Mystery Royale

Cavalancia,  Kaitlyn, . Mystery Royale
January 7, 2025 by Disney-Hyperion
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Mullory Prudence has had a hard time of it; her mother, Esther Merrybright, has been missing, she's living with her grandmother, who is very ill with cancer, and selling homework to fellow students and working at a pet grooming salon to try to make ends meet. When she starts getting improbable letters that smell like waffles or her mother's detergent, she is determined to avoid them, since her mother told her "Run if the strange finds you". The "strange" finally hunts her down in the form of Edwin, who tells her that she has been named in a will be the late Xavier Stoutmire, and she and six others are summoned to his Hamptons estate to compete in a Mystery Royale game to be the one to win over two billion dollars, properties, and Xavier's magic. Mallory doesn't care about the magic, but since money like that would make her life in Punxsutawney more manageable, she go to the estate. There, she meets siblings Ellison and Whitaker, whose brother Lyric had lived with Xavier since he was five, since as the third child he had no parental magic to inherit; their cousins, Quinby and Martin; and Mateo, who, like Mullory, is not related to Xavier but has family secrets of his own. Through a series of parties, all participants will get clues so that they can figure out who murdered Xavier. There are adults about who stick their noses in as well, like Mr. Thorn, whose son Blade has come along, Ellison's mother, who can give people dreams, and various staff. Mullory does find out that her mother was connected to Xavier; she was his student, and had offered to help him with a necklace called "the shadow" that even Death feared, but she betrayed him. It's also possible that Mr. Thorn, whose magic is to compel people to do things, might be behind the fact that Esther set fire to her own home. There are poisonings, many clues, puzzles, and danger around every corner as the teens compete to solve the mystery. But does there need to be another death before the game is over? I thought that the book wrapped up the story line pretty well, but there is another book in the series coming out in Spring of 2026.
Strengths: This was a fun magical mystery with a fantastic cover. The magical world was a good blend of fun (waffle scented letters!) and dark (poisoned tea and nightmares), and I accepted it with no questions. The murder mystery is always a good hook, and the hidden family histories added another layer of difficulty on solving things. There's a slight romance, which never hurts, although it doesn't really do anywhere. An estate in the Hamptons is always a fun place to have a contest. 
Weaknesses: While this was longer (400 pages) and had a lot of characters and plot twists, making it more of a Young Adult pleaser, I did appreciate that the language, romance, and activities were all "developmentally relevant" for middle school. Mullory's name, though, was like nails on a chalkboard for me every time I read it. Like when people spell my name Caryn. 
What I really think: This reminded me a bit of Rankin's classic The Westing Game, a more magical 39 Clues, and also Welch's Spells for Lost Things. I'm not entirely sure if I will buy this; I'll have to see what my readers are like this year, and see if Barnes' The Inheritance Games has been circulating. I would definitely buy this for a high school collection, or for a middle school collection with readers who want longer, more complicated mysteries.