Book Review: The Christmas Murder Game

By Jessica Oravec

“Dear Armitage family and guests, Well, I’m dead, then. Which is a shame, as I was anticipating a wonderful Christmas with you all and looking forward even more to watching you try to solve my clues and secure Endgame’s future. That would have been a delight, especially as so many of you are so bad at it,” begins Liliana Armitage-Feather’s last message to her family.

In The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict, Liliana’s family has come to Endgame House to discover who will inherit it. But Liliana has one last game for them to play, and it’s a deadly one. Everyone must stay in the house for the Twelve Days of Christmas — any less, and they forfeit.

There are 12 clues that lead to 12 keys, one of which opens the door to a secret room that contains the deed of the house. Whoever finds the deed gets the house. But the clues are not straightforward, and they are layered with meaning.

Liliana’s final letter to Lily (her niece) invites her to play the game — not to win the house — but to discover who murdered her mother. Having long believed that her mother died by suicide, Lily is eager to learn the truth. But with each new clue, the game gets deadlier.

Benedict does a wonderful job of bringing her characters to life. Each family member has a reason for wanting the house, and a motive for wanting everyone else gone. In addition to the 12 clues for the characters to figure out, Benedict also gives the reader games to play. She has hidden anagrams of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” as well as titles of 12 of her favorite country house mysteries set during Christmas. Even her acknowledgements page has a game for the reader. This is a wonderful mystery to get readers into the Christmas spirit.