I hesitated even reviewing this audiobook, because I was unable to finish it. I absolutely loved the premise of this book. The narration is wonderful. But I just dont feel it works well as an audiobook. I will be purchasing a physical copy of the book as soon as it releases so that I will have access to the extra add-ons. I think this book will be fantastic in its physical edition, but just did not work for me in audio. However, I still gave 3 stars because I am very intrigued by the story.

3.75

This felt like such a creative and engaging story, but I struggled to fully enjoy it in audio format. The “choose your own challenge” structure is a refreshing twist on the classic whodunnit, and I definitely want to revisit this in physical form to get the most out of it.

I did go to the authors website to get the quizzes but still I would need the book and details to truly enjoy this in its entirety.

The family drama and the mystery at the heart of the story kept me intrigued, but the audio made it tough to follow the shifting paths. I think this one would really shine on the page where you can easily flip back and forth.

I’m looking forward to giving it another try in print!

I listened to the audiobook of A Most Puzzling Murder and while I really enjoyed the different voices and inflections given to each character by more than capable narrator Dylan Moore, I think this would have been better as a digital or hard copy. The prose itself is lovely and rich in its tone and the imagery it evokes but there was just so much going on.

The puzzles are a little like choose your own adventure and it would have been less jarring to the narrative. Though I didn't have access to the answers, I still enjoyed author Bianca Marais' beautiful and lovingly constructed world building. I did get confused a few times because there were so many characters, it was hard to keep track of and the tale does go on far too long and with way too many POVs and side stories. However, if you enjoy magic in your stories and love to do puzzles this book is for you. 3.5 stars.

I received this advance audio copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I think this book doesn't work well as an audiobook. I'm looking forward to trying a physical version.

Okay, this was one of the most captivating and FUN mysteries I’ve read in a long time! I have loved everything that Bianca Marais writes, but this is my new favorite! This is an atmospheric, layered mystery full of old magic and dark family secrets, as well as interactive puzzles and “choose your own conundrum options”. I became fully immersed in this story and I already miss it now that I’ve finished. Such a great read! And the audiobook narration is fantastic!

This is a fun idea. I love the throwback to choose your own adventure style books. This interactive puzzle book for adults is original and a lot of fun. The story was engaging, and the puzzles, which a had to search a bit to get my hands on, were fun. That said, I don’t really think this works as an audiobook. The format was strange for this particular reading experience.

3.5 Stars
Two snaps for a book that took me back to my childhood obsession with puzzle books from Barnes & Noble!

A Most Puzzling Murder is an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure mystery packed with puzzles, magic, and family secrets. It’s perfect for my fellow puzzle lovers craving a dose of childhood nostalgia.

In this story, we follow Destiny, a brilliant child prodigy grappling with the grief of losing her best friend and brother. One day, she receives a mysterious letter inviting her to interview for the role of family historian for the enigmatic Scruffmore family. But there’s a twist—you, the reader, must first crack the coded message hidden in the letter so Destiny can make her way to the aptly named Eerie Island.

Upon arrival, Destiny discovers a shadowy island with limited technology, a dark past, and lingering ties to a long-gone serial killer. All paths lead back to the Scruffmore family’s tangled history. Along the way, you’ll help Destiny solve intricate puzzles and uncover how she might be connected to this family tree herself.

Overall, this was such a fun and unique mystery! I loved that the book included interactive elements—you could even email Destiny for extra clues or access bonus content. My only small gripe: reading on my Kindle made the constant flipping between puzzles and solutions a bit cumbersome (though I still loved the challenge). I imagine the physical copy would offer a much smoother experience.

I also had the opportunity to try the audiobook via an advanced eALC. While I appreciate the effort to provide multiple formats, the audiobook didn’t quite work. The puzzles are challenging to interact with in audio form, and the choose-your-own-adventure segments forced you to listen to all options instead of selecting. For this book, I’d recommend sticking with the physical edition.

