An enthralling and twisty locked-room mystery that will keep readers guessing.
Three teenage girls end up snowed in at an English mansion where a murder takes place—and the killer is one of the few people trapped there.
One wintry evening, someone poisons wealthy Emily Vanforte in her ancestral home, the gothic Vanforte mansion on the remote, rural Bramble Estate. The prime suspects include those she shared her final meal with—her politician husband, Charles; her daughter, Lottie; Lottie’s boyfriend, Douglas Treefair; and her nephew, Tate Astur. But a snowstorm stranded three other people under the same roof: Devi Mistry, a 17-year-old Londoner of Indian descent, who was driving to her grandmother’s home; Lizzie Newton-Hill, who was delivering a diamond necklace to Emily on her jewelry store owner mother’s behalf; and housekeeper’s assistant Jayne Faraway, who was instructed by Emily to tend to the two unexpected overnight visitors. As darkness falls, the three young women, who are acutely aware that Emily’s killer is lurking around the mansion, wander through passageways exploring as they investigate the Vanforte family’s dark secrets. Divided into five parts—“The House,” “The Murder,” “The Truth,” “The Revenge,” and “The Trial”—the narrative alternates among Devi’s, Lizzie’s, and Jayne’s points of view and includes police interview transcripts. The evocative setting and isolated pool of suspects create a classic mystery feeling that’s both cozy and chilling. The shifting timeline and surprise reveals ramp up the suspense. Most characters are cued white.
An enthralling and twisty locked-room mystery that will keep readers guessing. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781728296876
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Exhilarating, nonstop fun.
A murder on The Escape Game, a popular reality TV show, puts the next round of contestants at risk—can they all get out alive?
The previous season of the show, in which groups of teens race to get through escape rooms, ended in disaster when Sierra Angelos and her team discovered another player lying dead in a coffin—her older sister, Alicia. But the network and ruthless executive producer determine that the show will go on. Prickly, olive-skinned Sierra, whom some suspect of murder, is returning—and she’s determined to find the killer. Her new team includes math whiz Carter Kelly, who’s Black; home-schooled, white-presenting Beck Matheson, who designs his own escape rooms and is trans; and Aditya Parvesh, who’s cued South Asian, has a way with words, and was pushed into auditioning by his movie star mother. At first, Team Helsing struggles to gel, but the teens’ shared desire to prove themselves makes them a formidable powerhouse—even if they’re hiding some of their true goals from one another. As clues to the killer’s identity start appearing, the players must try to make it to the finale before someone else becomes the next victim. This thrilling whodunit moves at a page-turning pace; the occasional reveals for the main mystery are well balanced with the tighter sequences of solving the escape rooms. The narration rotates among the central cast, allowing readers to empathize with each character in turn and be privy to even more intrigue.
Exhilarating, nonstop fun. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217006120
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
