This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

 

This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen.

Published 10th April 2025 from Century.

From the cover of the book:

Two unlikely detectives. A killer cocktail of suspects.

A Gibson martini garnished with three silverskin onions is 77-year-old Mimi’s favourite cocktail. It is best served with a crossword puzzle, not as an apéritif at Jane Ireland's extravagant auction party.

But given Mimi has been blackmailed into attending Jane's event, at a grand old mansion on Mackinac Island (Michigan’s answer to The Hamptons), there are worse drinks she could spend an evening sinking.

Thankfully for her, she's roped her granddaughter, Addie – who is escaping the heartache caused by her manipulative ex-fiancé – into accompanying her. While Addie spots celebrities and socialites in the manor's labyrinth of dark rooms and Mimi wonders how to confess the real reason for her presence at the soiree, a scream pierces the air.

Jane is dead. And when a second body turns up, Mimi and Addie soon become the unlikeliest of sleuths in a race to narrow down the suspects.

In a house that contains as many secrets as the people within it, it’s going to take more than a Gibson to survive the night…

***********

Crossword loving, seventy-seven year old Mimi's reputation as a self resilient, respectable member of the swanky Mackinac Island community is in danger. She has been blackmailed into attending an impromptu auction at celebrity Jane Ireland's grand mansion, and will reluctantly have to attend or risk her secret getting out. For moral support, she calls on a Gibson cocktail or two, and the aid of her game-designer granddaughter Addie, despite their falling out over Addie's scum-bag ex-fiancé, Brian.

The event has attracted a rag-tag selection of celebrities and socialites, but Mimi cannot help feeling there is something odd about this gathering. Her suspicions are proved correct when Jane is murdered during the evening. As the snow falls around them, cutting the mansion off from the help of the police, it is very handy that murder-mystery obsessed Addie is on hand to look into the affair - especially since someone seems keen to frame Mimi for Jane's demise...

In a delicious mash-up of Knives Out by way of Murder She Wrote Kelly Mullen's locked room murder mystery is so much fun. Forced into attending an evening of blackmail and dirty deeds, the fabulous Mimi and her troubled granddaughter Addie turn sleuths to discover who has killed Jane, and this is far from easy in a house full of likely suspects.

There is a lovely cosy feel to this novel as it is wreathed in nostalgic popular culture references to crime stories and detectives, and elicits the atmosphere of the kind of tv crime shows of my youth - particularly dear old Jessica Fletcher (who gets a worthy mention). The cast is very much drawn from the kinds of characters you might meet in a knotty mystery for Mrs Fletcher to solve too, with dysfunctional family members, business associates, shady love interests, and suspicious staff members. But Mullen also includes plenty to a modern audience too, especially through her very clever thread about game-play, and the way the Addie and Mimi make slick little jumps forward in their investigation, very much like levels in a game.

Mimi and Addie make an unlikely, but charming pair of sleuths, and the way they work through their own personal issues at the same time as solving this red herring stuffed mystery is very entertaining. I loved how their relationship warmed over the course of the story as the iciness melted and true feelings were revealed, and even shed a tear or two at the conclusion of the tale when they had reached a new level of understanding - and Addie had found the courage to take charge of her issues with rotten Brian.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gem. It is filled with enjoyable twists and turns, and lashings of well-judged humour that raised more than a few chuckles. I am very much up for more crime solving adventures for Mimi and Addie, should Kelly Mullen be so inclined!

This is Not a Game is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Century for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Kelly Mullen has worked as a producer in Hollywood and a marketing executive in New York and London. During the pandemic she took online writing courses through Curtis Brown Creative and The Novelry, which reignited her childhood passion for writing. This Is Not A Game is her first novel and was inspired by a two-week stay at her grandmother’s house in 2021.

As an executive producer, her credits include Academy Award-nominated Trumbo starring Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren, and AppleTV+’s Dads produced with Ron Howard. Her creative work for brands has won over 50 awards, including Cannes Lions and Clios.

Born and raised in Iowa, Kelly is now a dual citizen of the US and UK. She lives in London with her husband and their rescue cats.