Ultimately, despite it taking me a bit longer to finish, I had a blast solving this mystery alongside Destiny. If you’re looking for a creative and interactive reading experience and a chance to flex those puzzle-solving muscles, pick this one up (physical copy only!).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the e-ARC and e-ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is genuinely one of the most interesting and exciting things I've read this year! It was engaging and compelling and kept me tuned in from start to finish. However, I just don't think it's meant to be enjoyed as an audiobook when there are actual puzzles and riddles to solve. While you can complete them using the PDF... i just don't think it's the same...

That being said- the audiobook narrator did do a really phenomenal job.

Destiny Whip—an enigmatic genius, a stormy island, and a secretive family full of mysteries? Count me in! I have grown to love murder mystery/ whodunnit type books and the fact that this audio book came with a printable handbook so I too could solve the puzzles was super exciting. The story is packed with mind-bending puzzles, eerie visions, and an unfolding mystery that keeps you guessing- which was both good and bad.

While I loved the concept, there was a lot going on—magical twists, family drama, a ghostly friend, and layers of subplots that made it hard to focus on the main mystery. I found myself wishing for a bit more simplicity in that way so the core story could shine.

That said, the creativity and ambition behind this book are undeniable! The puzzles were clever, and Destiny’s journey kept me engaged, even if it sometimes felt like too much at once. I have to say that I was so excited about the Choose Your Own Adventure moments, expecting my choices to shake up the mystery—maybe even change the culprit! But no matter what path I picked, the outcome stayed the same, making the choices feel more decorative than impactful. The characters’ abilities seemed random, without knowing the limits of their powers, it was tricky to piece together how the crime unfolded. I would have liked a bit more in the way of understanding their magic, I felt a little handicapped by the lack of information in that way. Overall, I had too much stuff I didn't need and not enough stuff that I actually needed to make this a pleasant and full immersive experience.

The narrator did a great job and usually I prefer the audiobook as I can multitask. But I think with this book it's best to have a paperback and a pencil and highlighter handy!

Favorite Quotes:

🩷“It's not so much that familiarity breeds contempt as much as it cultivates indifference. It's possible to see something so much that it becomes completely invisible.”

🩷“Time passes, it erodes and corrodes objects as much as it does memories and emotions. To fight against it is to foolishly believe that you can wade into the tide, stopping it with nothing but your raised fists.”

🩷“There are all kinds of terrible things that can befall human beings, but being swallowed up by the atmosphere isn't one of them.”


What to Expect:

Choose your own adventure (kind of)
Whodunnit murder mystery
Magical elements
Ghostly Friends
FMC on Grief Journey

Unfortunately, this book was NOT what I was expecting. There are way too many characters, and I could have been behind that had it been a straightforward, puzzle solving mystery. But it isn't. It's a fantasy/magic book, which makes a convoluted story even more convoluted.

I tried to listen to the audiobook, but it requires the download of a PDF in order to try to solve the mysteries along with the people in the story. That's all well and good, but we never actually get to see the answers, so even if we just want to read the book in a straightforward way (or listen) there's just a hole in the story. I admire the author for trying something unique and original, but I was already confused before those sections, so it made me more confused. The narrator is great, but this book just doesn't lend itself to an audiobook very well.

Fortunately, I did have a kindle advance copy, so I was able to find the ending with the puzzles and solutions and follow along from there.

The plot needed to be edited down significantly in order to make this readable and more straightforward. I was honestly very frustrated even though I was so intrigued by the concept.

The narrator of the audiobook, Dylan Moore, did a stellar job. It's not the narrator's fault that the audiobook just doesn't lend itself to the task.

Overall, if you like magic, spells, family curses, and the like, you'll probably enjoy this book a lot more than I did. It just didn't work for me.

