by Kelly Mullen
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia, 2025
Review
by Lesley Vick
Widow Mimi is rarely one to ask for help. She knows where to buy her favourite sourdough. And she knows the unmatched pleasure of an evening crossword with her cocktail of choice: a Gibson. But when Mimi receives an invite to her wealthy neighbour’s charity auction she know she needs back-up – fast – and she knows who to ask.
Mimi’s granddaughter Addie needs help too. Three months ago she was toasting her engagement and the success of the hit video game she created with her fiancé. Now she is single and her ex has cut her out of a deal to sell their murder mystery game for millions. A weekend with her grandmother promises welcome relief from endless re-runs of Buffy and Poirot. But what Mimi is not telling Addie is that a blackmail threat looms over the invitation.
The auction is barely underway when the host’s body is found in the lavish halls of her own mansion. Soon Mimi and Addie are caught in a dangerous game as they use their unique skills to narrow down the suspects. And when another body turns up, it is clear that only the winner will survive.
This is an interesting and clever example of a locked room mystery with an engaging pair of sleuths. Quick-witted 77 year old grandmother Mimi and her granddaughter Addie have a rather fractious relationship with feisty, fiercely independent Mimi resisting all suggestions that she needs any help and tech-savvy Addie feeling very bruised after being dumped by her fiancé. He has made matters worse by cheating Addie out of her lucrative share of their extremely successful video game, Murderscape, the design of which was mainly done by Addie. The two women bring their useful and complementary skills to the situation with Mimi being a very good solver of puzzles and Addie’s murder-solving expertise developed in her video game design.
Mimi’s socialite neighbour, Jane Seymour, a woman in her seventies who is having an affair with her son-in-law – has extended invitations to her charity auction to a range of socialites and celebrities. However, it transpires that she has more than just raising money for charity in mind. Mimi is aware that blackmail could be part of the reason for the event but she does not tell Addie. When a massive storm breaks they are cut off by snow and trapped in Jane’s mansion. The scene is set for trouble. Then the body of their hostess is found and it is clear the murderer must be among the trapped guests. When another body is found the danger to all the survivors is palpable. All the guests, including Mimi, have something to hide so tension is high.
Mimi and Addie now must put their skills to work in identifying the murderer and there are many twists in the investigation until they do. The other eclectic and eccentric characters are well-drawn (often very amusingly) and they are all plausible suspects with motives for killing the two victims. Red herrings are cleverly placed in the narrative.
The two sleuths combine well to solve the mystery and this joint venture helps to repair their relationship. In the process each of them finds a way to deal with their own demons and a poignant revelation at the end brings them closer together.
In short, this is an old-fashioned cosy mystery. In addition to the well-executed plot, the book is very entertaining and witty. The relationship between these unusual sleuths is delightful and very amusing. Hopefully there will be more outings and mysteries to solve for Mimi and Addie.
Publisher’s blurb
Two unlikely detectives. A killer cocktail of suspects.
A Gibson martini garnished with three silverskin onions is 77-year-old Mimi’s favourite cocktail. It is best served with a crossword puzzle, not as an apéritif at Jane Ireland’s extravagant auction party.
But given Mimi has been blackmailed into attending Jane’s event, at a grand old mansion on Mackinac Island (Michigan’s answer to The Hamptons), there are worse drinks she could spend an evening sinking.
Thankfully for her, she’s roped her granddaughter, Addie – who is escaping the heartache caused by her manipulative ex-fiancé – into accompanying her. While Addie spots celebrities and socialites in the manor’s labyrinth of dark rooms and Mimi wonders how to confess the real reason for her presence at the soiree, a scream pierces the air.
Jane is dead.
And when a second body turns up, Mimi and Addie soon become the unlikeliest of sleuths in a race to narrow down the suspects.
In a house that contains as many secrets as the people within it, it’s going to take more than a Gibson to survive the night…