Review: Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manor

Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manor by Anthony E. Zuiker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description :

A grand estate. Ten unsuspecting guests. A diabolical game of life and death.

A companion to the upcoming show Whodunnit? on ABC

Ten excited guests arrive at the Westlake Estate, expecting a lavish retreat. They are the winners of a sweepstakes to "Live Like a Billionaire for a Week." But what was supposed to be a promising escape soon turns into a horrific nightmare. 

Within hours of arrival, the guests sit down for an extravagant dinner. When they pull their party poppers as instructed, a loud chorus of bangs resounds, followed by earsplitting screams as the guest seated at the head of the table bursts into flames and slumps to the floor. The others are told they must solve the crime or be the next victim. 

The killer, their diabolical host, is hiding among the frightened guests. Is the murderer the well-toned trophy wife, the retired deputy sheriff, the stoned college dropout, or perhaps the sweet, homely grandmother? The killer toys with them, inviting the guests to explore the lavish estate, from the stables to the hedge maze, in an effort to uncover the gory details of how the murderer pulled off such a gruesome murder. 

Alliances are forged carefully and information is shared warily, since none of the remaining guests knows whom to trust. The next to die a hideous death will be the one with the least accurate solution to the latest murder. In the end, only three guests will remain: the winner, the loser, and the killer.

Full of tricky plot twists and over-the-top schemes, Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manner is a riveting page-turner--required reading for mystery fans. Readers are treated to an edge-of-their-seat thriller as they participate in solving the crime. It's Clue meets Ten Little Indians. 

Anthony E. Zuiker is the creator and executive producer of the CSI franchise, which includes CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY. His mystery reality show, Whodunnit?, is his first foray into unscripted television. He lives in Los Angeles with his three children and his wife, Michelle

Moon Shine Art Spot's Review

Awesome page turner. I had to know what came next.

I have always liked the stories about how a lump of folks get invited to a super mansion for an awesome free vacation just for it to turn to murder with no escape & a who among us is doing it? Getting to know each person, well as the butler's point of view and how he became involved added a new element to the story. Each character/victim was well developed, but was still impossible for me to figure the killer. Even at the end I could not believe what was happening other than a lot of insanity. Loved it!

Each character was well developed just shy of telling who was capable of murder. I began to like the butler (Giles) and his strong professionalism as a butler who took great pride in his job even though he might not have expected it t be so gruesome and stressful.

I was pleased with the different an ingenious ways of killing thit guests. The murders were much more complex than the old days push them out of a window or stab them.

Over all it was a good mystery that I enjoyed reading as well as trying to figure out. This mystery was a good example of human nature. Some think of others, some of themselves only, some use trickery, and few are fairly decent or selfless people.



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