Book Review: In the Hall with the Knife (Clue Mystery #1) by Diana Peterfreund



**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, YA
Release Date: October 8, 2019 
Description:
"When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students—including Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry—are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it’s very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund’s modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls."

Although I haven't played the board game CLUE in quite a while, nor have I watched the movie, this book is based on them. I find the game to be fun, but this book, maybe not so much.

 Perhaps it's just me, but the names/nicknames made things a bit confusing at times because actual names and nicknames were used interchangeably. I'm pretty sure the weird nicknames were the names in the game, and not gonna lie, they didn't really fit the characters. 

 For the mystery itself, it was predictable, at least for me. I had figured out who the murderer was pretty early on and I figured out the reason later. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be obvious to the reader or not, but I wished I hadn't figured it out so easily because the mystery was the only thing that motivated me to finish the book. Maybe that's why it took me forever to complete it. 

 The plot wasn't that bad, but the characters weren't that interesting. Sure each character had their own distinct roles that set them apart from another, but for a majority of the characters, their background (mysterious or not) didn't contribute much to the story. It's a shame because there was potential. 

 Overall, this adaptation was a miss for me. I see the potential in it and if you are a fan of the game or movie, you might enjoy this more than me.

Overall rating:  2.5/5

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