The Christmas Murder Game

Not what I thought it would be, but I respect it for what it chose to do, insofar as it tackled heavier themes than I thought. Honestly my bad for gambling with the ‘not reading synopsis' game, it was definitely more on the gothic than cozy end. 
With murder being in the title, I expected there to be death, but not this level of meditating on the trauma of loss, fresh and old, the grieving process, mother/daughter relationships, toxic or absent family situations, and how they can shape people. 

Seemingly random detail, but I do appreciate the dress/corset design descriptions. Also the strong bisexual and queer rep. 

 I'm not very good puzzles, but it didn't really feel like reader participation was required, everything got laid out soon after the introduction of each clue, not including the word puzzles directed at the reader that I didn't really care to figure out as they weren't necessary to the plot. 

I'll admit the culprits were pretty obvious, it was the slow unveiling of the why rather than the who, while exploring family dynamics, that kept me reading. After twelve days of searching for answers, the ending did feel comparatively rushed, but I'm glad for the character roster that did survive and the promise of romance. 🥰 ⚠️Incest