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.

Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC of this novel! Having grown up on not only 80s movies but also an avid lover of murder mysteries, my interest in Clue is really a no-brainer. The fact that the game has made its way through various fandoms and remakes to now become a YA series is just amazing to me. I was so excited to be accepted for it and to test my mettle as I attempted to sniff out the culprit of the crime. This task was no easy one; as we are introduced to a cast of characters who all have something to hide, and something to lose.

We see the names we know and love, but in such a creative and fun way. Some are last names like Green, others are nicknames like Mustard. They are all going to a boarding school of sorts in the frigid Maine winter. They vary in social status from a local boy on scholarship to a celebrity in hiding, and that rift causes even more distrust. There is an ice storm approaching, and most of the school’s inhabitants have been evacuated, but the few that stay are moved into the Tudor House; the oldest building on the grounds that is on a hill and less likely to get flooded. Once there, our color-coded friends divvy up rooms and buckle down for an undetermined stay.

In the morning, damage is discovered, and in the effort to clean up the mess before the matron of the house, Mrs. White, finds out and is even more distraught than she already is, a body is found. More specifically, the body of Mr. Boddy, the headmaster. Theories fly rampant: anything from suicide to a looter in the night. Signs quickly begin to point to a murder, and fingers start pointing from all sides. We learn more and more about these characters through this process, and I can honestly say I did not suspect the true culprit until I was about 75% done with the novel. I loved the open ending, and I can’t wait to see where these mysteries go from here. It’s going to be such a fun series if this one is any indication!

5/5 stars