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HarperCollins Murder in Tinseltown A Choose-Your-Own-Story Mystery.
HarperCollins Murder in Tinseltown A Choose-Your-Own-Story Mystery ABISBOOK HarperCollins.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 21, 2024
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2025
I love the setting, and have always loved choose your own adventure books, but I feel like this one missed the mark. I don’t want to give too much away, but it really just feels like there’s one “true” story line, and a bunch of side story lines that don’t go anywhere, or on the flip side only lead to the one “main ending”. Kind of wish there was maybe 4 “distinct” endings, or a moment where you have to decide who the killer is based on all the facts you gather through the book and see if you guess correctly?
My other problem is I feel like this type of book and setting is just too generic now. It just feels like someone from the 21st century writing a 1958 style book, rather than feeling like I’m living in 1958 Hollywood. Some of the sayings and the way the characters act feels more like a commentary of todays affairs, then how things actually were in 1958. It’s all a work of fiction anyway so I’m just being nit picky, but it kind of took me out of the experience.
Bottom line, I felt like the “choose your own adventure” aspect of the book could have been executed better, especially when we have fantastic examples of this done right (bandersnatch and goosebumps come to mind). I also felt like I was just reading a parody of the “1950’s crime noir” genre, which would be excusable if the main thing (being the whole choose your own adventure aspect of it) was done better
My other problem is I feel like this type of book and setting is just too generic now. It just feels like someone from the 21st century writing a 1958 style book, rather than feeling like I’m living in 1958 Hollywood. Some of the sayings and the way the characters act feels more like a commentary of todays affairs, then how things actually were in 1958. It’s all a work of fiction anyway so I’m just being nit picky, but it kind of took me out of the experience.
Bottom line, I felt like the “choose your own adventure” aspect of the book could have been executed better, especially when we have fantastic examples of this done right (bandersnatch and goosebumps come to mind). I also felt like I was just reading a parody of the “1950’s crime noir” genre, which would be excusable if the main thing (being the whole choose your own adventure aspect of it) was done better
November 14, 2025
Choose Your Own Adventure for Adults. It's an interesting premise. This, however, just does not work.
Firstly, and this isn't specifically Max Nightingale's (the pen name of Jonathan Whitelaw) fault, this might be the worst layout of a book I've seen in a minute. The book is left aligned and not justified. Which makes the whole thing feel incredibly amateur. And then, for no reason I can work out, the outside margins are twice as wide as the inside ones, so the whole book is just sliding into the fold.
It's not a pleasant reading experience.
Secondly, the story itself is... bad. I don't expect a huge amount from a CYOA book, but every other section the characters here are just doing something unhinged in order to earn a "turn to page X or page X" moment. Nobody acts like either a human being nor do they act like they're in a 1950's detective story. It feels like Whitelaw hasn't read enough books of the era.
And the storyline I happened to follow ends up in a couple of moments that the later sections don't acknowledge. Firstly, I definitely found the knife, but then the knife is discovered when the culprit is revealed. No, buddy, you didn't find the knife, it's in my inside jacket pocket if I remember correctly.
Then a room gets semi blown up after being doused in petrol. Nobody ever brings that up again, and we spent time in that room at a later stage with nobody commenting.
The CYOA of it all is mostly a straight line. It's very much that one option leads you to a page that says "hey, this doesn't work, go back to the previous section and choose again" and one goes forward. There was only one real moment that I found that seemed to have led to a different "timeline" in the book, and I followed the other path.
But nothing about this makes me want to circle back and follow that other path. I probably read about half the actual page count of the book, and honestly, that was enough.
Firstly, and this isn't specifically Max Nightingale's (the pen name of Jonathan Whitelaw) fault, this might be the worst layout of a book I've seen in a minute. The book is left aligned and not justified. Which makes the whole thing feel incredibly amateur. And then, for no reason I can work out, the outside margins are twice as wide as the inside ones, so the whole book is just sliding into the fold.
It's not a pleasant reading experience.
Secondly, the story itself is... bad. I don't expect a huge amount from a CYOA book, but every other section the characters here are just doing something unhinged in order to earn a "turn to page X or page X" moment. Nobody acts like either a human being nor do they act like they're in a 1950's detective story. It feels like Whitelaw hasn't read enough books of the era.
