Two unlikely detectives. A killer cocktail of suspects.
A Gibson martini garnished with three silverskin onions is 77-year-old Mimi’s favourite cocktail. It is best served with a crossword puzzle, not as an apéritif at Jane Ireland’s extravagant auction party.
But given Mimi has been blackmailed into attending Jane’s event, at a grand old mansion on Mackinac Island (Michigan’s answer to The Hamptons), there are worse drinks she could spend an evening sinking.
Thankfully for her, she’s roped her granddaughter, Addie – who is escaping the heartache caused by her manipulative ex-fiancé – into accompanying her. While Addie spots celebrities and socialites in the manor’s labyrinth of dark rooms and Mimi wonders how to confess the real reason for her presence at the soiree, a scream pierces the air.
Jane is dead.
And when a second body turns up, Mimi and Addie soon become the unlikeliest of sleuths in a race to narrow down the suspects.
In a house that contains as many secrets as the people within it, it’s going to take more than a Gibson to survive the night…

This may not be a game, but it’s not a conventional novel either. I think it’s trying to do something different. To me, this read like a board game or a video game that had been twisted into the format of a novel. Once I understood that, it was clear I was not the target audience for this novel. I get little to no enjoyment from board games or puzzles. 

I enjoyed the start of the novel, where Mimi and her granddaughter Addie were introduced. I laughed at some of Mimi’s attitudes and comments. Both Mimi and Addie felt real to me. I could easily imagine a fun dynamic between the “I’m too old to care what anyone thinks of me” Mimi and the people-pleasing, clever, puzzle-solving, self-esteem-damaged Addie I also wanted to know what Mimi had done that had set her up as a target for blackmail. 

Then the action moved to the island, and the life started to drain from the story. The setup for the murder was a little clumsy. There were a lot of characters/future suspects but most of them seemed to come from Central Casting – they seemed familiar but not real. The initial interrogations by the Mimi were static and plodding. I felt as if both of their personalities were being drowned out by the creaking mechanics of the plot.

So, a third of the way through the book, I decided I was unlikely to have fun with it and set it aside. 

I liked Laurence Bouvard’s narration. I thought she handled the comedy well. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample of her performance.