I enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, so I was quite eager to read this…and thanks to my oldest nibling, I got the chance to read this.
I really did enjoy this book. It’s a prequel to the original trilogy, and seems to have been written after the others, but I would personally say that it works really well as an introduction to the storyline and characters if people haven’t read the trilogy yet.
I really liked the beginning, with the invitation that came to Pip. I do have to say, though, I felt that the murder mystery game didn’t make things easy for the players, even disregarding the ending of the book and the big reveal. I feel like it would have made playing the game easier if the players were able to read their character booklets before the game was actually due to start…but then again, I guess the story wouldn’t have been as effective if the game company had done the logical thing.
I liked how each of the friend group got involved in the roles they were playing, even Lauren, who was showing signs of her irritating clingy personality with her constant need to message her boyfriend. Cara was my favourite when it came to playing her role, as she seemed to really get into the spirit of the game…plus, I really enjoyed her dramatic gasps every time something happened, or was revealed in the game.
I liked the fact that what had happened with Sal and Andie permeated so much of the book, whether it was Pip thinking about the connection of the murder with the town itself, or the group freaking out because of things that happened during the course of the evening.
If you haven’t read the trilogy, I would say to give this novella a try, as it works as a good introduction to the storyline and the characters. And if you have read the trilogy, I would still recommend reading this…as it’s easy to read and allows a good glimpse into more of the characters from the original books. I would definitely read more books about Pip, Cara, Connor, Jamie and Zach…less so about Lauren and Ant.
Ink of Blood 