The Christmas Clue had such an intriguing premise — a festive mystery inspired by the classic board game Cluedo? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this one just didn’t deliver.

The story felt rushed and disjointed, with a plot that didn’t quite make sense and characters I struggled to care about. Despite the rich potential for a fun, atmospheric whodunit, it never really found its footing. A real shame, as I had high hopes going in.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the ARC. I appreciate the opportunity — but sadly, it's a no from me. Sorry to be a Christmas Grinch!

This plot is based on the idea that Anthony Pratt (inventor of Cluedo) and his wife, Elva, encountered a real life murder mystery which inspired Anthony's creation. Upson uses real facts such as the fact that Pratt's to organise murder games and Anthony played the piano at hotels to add to the realism of the plot.. It is 1943 and the Pratts decide to spend Christmas at the Tudor Close Hotel which they knew before the war. On the way, they call in on an old friend and find a dead body. Another death follows and the Pratts investigate. The cast of suspects closely resemble those in Cluedo as do the weapons. But all is not as it seems. What is the significance of the hangman's noose, who is the mysterious Mrs Threadgold in Room 7 and why do two other guests want to get into that room? Eventually all is revealed. This is a very enjoyable, clever story and perfect for a Christmas read.

It's Christmas Eve, 1943, and Anthony Pratt and his wife Elva have left the city of Birmingham where Anthony works in a factory, to drive to Tudor Close Hotel, where Anthony used to play the piano before the war, they have been invited back to entertain the guests.

Elva has to stop just before reaching the hotel as she needs to collect a present for Anthony, stopping at the shop of Miss Silver, where they find a body.

This is an enjoyable book, very evocative of the times, well written, with brilliant descriptions of how people tried to carry on during the most awful and trying of times.

I had never thought about who had invented the game of Cluedo, a game we have all played, so to find them as main characters in the book, was an absolute pleasure, and the little homages to Cluedo sprinkled along the way, was a great touch.

Highly recommended, a very enjoyable read with a few twists and turns along the way

Now this was a great read, full of twists and turns, amazing characters an interesting story line
I read this in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down
A perfect Christmas cosy murder mystery

This is a beautifully written novella based on the origins of the Cluedo boardgame, it was unexpectedly emotive, engaging and sweet.

Whilst the book concentrates on the murder plot about a couple running a murder mystery game in a hotel for Christmas, that becomes too real when someone is actually murdered, what has stayed with me the most is the simple descriptions of life during the war. The simple description of Anthony's factory job, the visual of the pianists hands and the physical impact of the war. Even the character's reactions to their first sighting of the sea defences as they walk along the beach.

The twists and turns of the plot were very unexpected, for an avid reader of murder mysteries I was surprised more than once on where the story took us. I was both intrigued by the story and moved by the characters. I highly recommend this new book by Nicola Upson.

A festive murder mystery which features the inventors of Cluedo Anthony and Elva Pratt. The Pratts have a Christmas engagement during the war in Rottingdean at the Tudor Close Hotel. However instead of entertaining the guests with a murder mystery game they find themselves involved in the real thing.

This is a great read for Christmas and marries fact and fiction beautifully. A nostalgic and throughly entertaining read.

I do find Upson books so very readable.
The problem with that, was that I felt I'd finished this book moments after starting it
Very enjoyable.
The inventors of Cluedo as main characters is a great story, and I liked how it referenced the board game multiple times. I'm sure many of us have never thought of its origins.
A lovely little cosy crime, with an added Christmas charm.
I'm looking forward to gifting this one.

I was immediately drawn to the reading The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson by the artwork on the cover, I loved the book design which was both festive and nicely referenced the period that the book is set. I was also drawn to the tag line, which I thought really sets the tone for the book: They planned a party game - not a murder.

This is a Christmas festive murder mystery and work of fiction but centres on two real-life characters Elva and Antony Pratt, who created the board-game Cluedo, which for me really added an element of fun to this ingenious book.

Anthony Pratt, musician and factory worker, and his wife Elva have left Birmingham and have driven down to the South Coast to deliver a murder mystery game over the Christmas period at the Tudor Close Hotel near Rottingdean. It’s an annual stop for them and they are known by the staff and locals in the village.

Murder mystery games at country houses and hotels were popular during the 1930s and 1940s. I found it interesting that the book is set in 1943, and despite the war, a Christmas murder mystery game is to take place at the hotel. The backdrop of World Ward II is seen in the book with the menu subjected to more plain food due to rationing and there’s also the presence of the Canadian Army stationed close by.

Antony Pratt and his wife Elva are really likeable characters and feel very authentic and of the period. I found myself likening them to Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence characters with their have-ago spirit in taking on the role of detectives. They stumble across a body in a sweet shop and so they start to investigate whilst also performing their duties at Tudor Close Hotel of organising a murder mystery game and Antony also playing the piano for the hotel guests. The story romps along as does the bodycount.

To me, it really felt like this was the particular festive weekend away for the Pratts was the kernel that grew into Cluedo. Over the course of the Christmas period, they cross paths with Miss Silver, Reverend Teal and Colonel Colman! The leap to the more recognisable Cluedo character’s name is not too much of a leap!

The notes at the end of the book are fascinating on how the real-life Pratts created and developed the game of Cluedo, how different editions have slightly different names to reflect cultural difference, and how the Pratts sold their rights to the game.

I wasn’t familiar with Nicola Upson as an author, but having read this book I shall definitely seek out her books.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Faber and Faber, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The author’s note that accompanied the download introduces the reader to the original creators of Cluedo, the world famous whodunnit board game, Anthony and Elva Pratt. They become the centre of this tale as it maps out a true murder mystery alongside the clever beginnings of the board game.
Set in WWII, Anthony and Elva are happily married, awaiting the end of the war. They are invited to a hotel for Christmas to spread some cheer in the way of Anthony’s piano playing and their ability to create mysteries for guests to partake in.
However, their drive to the hotel is interrupted by a murder which has them and the staff at the hotel shaken. Over the course of the Christmas period, the couple discover long hidden secrets and a plot for revenge. All of which begins to fall into place as the puzzle of whodunnit is revealed.
As a real couple, it is an ingenious plot to bring them and the creation of their game to life in the realest sense.
I enjoyed their relationship and their interactions with the other characters and their idea for a board game was brilliant.
At just under 200 pages, this is a quick and thoroughly enjoyable cosy crime!

As an avid fan of Nicola Upson, I had incredibly high hopes for this book. It started well, and I adored the concept of the beginnings of Cluedo, and was looking forward to a juicy Christmas novel I could get my teeth into. Sadly, I soon realised this was a very short story and it felt particularly rushed. It lacked the polish that I had come to expect from an Upson novel and I was left feeling very disappointed.

This was a great opportunity to explore a real life Cluedo but we just didn’t get there. Such a shame.