And the storyline I happened to follow ends up in a couple of moments that the later sections don't acknowledge. Firstly, I definitely found the knife, but then the knife is discovered when the culprit is revealed. No, buddy, you didn't find the knife, it's in my inside jacket pocket if I remember correctly.
Then a room gets semi blown up after being doused in petrol. Nobody ever brings that up again, and we spent time in that room at a later stage with nobody commenting.
The CYOA of it all is mostly a straight line. It's very much that one option leads you to a page that says "hey, this doesn't work, go back to the previous section and choose again" and one goes forward. There was only one real moment that I found that seemed to have led to a different "timeline" in the book, and I followed the other path.
But nothing about this makes me want to circle back and follow that other path. I probably read about half the actual page count of the book, and honestly, that was enough.
April 19, 2025
I liked the premise of this book but the execution wasn't totally there. I faithfully made decisions and followed the story to completion, only to have dead characters reappear completely alive and well, and murder weapons to be found in the same place multiple times. It was fun, but the decisions I made seemed inconsequential because events repeated themselves.
July 9, 2025
Great fun, harked back to my teenage years (many moons ago) when I remember doing fantasy 'Create your own story' books.
I think I died a total of four times, solved it twice following two different routes.
I enjoyed the twists and the clever ways the detective died.
Highly recommended
I think I died a total of four times, solved it twice following two different routes.
I enjoyed the twists and the clever ways the detective died.
Highly recommended
July 26, 2025
In this stylish whodunnit, you become the detective, making the choices that guide the investigation. It’s a clever reimagination of a classic murder mystery, told through a “choose-your-own-adventure” format that’s rarely used so well in adult fiction. Each decision branches the story in different directions some lead you closer to the truth, while others, not so much.
It’s also a quick read, though you may find yourself, like me, returning for a second or third round. During my third round, I stumbled upon a hidden storyline that unravels a smaller mystery tucked inside the main plot. That felt like a secret bonus level, and I loved it.
I’m genuinely appreciative of the creative ambition behind this book, and perhaps even more so after meeting Jonathan Whitelaw at MOTIVE 2025. He graciously signed my copy of Murder in Tinseltown and during one of his talks, shared how painful it was to write in this “choose-your-own-adventure” style.
As someone who has dabbled in writing myself, I understood what he meant. Structuring an interactive mystery, especially one with multiple possible endings, plot threads, and clues, is a unique kind of storytelling challenge. It’s like building a puzzle with no fixed center, and it takes a different level of planning and commitment.
Knowing this made the experience of reading the book even more rewarding. It saddens me, honestly, to see so many negative reviews floating around when it’s clear how much effort, thought, and passion went into creating something this bold and immersive. While I understand that this kind of format may not appeal to everyone, I personally found it refreshing, engaging, and incredibly clever. And I want to be a voice that celebrates that.
This review was originally posted on my blog — where I share more bookish thoughts, mystery recs, and interactive fiction finds. If you’re curious, here's my link
It’s also a quick read, though you may find yourself, like me, returning for a second or third round. During my third round, I stumbled upon a hidden storyline that unravels a smaller mystery tucked inside the main plot. That felt like a secret bonus level, and I loved it.
I’m genuinely appreciative of the creative ambition behind this book, and perhaps even more so after meeting Jonathan Whitelaw at MOTIVE 2025. He graciously signed my copy of Murder in Tinseltown and during one of his talks, shared how painful it was to write in this “choose-your-own-adventure” style.
As someone who has dabbled in writing myself, I understood what he meant. Structuring an interactive mystery, especially one with multiple possible endings, plot threads, and clues, is a unique kind of storytelling challenge. It’s like building a puzzle with no fixed center, and it takes a different level of planning and commitment.
Knowing this made the experience of reading the book even more rewarding. It saddens me, honestly, to see so many negative reviews floating around when it’s clear how much effort, thought, and passion went into creating something this bold and immersive. While I understand that this kind of format may not appeal to everyone, I personally found it refreshing, engaging, and incredibly clever. And I want to be a voice that celebrates that.
This review was originally posted on my blog — where I share more bookish thoughts, mystery recs, and interactive fiction finds. If you’re curious, here's my link
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews