Rebecca Wilson is swept away on a surprise 1920's theme murder mystery weekend by her husband Blake in an attempt to reconcile with her for his betrayal. She is naturally curious but suspicious when realizes that they are at an old mansion coincidentally with another couple they know. This story is a convolution of characters which can be difficult to follow even if you have a list since all the characters have two names. They arrive with their own names but then have to "be" another character for the weekend to solve a mysterious "murder". Becca is on edge and just skeptical in general especially when she overhears a conversation which sounds dubious at best. When a character is found "murdered" the game begins with each character given specific clue pertinent to their character and how they are related to the mystery. Confusion begins when a character goes "missing" unexpectedly and they realize they might have an actual murder to solve.

It is an interesting story plot but used too much of my "headspace" following the story. I thought it was me until I noticed other reviewers with the same experience. It's a challenge to read because of all the characters and kudos to the author for being able to keep track of them!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. ( )

2.5⭐

Becca and her husband Blake travel to a remote mansion in the Catskills for a murder mystery weekend. Blake's affair with a colleague has added to the problems in their marriage and they have been seeking counseling. Given Becca’s love for mysteries and fondness for books and tv shows in the genre, the “Roaring Twenties” getaway where they get to dress up for a three-day Gatsby-themed weekend, is a thoughtful peace offering on Blake’s part. The weekend starts with an embarrassing moment for Becca, having not been provided with all relevant information before the commencement of the evening. With a total of four couples one of whom are friends of Blake and Becca and a full cast of staff dressed for the occasion, notes and schedules and amusing names and roles assigned to each of the participants, this weekend has a lot to offer. However, when one of the staff/actors , Bethany, disappears and Becca overhears a strange conversation between a few of the members of the cast, she begins to suspect that there is more to Bethany’s disappearance than meets the eye. She also notes the suspicious behavior of a few of her fellow participants. In addition to following the clues for the staged mystery, Becca does some investigating on her own leading to an interesting sequence of events .

All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon is built around an interesting premise and has all the makings of a classic whodunit. The unique setting of a murder mystery weekend- an actual mystery within a staged mystery, multiple clues and red herrings, and the intricate plot should have made this a page-turner. But the slow movement of the plot and an unlikeable main character (equally unlikable other characters as well) made this difficult to get through. While I loved the murder mystery plot structure and the roles assigned to the participants as well as the atmospheric setting, we spend way too much time in Becca’s head as she ponders over the state of her marriage and compares her marriage to that of others, is constantly reminded of her husband’s infidelity (in turn so are we) and in her more enlightened moments waxes philosophical on the very institution of marriage. Repetitive and annoying to say the least and it distracts from the main plot. After a point, I simply lost interest in the story. I wish there had been more emphasis on the mystery instead.
In short, this novel started with much promise but failed to deliver. I really wanted to love this one much more than I did.

Many thanks to Yewon Son , Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed here are my own. ( )

I was thrilled to receive this gifted copy for review. I’ve always been a huge murder mystery fan and it’s my dream to attend a weekend getaway with a clue inspired theme.
I enjoyed this book because the plot was so much fun; however, the characters were hard to follow.
The author does break down the list of casts and characters for you at the beginning; however, I’m not one for needing to flip back and forth trying to remember who’s who. Plus the MC Becca, was a mental wreck from her husband’s infidelity, her character didn’t grow nor did I find out more about her.
I need more character details from the main characters and not only a cast full of unknown characters held together by thoughts of a person on a breakdown.

All in all, if you enjoy Clue and aren’t fickle about depth of character., this book of for you. I however think this would make an excellent movie. ( )

I never got the point of this story. So much potential - A murder mystery weekend in a mansion. A very disagreeable and unhappy woman, with a husband trying to make up for a dalliance that was just not about to be forgotten or forgiven. Very unlikeable characters, with a confusing scenario - was it a murder? Was it a mystery? Was it a play within a play? I read to the end and keep wondering why.

Thank you Bantam Books and NetGalley for a copy ( )

Thanks to Random House & NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

“Becca loves mysteries. I’ll give her a mystery weekend, she’ll know I love her.” Becca guesses this is what her husband Blake decided as they drove to a remote yet stunning estate for a three-day getaway. And she also thinks it’s an attempt at an apology, as Becca has recently discovered Blake’s affair, which came out of the blue after nearly 10 years of marriage.

So we have a 1920’s murder mystery game hosted at a remote mansion with a few other couples, one of which Becca and Blake already know. Even with the marital issues, Becca decides to make the best of it and go along with the costumes, characters, atmosphere, red herrings, and the “murder” of their host. The clues come fast and furious, and everyone must team up to solve the crime, while remembering that any one of them could be the murderer.

This sounded like an intriguing premise, especially when one of the actresses playing the part of the maid disappears. Now we (Becca and I) have more than one mystery to solve. Are characters acting suspiciously because they have connections to the missing maid, or because they’re just acting the part they’ve been given in the game? Since the book is told from Becca’s point of view, I was as confused as she was: “I couldn’t even tell when they were acting, whether their dropped hints and sidelong glances meant anything or whether they were all just part of the game we were playing.”

But to make things more complicated, Becca is an unreliable narrator. Blake’s betrayal has left Becca nearly unhinged, or at least that’s how it seems. She is over-the-top jealous, unable to read normal body language clues, and is often bordering on hysterics. This leads to poor decision making, putting herself in danger as she continues to look for the missing maid (the real mystery of the weekend).

I liked the way Becca justifies her immersion in murder mysteries after learning of her husband’s affair, with “every book or episode ending with a neat resolution, the chaos safely hidden away, order restored…The setting might change, but underneath they were all the same. Something terrible threatened, but every single time there was a solution. Closure. The good were exonerated and the evil was safely tucked away, episode after episode, the unchanging cadence of it pure mental balm.” That’s why I like murder mysteries, too.

We are inside Becca’s head the entire book, which wasn’t a comfortable place to be. She seemed emotionally overwrought and more frantic than necessary, while her husband was so patient and loving and tried to placate her when he could tell she was losing her grip.

I liked the premise a lot, and the climax was satisfyingly nail-biting, but I didn’t like Becca or her angst. So I’m giving this one a 3 out of 5. Still worth reading. ( )