The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward is great for those looking to read…
🔍 Unique Mystery
🔍 Readers That Want to Be Sleuths
🔍 Murder Mystery
🔍 Fans of Knives Out Glass Onion, The Traitors & Murdle

I started reading this & this is perfect for those wanting to be sleuths. It seems to have a very unique & intriguing, meta like feel. I struggled to get lost in the story but loved the concept. This is something I’ve never read before.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Berkley for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Unique structure and that breaks the fourth wall throughout. Classic detective story constructed cleverly, slower pacing requires a dedicated reader. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an advanced copy for a honest review.

This was a really fun read. I love that the book immerses the reader, but I admit, it had me very confused in the first couple of chapters. But I kind of got into it after a while. This book has a full cast of colorful characters and it can leave you quite intrigued with what is actually real. There were parts that seemed to drag and there were parts that could have been cut completely, but overall I think it’s a solid 4 stars for offering something different to the world of whodunnits and novels in general (at least in my experience).

The Game Is Murder by Hazell Ward is wild and clever, and I’d give it 5 stars. You’re invited to a weird murder-mystery party where you, the reader, play the Great Detective trying to solve a decades-old nanny killing. Thirteen suspects gather, including the victim’s boss and relatives, and you have to figure out who did it, how, and why. The book keeps changing the rules and has pop-up games and author comments that mess with your head. What I liked most was the meta style—it’s like a mystery game you actually play, not just read. I also liked how it’s packed with nods to old detective stories, making you feel like you know the genre. It’s tricky, smart, and totally stays with you.

I likely will not post a review for this book on my socials. While I admire the concept as well as the knowledge and homages to classic detective fiction, I feel like the book tried to do too much at once. It tried to take on a lot of different plot devices only to, in my opinion, not execute any of them well.

I will likely still try more from this author. This just wasn’t the book for me.

This book is a cute take on the classic fair-play whodunit, directly inviting the reader to step into the role of detective. While the puzzle is technically achievable with the clues provided, the narrative is a bit too complex to really work out on your own. The author’s choice to address the reader adds charm, though it isn’t as groundbreaking as it seems to think—other mysteries have used this device before. Still, the humorous tone and solidly constructed mystery make it enjoyable, especially for those who love the puzzle aspect of crime fiction and want to figure it out on their own. At times the story seemed to drag often drifting into the slower pace of a legal thriller, but the wit and humor keep it from falling apart. Most die-hard mystery fans will love this new type of novel approach. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I rarely quit and give up on a book. I gave up on this one. It just didn't make sense to me, nor was I able to care what happened to any of the characters. Perhaps the reader needed a "cheat' sheet to check on where and how each of the numerous characters fit into the story.

DNF :( Just could not get into this one, though the premise and set up seemed so interested. it was hard to follow and soooo wordy

A murder and attempted murder in 1974 is put on trial by the son of the accused in the current time. The characters change (from detective to defense attorney, brother from prosecutor to judge) throughout the book. We hear from the narrator and the author as the book progresses as they argue about their future and existence outside of fiction. All the characters are in fact fictional so by the end of the book even the reader starts to doubt his own existence. Name dropping of famous detectives and their novels are rife throughout and alternates between fun and enough is enough already. Definitely a different sort of book but not my cup of tea.

While this fell a bit flat for me, I think that it will definitely find an audience and would make a solid choice for a mystery book club selection. I could see a group taking parts, arguing about the evidence, and ultimately finding the solution.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC!

You are invited to a murder mystery party and are playing the role of the detective, but when you get there, you find yourself having to solve a real case. David and his brother, Daniel, want you, along with the other guests, to solve a murder case where their father was accused of murdering their nanny and attempting to murder their mother.

This story had a lot of potential and had all of the ingredients to be one of my new favorite books, but mostly fell flat for me. I really enjoyed the fourth wall breaks and all of the murder mystery references. The book was quirky and fun in that aspect. The beginning and the end were entertaining and interesting, but the middle section felt SO REPETITIVE AND SLOW. I felt like we went over the facts of the case three or four times, which wasn’t necessary in my opinion. This book could be cut down by about 100 pages and then it would be perfect. That being said, I would definitely check out more from this author in the future. I just think some major editing needed to be done with one, but her ideas and plot were well thought out and could’ve been so exciting.

The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward is a unique mystery novel. I thought the concept was clever. I liked that I was going to step into the detective’s shoes (so to speak), gather clues, collect evidence, and identify the guilty party (I love solving whodunits). Unfortunately, the writing style and dialogue let the story down. There is a lack of character development. I wish the characters had more personality. The first quarter of the book was information overload. I could visualize a dump truck pulling up to my brain, lifting the lid, and dumping in a boatload of information. The third act was long with repetitive details. It was boring. When you dread picking up a book, it is time to move on (I do not like books that give me a migraine). The Game is Murder could have been a fun, quirky mystery instead of a protracted, dreary story.

An entertaining if overlong fair play classic mystery that directly invites the reader to play detective.

This has a lot in common with a traditional whodunit, and while you’re unlikely to follow this somewhat overcomplicated narrative well enough to solve it yourself, the book does technically give you all the information you would need to do so.

The narration speaks directly to the reader, making them effectively a character in the story, cast in the role of detective. It’s really the same thing any of us do when reading any fair play mystery, it’s just that the book is directly inviting us to do so.

To that end this isn’t nearly as innovative as it seems to think it is (for the record, there are even many prior instances of books that speak directly to the reader in this regard). But the tone is delightful and humorous, and those who really enjoy the puzzle aspect of mysteries will likely enjoy this one a lot.

To me it was just ok, a bit overlong and taking on the tedious feel of a legal thriller at times, though I very much enjoyed the humor and the fact that the mystery itself is solidly plotted and solved.

