Review ‘The Christmas Murder Game’ By Alexandra Benedict

A clever and absorbing murder mystery set over Twelve Days of Christmas with every single ingredient mixed in, from the traditional festive food to huge old Endgame House deep in the Yorkshire countryside covered in a heavy layer of Yuletide snow. The characters, the guests, are mostly naughty or nice cousins related to each other, desperate to inherit old Endgame House by winning the long-established family game which takes them through every interesting room in the old house and outside in the grounds.

The Armitage family’s customary Noël treasure hunt takes the form of Anagram clues. This time the game is different; solve the twelve clues, find the twelve keys and the actual deeds to Endgame House are yours. What a prize! Keys are hidden in the most unlikely places. Readers can give it a go but I am hopeless with anagrams so I was content to soak up the vibe. The story is full of unsettling events, twists and turns and held me intrigued until the end.

The atmosphere kept me wondering, who stalks the Endgame halls? Naturally every guest has an opinion, attitude and past memories flecked with jealousy. Protagonist Lily Armitage is the quiet one lacking in confidence who still suffers trauma from her shocking childhood experience in the hedge Maze. She is good at the seeking game but initially has another private reason for being uncomfortable now she’s back in Endgame House.

Everyone remembers the deceased owner Mariana Armitage, Bowie music-lover and creative, who set the Anagram clues for their yearly family challenge. The same cook, Mrs Castle, still works delicious wonders in the kitchen producing meals and adjudicating the supply of clues. True to the trope, when the first party guest is murdered, suspicion begins to take hold but nobody really mourns and the game continues. The priority is to stay alive and not falter when another person is picked off by the killer and added to the ice house.

Living in Australia it is difficult to relate to freezing cold weather at this festive time of year. Nobody can leave because the snow-covered road is impassable and sabotage is suspected. Phone lines are down and their mobiles were taken from them on arrival; I can think of one or two ways to attract attention from the outside world but that would spoil the suspense. Lily is in a perpetual state of fear and determination, she really wants to find out if her mother was actually murdered all those years ago.

More keys found, more slaying and the loss of a Goodreads star (out of five) for a questionable ending as far as I’m concerned. Murder begets murder. I read the hardcover edition which contains family tree, floor plan, wordsearch and author notes. Also I liked the cover artwork and it fitted the criteria for Aussie Lovers of Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Book Club on Goodreads, a group read for the month of December 2023 which required a Christmas tree on the cover and my suggestion was chosen.🎄

Jingle bells, jolly holly and happy holidays to you!

❤ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Keys for Locking Things and Keeping Safe

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2015

COME ON, admit it. The majority of us have a container, a bowl or tray, on a side table where we toss things. Car keys, door keys, hats, toys, cards, pens, books, name tag, USB, junk mail, countless small items like Lego, and possibly your dog’s lead. They all get thrown, tossed, dropped into this repository, usually near an entry door. Next time you watch a domestic drama series, check how many times the house keys are tossed aside while the actor says ‘I’m home.’

THIS CASUAL receptacle is handy for coming home tired, but hopeless when you are in a hurry in the morning. I have discovered that annoyed pitching never works and requires the effort of fishing the item up off the floor and trying again.

OF COURSE, we are cautioned by Neighbourhood Watch not to use this careless form of storage because thieves can take your car keys on their way out with your Edwardian silverware.

DIFFICULT to disguise a set of car keys—good on you if you have keyless entry—but I hang unmarked keys in separate locations. At least that way the burglar has to scurry around trying to find the right set of hooks holding the right key to your vault or whatever. Naturally a door key may not be necessary if the entry point is used to exit.

THANKFULLY on the night my domestic dwelling was genuinely plundered, I was out, so my car was not there to ‘borrow’. I went to live theatre for the first time in years; you can read my anguish on a past blog post Stolen Jewellery Anger and Sorrow.

THE AVERAGE household uses only one or two different keys and bowl storage works out pretty well until someone wants an unused key necessary to unlock a side window in the spare bedroom. The relevant key is finally located from a neglected bundle at the bottom of a woven tray on the kitchen sideboard. It has been transferred to another storage facility, i.e. drawer. We humans know how to waste time searching for small things.

KEYS offer something primitive and satisfying about locking a door. It is real, it makes a solid locking noise and creates a tangible barrier between you and the world. For me, a beep doesn’t cut it. Do you hear an electronic click when you issue a ‘lock door’ command? Do you hear a thunk like a garage door closing when you tap a screen? I guess the modern manufacturer is well versed in consumer psychology and pre-programs various locking noises. Kind of like phone ring tones but different.

“I hope I could get an electronic sound like a warden pushing an ancient castle door closed, one which grinds and crunches as it shuts tight against rampaging possums”
GBW 2021

A LOT can be said about smart key entry, finger print identity, voice commands, internet-based security, eye recognition, tomographic motion detection, etc, but since I don’t know how most of that technology works, I am sticking with my metal keys. Of course, the family has keys so I check to see they have ‘properly’ locked the door at night—blame scary movies.

DOMESTIC security is important… millions of people don’t have a door to lock… or a home…

St Vincent de Paul
Vinnies Winter Appeal 2021
Over two million people live below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children. This winter Vinnies Appeal will provide emergency relief to families at risk and experiencing homelessness.
Donate https://donate.vinnies.org.au/winter-appeal

Please visit ‘The Lighthouse’ poet Tom Alexander and read his introspective poem on keys
https://tomalexwrite.com/2021/07/07/different-keys/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward