A Most Puzzling Murder - Penguin Book Club

Paperback, 480 pages

English language

Published by Mira Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7783-8777-0

Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place!

She decodes the invitation's hidden message with ease, and its promise to reveal her family secrets proves too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It’s a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another.

Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma …

Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place!

She decodes the invitation's hidden message with ease, and its promise to reveal her family secrets proves too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It’s a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another.

Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma to them as they are to her. While Destiny slowly works to unravel the mysteries hidden throughout the ominous castle, she struggles to interpret disturbing nightly visions of what is to come. In the midst of cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family’s magical line of succession, Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die and she’s running out of time to stop it.

Interspersed with riddles and puzzles that both Destiny and the reader must solve, A Most Puzzling Murder is a one-of-a-kind mystery that will leave you guessing and gasping until the very last page!

1 edition

Ian reviewed A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais

I don't think the author was sure how to tell the story she wanted to tell.

1 star

Content warning Mild spoilers

The puzzle mechanic didn't seem to serve a purpose; neither did the choose-a-path decisions. I would have preferred a consistent reason for the puzzles to be present, and to make them of consistent (or even increasing) difficulty, and for there to be a meta-puzzle of some kind. The story itself seemed haphazard in terms of both plot and tone, and the characterization of Destiny was heavy-handed in comparison to the other characters. I did appreciate the constantly-revised family tree diagrams. It felt like the book may have been originally written for a YA audience, but the presence of a 20+ victim serial killer in the plot and other dark events made me doubt that assessment.