The Name of the Game Was Murder

One of my favorites from Joan Lowery Nixon. This was a great mystery and I had a ton of fun reading it; you would too, especially if you enjoy solving puzzles and riddles. It's got a great plot, great characters, and a great ending. I read this book ten years ago, and I can remember it vividly. ( )

This was a very werid book. You would not even think that some of the things logically could happen. I think that if you are into a scary mystery this is the book for you. This book is a quick read so I think that you should read it. ( )

Janice Del Negro (Booklist, Mar. 1, 1993 (Vol. 89, No. 13))
A would-be writer, teenage Samantha is attending a house party at the island mansion of her uncle, Augustus Trevor. A famous author, Trevor has written a book revealing some deep, dark secret from the past of each of his now famous houseguests. The guest who finds the hidden manuscript--using clues provided by Trevor--will have his or her "secret" removed. Everyone, except Samantha, has something to hide, even Sam's Aunt Thea, Trevor's wife. But Trevor can't control his own game, and someone bludgeons him to death in an effort to find the damning manuscript. Trapped on the island by a storm and without phone contact to the mainland, Samantha and the others grudgingly work together to find the manuscript and uncover the killer. The derivative plot is helped along by the quick pacing and melodramatic setting, and the stock players (the movie star, the senator, the fashion designer) perform their roles as expected. While the ending is startlingly abrupt and somewhat anticlimactic, the mystery will still be popular with genre fans. Category: Older Readers. 1993, Delacorte, $15. Gr. 6-8.

Typical mystery story. It was well written and fun to read. Altough nothing that would make me read it again. ( )