We’re delighted to be sharing Laura’s thoughts about The 12 Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani.
Jera’s Jamboree receives payments for affiliate advertising. This is at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Cratejoy affiliate I earn if you click on a link and shop from my link. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
The 12 Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani
- Category : Mystery/Crime
- Publisher : Zaffre (26 Oct. 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1804182206
- ISBN-13 : 978-1804182208
- Amazon | Goodreads
The 12 Days of Murder Summary
Find the truth. Solve the murder. Never reveal your secret.
Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Murder Masquerade Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, but they were always fictional – until their final Christmas puzzle, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again.
Now, the remaining members receive an invitation to a reunion masquerade, to be held in a beautiful and remote country house in Scotland. The game begins, and it feels just like old times.
Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree.
It quickly becomes clear that in this game, the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. If they hope to survive the festive season then they will need to face the truth about what happened on that fateful night twelve years ago.
The 12 Days of Murder Review
I enjoyed this murder mystery with a definite feel of the classic “And Then There Were None.” Agatha’s Christie’s iconic story set with a group of characters being killed off within a locked room mystery can be found in this book.
The Masquerade Murder Society is a group of friends who enjoy light dramatics. Ali is the leader of the group and twelve years later decides to organise another murder mystery weekend over Christmas and New Year.
This story is written as a dual timeline when one of the characters goes missing, presumed either to have run away or was killed.
Charley, the main protagonist is different to the other friends as on the surface she has less income and prestige. She is ridiculed and often made into the scapegoat.
Each member of the society disappears during a snowstorm, so no one can leave. Charley is racking her brains to find a motive and a culprit to these crimes.
The story is set in an old manor house and I liked the element of how characters could disappear without others realising.
I enjoyed the pace of The 12 Days of Murder. There were a few red herrings thrown in to confuse my thoughts about the motive and culprit. Each character had their own flaw, so it was tricky to work out who was involved with the murders.
A great read.
The 12 Days of Murder TV Adaptation
BBC-Studios-backed production company Brock Media has optioned Andreina Cordani’s first adult novel The Twelve Days of Murder.
Sarah Brocklehurst, founder of Brock Media, said: “We are thrilled to be developing The Twelve Days of Murder for television. Andreina Cordani has written an incredibly entertaining and well-plotted murder mystery full of twists, suspense and glorious characters. It’s deliciously bingeable and will be perfect for mainstream festive season viewing.”
One to watch out for to add to your festive TV viewing in 2024?
About the Author
Before writing her first novel, Andreina Cordani was a senior editor and writer for women’s magazines including Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan. Her assignments included interviewing gun-toting moms on the school run, ordering illegal DIY Botox online and learning to do the splits in eight weeks.
She lives on the Dorset coast with her family where she reads voraciously, occasionally makes TikTok videos and swims in the sea. She is the author of two dark thrillers for young adults, The Girl Who… and Dead Lucky. The Twelve Days of Murder is her first novel for adults