I was so looking forward to this, especially after listening to the forward where the puzzles are explained. Add in the whole “choose your own adventure”, which I was a big fan of as a kid, and I thought I would be hooked. Unfortunately, too many characters and a slow, plodding plot that failed to hold my interest, bogged this story down and made it impossible to connect with. I did try a few of the puzzles but I don’t know if not solving them made a difference and the alluded to “answers” file was nowhere to be found on the author’s website. The “choose your own adventure”, as others have mentioned, had no bearing on the story so the moving back and forth between choices on the audio made this even more confusing. I gave up at 21%. I may try to read a physical copy but the audio didn’t work for me.

A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais is an excellent mystery full of magic, twists, and audience participation!

Audience Participation, you ask? Yes! You get to solve puzzles, and choose a path you want the characters to take at certain points in the story. Get ready to be an active participant!

For those who don’t want the audience participation component: This is still a must read! Just choose paths at random (or read both), and don’t solve the puzzles. You’ll still get a great story experience.

The magic in this story is so cleverly done, as well as the plotting. Character development is top notch. The multi POV is insightful, and created to engage the reader while also creating intrigue and more mystery. And the main character is brilliant! Not just because she’s brilliant, but because Bianca crafted an amazing MC.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was incredibly well done by a single narrator. Typically I like different narrators for different POVs, but this story didn’t need it. The narrator nailed it, and I didn’t feel at all like the audio was missing something. I listened to his audiobook at 1.5x speed (my normal audiobook speed is 1.75x, but I didn’t want to miss any of the clues).

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this advanced listening copy.

Lured out to a mysterious island for a job she didn't apply for, Destiny Whip fights to learn out about her family and ends up embroiled in a mystery.

After not leaving her apartment for a year Destiny receives a hand delivered letter with a hidden message promising answers about her family. Unable to pass up the opportunity she heads to Eerie Island a place ensconced in bad weather and no electricity. After meeting many in the Scruffmore family and some of those in town, Destiny is asked to help solve a murder.

Many murder mystery novels have an almost immediate death with the rest of the book used to figure out who did it. In "A Most Puzzling Murder" you don't know who is going to be murdered and you also don't know who the murderer is. The reader can solve puzzles along with the narrators (the story is told from multiple points of view), but you can easily look at the answers (I solved some and looked at the answers for other since I tend to listen while I drive).

What makes or breaks a mystery for me is how clever the author is. Bianca Marais is CLEVER and there were very few times in the book where I knew where things were going. With how many characters and viewpoints there were I did unfortunately feel like the characters felt flat with their main traits only being revealed if it was useful to the story.

Overall, it was an amazing book and I was enthralled the entire time.

A murder mystery novel that follows 21 year old Destiny Whip, a brilliant enigmatologist, and the mysterious Scruffmore family. This story has a lot going on! Ghosts, mystery, drama, puzzles, riddles, magic and of course murder. I love that the setting takes place on dark and stormy Eerie Island in the Scruffmore’s ominous castle. 🏰🕯️

While I enjoyed this audiobook I think I missed out on a big part of the interactive premise. It was hard to stay focused on the storyline when there were stops in the audiobook for puzzle solving options and it was hard to follow the choose your own adventure experience. Yes there is an available PDF version you can use but it’s just not the same.

Told from multiple POVs, it was also difficult to stay engaged to the audiobook with only one narrator for way too many characters.

I think this book would be better enjoyed in the physical format if possible.

A fun listen with a cast of unique characters. Never disappointed by anything written by Marais. Narration was on point.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 479 / Genre: Fantasy/Murder Mystery/Puzzle Book
Audiobook Narrator: Dylan Moore
Duration: 15 hours 19 minutes
Release Date: June 10, 2025
🥳#HappyPubDay!🎉

Destiny Whip is a world-renowned enigmatologist. She’s also a very lonely orphan who lost her adopted mother, brother, and best friend (who she still regularly talks to in her ghostly form). So when she receives a letter that comes with a puzzle that hints at information about her biological family, she can’t help but follow this lead. What she finds is a family gifted with magical powers, a confusing web of siblings with ever-changing parentage, and a father who’s obsessed with power.

