I known going into this one I likely wouldn’t have requested it.

This is such a clever book -- it is clear so much thought went into it's development. It felt unique that readers could play a part in the puzzle solving. The writing was witty and descriptive as well. I struggled with the plot. I felt confused and had a hard time keeping the plots and characters straight. This could be my summer brain not working as hard as my fall brain. I wanted to love this and sink into it, but because I struggled with the puzzles and keeping details straight, I felt pulled out of it frequently.

3.5 stars.
Destiny Whip, a child prodigy and enigmatologist, is still recovering, a year after the death of her best friend Bex. When Destiny receives an invitation to apply for an historian position with the Scruffmore family, she’s intrigued, and heads out to the specified island with her emotional support urn.

She finds a strange family, strange occurrences, secrets, an inter-family fight for dominance, and most unbelievably, magic.

Author Bianca Marais not only slowly reveals Destiny’s past, and her deep desire to find her real family, but also the complicated and toxic relationships within the Scruffmore family, and the unsolved murders of island children.

This book should have been captivating (Destiny is, as well as her snarky ghostly friend Bex) but I kept falling out of the narrative, mostly because I could not keep the different family members straight in my head, except for Hexabus and her daughter Eva. The puzzles are intriguing, and I loved how integral these were to the narrative's progression, as well as the choose your own adventure/conundrum chapters.

The story felt a little long, as there were so many subplots and mysteries that at some point I felt I had lost the thread of the plot. The story, however, is quite inventive, and Destiny is wonderful.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I genuinely don't know if I liked or disliked this book... but I could not stop reading it as I tried to figure out what was going on. And determine if I was enjoy the book or read to deal with the fact that I felt completely confused by what was unfolding the entire time.

Some plot points I guessed but others felt like bombs that dropped in out of nowhere. And I couldn’t tell if I was continuing because I was captivated or just hoping the next chapter would finally make sense. With multiple chapters having me go “wait, what?”. And sometimes... it made sense? Sort of? Some questions are answered by the end, but many things remain ambiguous or open to interpretation.

One unique feature was the inclusion of puzzles throughout the book. While not essential to the core story, they added a fun interactive element. Some offered bonus lore if solved, and even if you didn’t solve them, the key is provided at the end so you can still access the information if you want.. A few were easy to breeze through, while others (like Puzzle Twelve) had me restarting multiple times and only out of sheer determination did I get it figured out. It definitely added time to my reading experience but made it more engaging that’s for sure.

By the end, the whole thing was reminiscent of the “Once Upon a Time” show. Which even to me seems a bit like a weird comparison for a murder mystery story but if you’ve watched the show and then read this book you’ll understand.

In the end, this was a unique and engaging break from my usual reads. I may not have loved every part, and I’m definitely still left with questions, but I can’t deny the experience was compelling.