Diana Peterfreund

Hasbro, Inc.

"When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students--including Beth 'Peacock' Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam 'Mustard' Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry--are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, her body is found hanging in the conservatory and it's very clear her death was no suicide. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder"--

A Clue Mystery #1

In the Hall with the Knife

A murderer could be around every corner in this thrilling YA trilogy based on the board game CLUE! When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students—including Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry—are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it’s very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund’s modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls.

A Clue Mystery, Book One

Leticia Leal

Letty was murdered in the bedroom with boredom by the author.

Ariel

The writing and characters fell flat for me. Disappointed as the synopsis was intriguring but couldnt get into the story and the multiple povs made me feel disconnected frm the plot

Haley Murray

Holly

Campy, unoriginal, and poorly wrapped up.
That being said, will I read the second one?
... Probably.

Meghan M

This book gets a 3-star solely because it had the "- was murdered by -- in the --- with the --" and Clue is one of my all time favorite games. I love a good multiple POV as much as the next person, but there were too many and with this book being as short as it is, it had my head spinning quite a bit. It just seemed very rushed, but I can see how the series is set up for book two.

Brittany Harper

This was good, not amazing, but good.  Definitely lacked details, which made me think it could have been longer and more thoroughly written.  But maybe those will be further laid out in the next two books?  It was basic, and since it was taking from the "Clue" concept, parts seemed ... simple.  But that didn't make it bad.  Quick read.

Carol

This was a pretty fun read, although it did read a little younger than I was expecting for a YA. 

Pros:
- Enjoyable mystery with interesting hooks to keep you reading.
- I enjoyed the cozy atmosphere/setting. There's a big storm on campus, power cut, all that good stuff. Tudor House also reads well as the house from Cluedo so I'll give it that.
- Definitely alligns well with Cluedo/Clue, funs little nods throughout that fans would appreciate.

Cons: 
- Writing is quite basic. Not enough showing and too much telling.
- Dialogue is a bit stilted, characters weren't particularly interesting (although I was curious to learn more about their individual mysteries throughout)
- Fairly predictable plot. It was painfully clear to me who the murderer was throughout.

Although the book had it's drawbacks for me, I could enjoy it for what it was and had a good experience reading this one by a cozy fire. I'd say if you're a fan of Clue/Cluedo and/or enjoy shows like Riverdale this would be a fun one to pick up!

A murderer could be around every corner in this thrilling YA trilogy based on the board game CLUE! When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students--including Beth "Peacock" Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam "Mustard" Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry--are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it's very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund's modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls.

Mabel Palomera

I enjoyed the characters secrets and wanted to know more, but of course we only got tidbits in order to make them all suspects. This is a trilogy so let’s just see how this goes, with the reveals.

Also, this takes place in Maine, but feels like it would take place somewhere abroad.

Tiffany Robinson

I thought the killer revel was pretty predictable but I enjoyed the journey. There are so many unanswered questions by the end of the book and the ending was such a cliffhanger. I wish there was a couple of more ends tied up, but I hope more things are answered in the sequel.

Katie

This was so incredibly boring. None of the characters had any significant personality, and it felt like the entire book was just a bunch of whiny teenagers being deliberately obtuse about literally everything. Everyone had some deep, dark secret and I just. Didn't. Care.

For once in my life, I actually figured out the culprit before the big reveal. I'm pretty dumb about mysteries so I usually don't figure it out before the ending, but it really didn't feel like the author was trying to be subtle at all. All the red herrings were obvious red herrings, and the real murderer was obviously the real murderer. This was so underwhelming :(

Samantha King

I love the game cluedo so when I found out about this book I had to read it. 
It's a fun mystery that will leave readers wanting more. I became really engrossed in the story and wanting to know who the killer was. It kept me turning the page in fact I finished it in two days.
It was a fun read and the reveal although I worked it out myself was really good.
The only reason I didnt give this four stars is because I didnt connect to the characters as much as I do with other books. I'd liked to have felt a little more tension from the book while reading it. Overall this was a fun, gripping read and I will definitely continue the series.
I will say the ending confused me a little but that could just be me.

Laura Springall

This was just ok. It was really fun, entertaining, and I loved the atmosphere. But the actual plot was really lacking for me. It was painfully obvious from the beginning where the plot was going, not a single thing took me by surprise lmfao. But it was still fun at least!

Lynn Braden

In the Hall with the Knife is a clever YA book based on the game of Clue. All of the characters in the book have names or nicknames based on one of the characters from the game. The main characters attend the boarding school, Blackbrook Academy, and have enough secrets to make them all suspects in the murder of their headmaster, Brian Boddy. Most of students of the school have already headed home due to a warning that a major winter storm is approaching. A few students and staff are stranded at the school when the power goes out and the flooding begins, including, Beth "Peacock" Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam "Mustard" Maestor, Finn Plum, Scarlet Mistry, Mrs. White, and Headmaster Boddy. The tension really starts to build after they find Headmaster Boddy's body stabbed with knife in the chest.
In the Hall with the Knife does a good job of developing the characters by having every chapter told from the perspective of a different character and layering the secrets each one is keeping. After the murderer is revealed, the author leaves a nice opening for a sequel. Overall an entertaining mystery.

Ally Wagner

3.7?

I admit, I had higher hopes for this book in the strict sense that "Clue" is my favorite board game and one of my favorite books. So, I went in expecting one thing and ended up with something else. That said, this is a good book. Yes, it has the elements of "Clue" such as hidden passage ways, references to the staple murder weapons in the game, 'colorful' characters, and all the various rooms. 

The book takes place at a 'rich kids' school. A savage storm rolls in and leaves a few people stranded in a dorm house. We have all our key players: Plum, Peacock, White, Mustard, Green, and Scarlet, as well as a few others. As the title says, someone dies in the hall with the knife during the night. From there on, they try to solve who is the murderer. 

The book's ending was missing the shock factor for me, but it did leave enough unknowns to keep the readers (including myself) to read the rest of the series when it comes out.

Overall, I would recommend this book for the clever "Clue" spinoff and for the murder-mystery genre.

Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC!

Celia Adams

I loved the board game, I loved the movie, and now I love this book! Very fun murder mystery/ twin thriller with just enough hints of drama and secrets to keep you enthralled. And gratefully, no over-saturated romance sub-plots, which normally I love but I would find a little unnecessary considering whats happening in this book.

In the Hall with the Knife A Clue Mystery #1

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