This story in itself was very interesting and chilling. But the author also added in alternate endings to chapters, where you get decide which way the story should go. Plus puzzles are interspersed in the story as well. This was such a fun and challenging book!

Luckily I received advanced copies of both the audiobook and the ebook. I think because of the alternate endings and the puzzles, it would be best read as an ebook. But Dylan Moore did a really excellent job narrating, so having both versions was really the best.

Thank you, @BiancaMarais_Author, @htp_hive, @htpbooks, and @htpbooks_audio for my gifted copies. #HiveInfluencer

Thank you so much to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for this ARC of A Most Puzzling Murder.

This book was so unique in that it was very interactive and you can choose your own scenarios. I even loved the two different endings you could choose.

There was A LOT going on at all times and so many different perspectives that it did get confusing at times. This one may have been easier to decipher with the physical copy of the book as well as the accompanying journal referenced many times — this is especially so when talking about the family tree.

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a great job. I truly think this would make a fantastic tv show!

A MOST PUZZLING MURDER is an interactive mystery with a lot to unpack!

I started this book on my Kindle. Pausing to figure out the puzzles was easy enough, though honestly, a little too taxing on my tired brain for late-night reading.

The next day, I switched to the audiobook while I was busy doing mundane tasks. Dylan Moore does a great job with the narration, but it’s not a method I would recommend. You have to pause the audio, then either go to your ebook or print copy to work the puzzle, or download the PDF and use that. You kind of need the answers to make sense of the story, since they’re not worked into the narrative. And stopping to figure out puzzles isn’t usually convenient for me when I’m listening to an audiobook. Something for readers to keep in mind when choosing a format.

I felt that Destiny’s story suffered from too much background noise. We have a bunch of POVs (7, I think). We have the main plot and subplots galore. We have magic that isn’t really explained, drama with all the extended family, mysteries, sentient animals, a best friend ghost, past trauma, the puzzle clues, and several “choose your own adventure” side stories. For me, it was too wide-reaching, making the story feel tangled and convoluted.

I’d been intrigued by the concept of an interactive mystery, but I’ve learned it’s not for me. I like to get lost in a book, and this felt like work. I couldn’t relax into the story.

The writing style is entertaining and engaging, so definitely give it a try if the concept appeals to you.

*Thanks to MIRA for the free eARC, and to HQ Audio for the free audiobook download!*

A Most Puzzling Murder is an incredibly unique mystery novel, featuring several “choose your own adventure” style scenes and many puzzles of varying difficulties and skill sets. I really enjoyed it from start to finish, and of course I did read all possible avenues for the choose your own adventure scenes after selecting mine, because how could I not? Some of the puzzles did have me stumped at first, but I love that you can email the main character to get hints should you need them. The author, Bianca Marais, also has an incredibly helpful downloadable puzzle workbook on her website for those reading on kindle or audiobook, so I utilized that so I could work through the puzzles.

I did read this partially on kindle and partially on audio, and I found I actually preferred the audio format! I usually am not a huge fan of audiobooks, but A Most Puzzling Murder is truly fantastic on audio! The narration reminded me so much of the older Nancy Drew computer games, which may be a niche reference but is so, so accurate. The tone and cadence the narrator uses was very reminiscent of those games. I’m not sure if that was an intentional choice, but I really loved it nonetheless!

This book was a really fun blend of fantasy and mystery, two of my favorite genres, so it’s really no surprise that I enjoyed it so much. I would definitely recommend it in any format, but like I said above, I personally would lean towards audio for this one if you were a fan of those Nancy Drew computer games growing up (or let’s be real, still to this day) as it provides a nice dose of nostalgia.

Thank you Mira and The Hive for the early review copy and ALC of A Most Puzzling Murder. All opinions are my own!

This book didn’t work for me. I was able to download the PDF of the puzzles from the author website, but it didn’t include the answers. I’m not interested in doing the puzzles.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.