This was a very interesting read. The premise is that you have been invited to solve a murder that has affected the Verreman family. You are given various contracts with the characters in the book that you will need to keep. Clues are given but red herrings abound.
This was an interesting read but very linear. It could have been more interactive with allowing people to choose various paths.

Three stars
This book came out July 29, 2025
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Synopsis: In this book, the reader is the detective, investigating an unsolved case from 1970s England.
Thoughts: This book is highly unique and unlike anything I have read before. The author makes it clear immediately that the reader is being addressed directly and has a role in solving the mystery. There are lots of suspects and clues and twists and turns to the actual mystery, which keeps things interesting (although there are repetitive portions hearing the same story from multiple characters' points of view). I think that's some people will love the format of this one, and if you're into trying to solve puzzles you should check it out. For me it started feeling too much like work and I wasn't able to lose myself in reading.
Read this if you like:
murder mysteries
puzzle games
detectives
interactive books

There’s something that feels really... squicky, about leaving a negative review.

Regardless of what the something being reviewed is, any unflattering remarks reflect poorly on someone’s service, skills, manners, or—in the case of a book—their art... and that’s a hard thing to do (let alone, be the recipient of).

Nonetheless, a not-so-great review has a purpose. It’s essentially a warning sign, letting others know to proceed with caution (and why).

So consider this, at best, a triangular yellow yield sign... to stop, and look both ways, before proceeding with Hazell Ward’s The Game is Murder.



From the synopsis, it sounded like a slam dunk.

There were comparisons to Netflix’s Glass Onion and Agatha Christie. The promise of “razor-sharp twists” and “sly misdirection”. It’s also a period piece—set in the 1970s—which, in theory, put a cool, interesting spin on things.

And, perhaps the most enticing, was the novelty of its main hook—actually playing detective, as the reader... tasked with divining the murderer when given the facts, clues, and observations much as a detective on-scene would have at their disposal.

(What mystery reader hasn’t put themselves in the shoes of every fictional detective, ever?!)

But alas—for me, at least—The Game is Murder landed with a crashingly-dull thud.

And a frustrating one, at that.

So enamored of its own Big Idea—the “YOU’re-the-detective!!” schtick—the story immediately gets bogged down by way too much story-setting.

It’s not only tedious to follow/keep track of, but, frankly, an absolute slog. The exact opposite of fun, which is what I usually expect from something calling itself a "game".

(So much not fun, in fact, that I didn’t even finish the entire book... and that’s something I very rarely say.)

There are bound to be redeeming qualities in this book. I mean, a novel (har-dee-har) idea ought to be applauded, right?

Well... yes, and also no.

Because an idea has to land right, needs to work, and, in the case of a book (or a program or movie), should absolutely keep its audience fully engaged, throughout.

And The Game is Murder sadly didn’t nail any of that, for me.

But if, after all of this, you decide to read it, I’d love to hear your reaction... so please do LMK what you think, eh? This one’s bound to find an audience out there... somewhere(?).

As for me, well... I’ll be on to my next read. 

~GlamKitty



[Thanks to Berkley for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]

This book started off with so much promise. There was so much that this book had going for it...but then it just kept going and going and going. The book needed to be 100 pages shorter. The shifting narrative and the confusing character swaps took some time to get used to. There was so much I enjoyed about this book - the mystery was intriguing. But the author wrote and wrote and wrote, and lost my interest. I finished the book, but it isn't one that I would revisit.

This is a bold, original and creative story that rewards the reader’s paying attention and thinking. It is rather ingenious in how it borrows from the genre. For example, I noted that the chapters are all named after famous detective novels; to name a few that are included there are A Murder is Announced by Christie; The Documents in the Case by Sayers; Footsteps in the Dark by Heyer; The Daughter of Time by Tey; and Artists in Crime by Marsh. Also, even within the first few chapters, astute readers will recognize names-there is Stanley Gardner, Wilkie Collins and Nicholas Blake. For certain, the more crime stories a reader knows, the more they will exclaim as they read.
The case involved a murder that, at least in the beginning of the novel, seemed reminiscent of Lord Lucan. Readers hear the story of what happened, initially by a family member and the story takes off from there.
This book will be adored by its intended audience.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this title.

Thank you so much to Hazell Ward and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for the eARC of this book! This is definitely not a normal mystery book. It is more of a murder mystery where you are the detective. Not really my type of mystery book. Was a bit hard for me to get through. But if you like the type of books where you are basically the main character this is for you. For me this book wasn't it, but for someone else this might be the perfect book for them.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Game Is Murder by Hazell Ward
⭐️⭐️⭐️ DNF / Pages: 464
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: July 29, 2025

This book was so confusing. There’s the narrator and then there’s David, who’s the person who’s hosting the murder mystery party. And the there’s David’s brother Daniel. And you, the reader. Everything David says is in quotation marks. Then there are things someone is saying that’s not in quotation marks, so I thought that was the narrator but sometimes it seems like it’s the brother Daniel speaking, who’s never in quotation marks. So maybe Daniel is the narrator? But then things happen to Daniel in the third person so not the narrator. What the hell? Meanwhile, this story is going on at a snail’s pace, which is already not that interesting to begin with. I tried really hard to read this and felt like I spent quite a lot of time on it but then discovered I was only 20% in. I just can’t. I have so many actually interesting books on my TBR to get to. The good news is, this book has freed me from my personal prison of thinking I have to finish books I signed up to review on NetGalley since marking books as DNF hurts my feedback ratio. Well, screw you, @NetGalley, I’m DNFing and rating this. You need to change your policy and let people opt out of reviewing without hurting their feedback ratio as well as the people associated with this book. So I’ll give this 2 stars for what I’ve read so far and 1 additional star for the author and publisher.