July 25, 2022
YA author Gagnon (#famous) makes her adult debut with a clever mystery. New Yorker Becca Wilson isn’t sure her marriage can survive after her husband, Blake, has an affair, but she’s willing to try to forgive him after he surprises her with a stay at an upstate mansion hotel hosting eight guests for a murder mystery weekend with a Roaring Twenties theme. Blake is asked to adopt the guise of Reid A. Dailey, a fictional newspaper heir, while Becca is assigned the role of ingenue Debbie Taunte. At first, she enjoys the lavish setting, campy scenario, and chance to wear her best clothes. But the discovery of the “victim”—chanteuse Ida Crooner’s dramatically staged corpse—isn’t enough to distract her from the pain of Blake’s infidelity, and her unease grows when the young woman pretending to be Crooner’s maid vanishes without explanation. Gagnon smoothly integrates the Wilsons’ marital woes with the present-day mystery and the 1920s puzzle, which is illuminated by handouts from the event’s organizers scattered throughout the text. Becca’s sardonic first-person narration sparkles. Lovers of both golden age and contemporary whodunits will have fun. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary.
March 1, 2023
YA author Gagnon's (#famous) adult debut, deftly narrated by Christine Lakin and David DeSantos, features unfaithful husband Blake, who hopes to make up for his indiscretion by treating his wife, Becca, to a lavish murder-mystery weekend trip. The weekend's theme is the Roaring Twenties--Ida Crooner, the owner of the mansion, has been murdered, and the guests must solve the mystery by the end of the weekend. Each guest is assigned a character with a personality and backstory. When a maid named Bethany disappears, Becca suspects she has been murdered, but she doesn't know if Bethany's disappearance is part of the game or if a real murder has occurred. Becca is embarrassed to reveal her suspicions, so she attempts to find the murderer herself, surrounded by guests who hold secrets and relationships that are not as idyllic as they appear to be. Lakin and DeSantos ramp up the fun, providing each character with a distinct voice, whether they are speaking as their real selves or their 1920s-era personas. VERDICT A delightful romp of a mystery, � la Knives Out. Mystery and relationship fans who played Clue as children will be entranced.--Ilka Gordon
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.