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The Game Is Murder

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The Game Is Murder

By: Hazell Ward
Narrated by: Sebastian Humphreys, David Monteath
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE MOST ORIGINAL, META MURDER MYSTERY OF 2025, PERFECT FOR FANS OF STUART TURTON, ANTHONY HOROWITZ AND AGATHA CHRISTIE!

THIRTEEN GUESTS. THIRTEEN SUSPECTS. AN IMPOSSIBLE MURDER.
A MYSTERY YOU MUST SOLVE - OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES...

What if a Great Detective reinvestigated the most famous unsolved murder case of the century?

What if that Great Detective was you?
You have been invited to a very special murder mystery party.
Thirteen guests have been gathered - rather, thirteen suspects.

But only one of them is a murderer. And only you can find them.
Your task is simple. Listen to the witnesses, examine the evidence, and solve the case.
Be careful. Trust no one. In this story, all may not be as it seems.
The ultimate murder mystery is yours to solve.

A word of warning, though - catch the killer, or face the consequences...

'A high-energy mystery, both excalamation point and question mark...a striking, playful novel' A.J. Finn

'Witty and remarkable and entirely unpredictable' Alex Pavesi
'Strikingly original, but with nods to Golden Age crime...different, clever, and highly entertaining!' Guy Morpuss
'A postmodern puzzler that dares to pull apart every trope in the book - literally' Antony Johnston
'A remarkable, unique novel inspired by an infamous case' Nicholas Royle

© Hazell Ward 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Amateur Sleuths Crime Crime Thrillers Historical Murder Mystery Private Investigators Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Fiction Witty Detective

Critic reviews

A tour-de-force meta mystery. There are puzzles for the reader to solve, frequent authorial intrusions, dozens of sly, knowledgeable references to detective fiction classics and unexpected twists galore. I’ll freely admit I was baffled much of the time, and the last-minute reveal of the murderer was a total surprise, but Ward’s book is so captivating that I eagerly kept turning the pages
A high-energy mystery, both exclamation point and question mark – like Agatha Christie on amphetamines. Imagine a labyrinth packed with ninety-degree turns and spiralling staircases and art on the walls – and a ruthless guide addressing you directly from the page – and you’ve got a sense of The Game Is Murder, a striking, playful novel for neither the faint of heart nor the slow of wit (A.J. Finn)
A significant achievement, packed with insight and invention, The Game Is Murder presents the reader with a fiction killing that seems to defy explanation. It is witty and remarkable and entirely unpredictable (Alex Pavesi)
A romp amongst Golden Age tropes, in which the reader is asked to become sleuth in a murder mystery...to solve a puzzle conundrum, the novel becoming a sort of board game come to life. If you like meticulously solving puzzles this spright piece of metaficton will appeal
A postmodern puzzler that dares to pull apart every trope in the book – literally (Antony Johnston)
I thoroughly enjoyed The Game Is Murder. Strikingly original, but with nods to Golden Age crime, it's an ingenious story of constantly changing perspectives. Different, clever, and highly entertaining! (Guy Morpuss)
Move over, Anthony Horowitz. First-timer Ward has entered with a whodunit just as playfully meta as yours...clues like the putative murder weapon will be analysed to within an inch of their lives and all parties in atendance will stand accused, singly and jointly, of crimes and misdemeanours before the author pulls one last rabbit from her hat in a denouement likely to be hailed with both surprise and exhausted relief. Hardcore fans entranced by all those Easter eggs may well turn the last page wondering if they've missed even more
A clever, immersive mystery...through witness testimony, scattered clues, and conflicting accounts, the puzzle unfolds like a classic whodunit - only nothing is quite as it seems
A remarkable, unique novel inspired by an infamous case that embraces experimental, postmodern and metafictional techniques (Nicholas Royle)
A mind-bending experiment in crime fiction, throwing light on one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth-century (Oliver Harris)
All stars
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Didn’t like the story the characters the way the subject matter was handled or the attitude towards the subject

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This was boring, over long and tried and failed to be innovative and fresh. Really disappointing and a waste of a credit. I listened to the last couple of hours sped up to get through it.

Deranged and full of plot holes

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The narration is exceptional and really brings the story to life.

Very enjoyable and fun, and a story out of the ordinary.

Very enjoyable and brilliant narration

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