Fieldnotes:
Blackbrook Academy, Maine, Contemporary (p.2019)

1 Prestigious Science Academy
1 Winter Storm Surge, leaving
11 Students and Staff taking refuge in
1 Former Mansion Turned Reform School Turned Girls' Dorm

6 Characters inspired by the Original Clue (7 if you count Headmaster Boddy)
Several References to the Classic Clue Weapons
2 Secret Passages (with at least 1 very clever entrance)
Rotating PoV

1 Broken Stained Glass Window
1 Dead Bod(d)y
Terribly Done Mopping

2 Secret Identities
2 Potentially Career-Ending Secrets

The Short Version:
A fun middle-grade/YA mystery inspired by the board game (and the 1985 movie) with clever backstories tying characters to their game counterparts and some of the more outrageous names being tied to more believable last names. Colonel Mustard thus become Sam "Mustard" Maestor - a new arrival fresh from military school. Beth Picach is a tennis star who dyes the ends of her hair blue. Professor Plum becomes a research-obsessed science genius who barely looks beyond his test tubes. Mr. Green becomes townie and scholarship student Vaughn Green - who helps with maintenance and janitorial work in addition to classes. Mrs. White is the dorm proctor.

I liked this, and I enjoyed how all of the secrets flying around leaves plot for the sequels. It's fairly lightweight, but makes full use of the secret passages and familiar lay-out of the mansion. I will happily read the next. ( )

*1.5 ( )

Fun murder mystery, cozy mystery story. ( )

This is an excellent homage to the fabulous Clue movie and board game, complete with a spooky mansion, an eclectic cast of characters, and an intriguing mystery. ( )

This is an officially licensed Clue mystery. Yes, as in the game from Hasbro. As the title suggests we know how somebody is going to die: In the hall with a knife, but who will it be. Our game takes place in Tudor house on a peninsula in northern Maine. Tudor house is a girl’s dorm at a budding science academy for only the biggest brains with the biggest pockets. A winter storm has come in, flooded most of campus, and separated the school from the rest of town. The students that didn’t evacuate are now stuck in the house with a killer. But who is the killer and who’s really the prey and why are they dead? Those are the questions you must answer to solve this game of Clue. This book was a lot of fun and very tongue and cheek. There are characters that align with the game like Mustard, Peacock, White, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the play on the old board game as well as how the action fells like you are in the middle of said game. Now this book doesn’t end completely. We still don’t know what happened to Orchid, her history or what the hell the Green twins are up to. I need more! I need the next book! This book is a trilogy. All are out and I can’t wait to pick up but number two: In the Study with a Wrench. ( )