All Dressed Up - by Jilly Gagnon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A remote hotel. A murder mystery. A missing woman. Everyone has a role to play, but what's real and what's part of the game? A twisty and fiendishly clever novel perfect for fans of The Guest List and Knives Out . . .

The weekend getaway at the gorgeous manor hotel should have been perfect. But Becca is freshly smarting from her husband Blake's betrayal and knows this is just an expensive attempt at an apology. She may not be ready to forgive him, but the drinks are strong, the estate is stunning, and the weekend has an elaborate 1920s murder mystery theme. She decides to get into the spirit of things and enjoy their stay. What could go wrong?

Before long, the game is afoot: famed speakeasy songstress Ida Crooner is found "murdered," and it's up to the guests to sniff out which of them might be the culprit. Playing the role of Miss Debbie Taunte, an ingenue with a dark past, Becca dives into the world of pun-heavy clues, hammy acting, and secret passages, hoping to at least take her mind off her marital troubles.

Then, the morning after they arrive, the actress playing Ida's maid fails to reappear for her role. The game's organizer--that's Miss Ann Thrope to you--assumes the young woman's flakiness is to blame, but when snooping for clues as "Debbie," Becca finds evidence she may not have left of her own free will.

Told over a nail-biting forty-eight hours and interspersed with in-game clues, set pieces, and character histories from the campy flapper-filled mystery nested inside a modern one, All Dressed Up is a loving tribute to classic whodunits and a riveting exploration of the secrets we keep in order to sustain the act.

Review Quotes

"Classic Agatha Christie goes meta in this wish-we'd-thought-of-it premise: a real whodunnit set against the backdrop of a 1920s-themed murder mystery weekend. Think Knives Out all dolled up as The Great Gatsby. This is a super-fun pastiche with a wicked smart plot peppered with clever clues and compelling characters."--Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of The Club

"When a couple attend a 1920s themed murder mystery weekend to save their marriage, they find themselves in a real-life whodunnit after one of the actors disappears. Jilly Gagnon's well-crafted maze of clues and shifting realities is the perfect read for fans of Lucy Foley. All Dressed Up is mind-bending fun!"--Wendy Walker, bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten

"Clue meets Shari Lapena's An Unwanted Guest. . . . I felt as if I was in the middle of a murder-mystery game and playing along with the characters. Such a fun read!"--Georgina Cross, author of Nanny Needed

About the Author

Jilly Gagnon's humor writing, personal essays, and op-eds have appeared in Newsweek, Elle, Vanity Fair, Boston magazine, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Toast, and The Hairpin, among others. She is the author of the young adult novel #famous. She also co-writes the Choose Your Own Misery dark comedy series with Mike MacDonald.