This is Not a Game - May 2025 Crime Collective

About the book

Prepare to be hooked by this deliciously smart locked-room mystery featuring an irresistible grandmother and granddaughter sleuthing duo.

'A thriller with a twist!' Cosmopolitan
'Wickedly sharp' Lucy Clarke
'Slick and witty' Daily Mail
_____________________________________

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…
_____________________________________

More love for This Is Not a Game...

'Miss Marple meets Only Murders in the Building. Entertaining from start to finish' Jennie Godfrey

'Agatha Christie brought bang up to date' Clare Mackintosh
'A zippy, witty and delightful game of twists' Chris Chibnall

‘This is locked-room murder mystery at its best’ i Paper

‘…A grand finale reveal Poirot would be proud of’Woman & Home

'A wonderfully vibrant take on the classic whodunit, This is Not A Game tackles the locked room mystery with warmth and humour, serving up a crime solving duo that I couldn’t stop rooting for. After finishing the book, I was craving three things - a visit to Mackinac island, a Gibson, and more from author Kelly Mullen!' Kristen Perrin

'Mullen’s debut introduces us to a sparkling new crime-fighting partnership: acerbic septuagenarian Mimi and her smart-as-a-whip granddaughter, Addie. In This Is Not A Game, the pair find themselves trapped together on an island mansion as murders ensue. Crackles with wit and cosy crime goodness' Vaseem Khan

The Bookseller's '10 Titles not to miss in April' pick