Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But how many will die before the Twelfth Night?

The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages’ grand family home. This year’s prize is to die for–deeds to the house itself–but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn’t been back to Endgame since her mother died, twenty-one years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams.

Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game’s riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother’s murderer.

Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. The snow is thick, the phone lines are down, and no one is getting in or out. Lily will have to keep her wits about her because not everyone is playing fair, and there’s no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

This was my first time with this author, and unfortunately, it didn’t go very well. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job. I love British voice-overs, but I struggled with the story. It had a very slow start. I never wanted to stop listening, so it did keep my attention. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next, but the pacing could’ve been executed better.

Once we get to the halfway point, the pacing picks up and the story gets much more interesting. Then the bodies started to drop, but I was disappointed that it took up to the 50% mark to get our first dead body. I thought that was way too long before anything interesting happened.

Listening to the audiobook, I didn’t really care about the puzzles and riddles that were part of the family’s annual Christmas game. Maybe if I had a physical copy of the book, it would’ve been more entertaining, but just listening to it, that part of the story didn’t stand out for me. I had a hard time figuring them out and couldn’t quite understand them via audio. Therefore, I wasn’t fully invested in the game everyone was playing.

As for the characters, I had a hard time connecting to any of them. They all felt one-dimensional and bland. They all lacked any personality and were poorly developed. I wasn’t fully invested in anyone, except maybe Lily. I was able to sympathize with her, but she was also hiding her own secrets, which intrigued me. 

This is definitely a case of “rich people behaving badly.” They are all terrible to each other and just horrible human beings in general. I would never want to be part of this family (lol)! There was so much lying, betrayal, deceit, and backstabbing (literally), but once I got to the part where bodies started to drop, I found the story more compelling. The murder mystery element was rather predictable, though. I guessed some of the big reveal earlier in the book. Then the other reveals were just eye-rolling-inducing and ridiculous. 

The best part of the book for me was the setting of the story – out in the remote English countryside, at a big, lavish estate/mansion, during winter with bad weather. It created the perfect dreary, creepy atmosphere that I enjoy with winter thrillers. At one point, they become stuck in this area and are locked in the house. I love these isolated elements in mystery and thriller books. However, it didn’t feel Christmasy at all. There were a few scenes that passively felt holiday-ish, but I wanted a lot more. This story could’ve taken place any time during winter. I didn’t get Christmastime hardly at all, which was very disappointing. 

Overall, the plot sounded rather intriguing, but unfortunately, it wasn’t executed that well. I felt like so much more could’ve been done with the story. I wanted over-the-top drama to make it really captivating, but instead, it was slow, dreary, and lackluster. At times, I was bored with it and just wanted something to happen. I also thought it would be a light-hearted Christmas mystery thriller, but it felt heavy and dark. It took itself a little too seriously. 

Even though I had problems with this book, I didn’t hate it. There were parts that I enjoyed. I say read at your own risk. If it sounds interesting to you, maybe give it a try. But I’m not sure if I’ll pick up another book by this author in the future, unfortunately.