‘A Most Puzzling Murder’ by Bianca Marais
Title: A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais
Genre: Fantasy Murder Mystery
Series: Standalone
Synopsis: Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until she is mysteriously invited to attend a job interview at Eerie Island—a job that she never applied for. Amid cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family’s magical line of succession. Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die, and she’s running out of time to stop it.
Content Warnings
Spice Rating: None
Violence Rating: Moderate
The book deals with mature themes such as grief and loss, the death of a parent and child, mental illness, depression, murder, and eating disorders. For these reasons, an adult audience is recommended.
Profanity Rating: Mild
2 uses of f*ck.
Book Review
Overall rating: 5/5 stars
A Most Puzzling Murder was satisfying, oddly fun in its puzzle-solving, and deeply emotional as the reader joins its characters in their emotional responses to their various traumas. The book was a well-mixed recipe of emotional healing and mysterious murder-solving tension.
The reader is invited to join Destiny as she solves riddles and clues to find the murderer. The puzzles were adequately challenging, and the reveals were always within the reader’s grasp—just the right sort of mystery.
I appreciated that Destiny, though brilliant, was a physically average sort of person, representing the overweight population with sincerity. She is a wonderful, though damaged, protagonist who embodies the person who has lost and grieved much, and who finds her way to family at the end.
Themes of power and control, grief and loss, and death and immortality run through the story with grace and tact. Bianca Marais did well with this one. I would certainly recommend it to others.
Others like this:
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)
Knives Out (film)
This book was reviewed as an ARC from Netgalley. Its publication date is drawing near on June 10, 2025!
P.S. Marais is a Canadian author—all the more reason to support her!
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A light gothic new adult fantasy novel exploring themes of truth, identity, and self-sacrifice