Game, Set & Murder: The deliciously gripping new cosy murder mystery for 2025!

by Judy Murray

'Full of twists and turns it kept me guessing right to the end. A real page-turner, the perfect holiday read!' SUE BARKER

'A fabulous summer read!' ANTON DU BEKE

Four close friends.
One big secret.

On a hot midsummer day in the Surrey countryside, close friends Kristin, Vee, Bibi and Hailey are celebrating their Ladies' Team victory at the exclusive Royal Oaks Tennis Club.

But when their oh-so-charming coach, Jeremy, collapses after tucking into a carefully decorated sponge cake, it seems the season isn't just ending with a championship trophy - but with a murder.

Off the court, it's clear that each of the four women has been keeping a dark secret, but surely no one would wish Jeremy dead? Or perhaps revenge truly is a cake best served cold...

A delicious new murder mystery from household name Judy Murray, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Shirley Ballas and Reverend Richard Coles.

Praise for Judy

'Utterly thrilling and joyful. I couldn't put it down!' ANTON DU BEKE

'Enthralling and captivating. Absolutely loved it!' CAROL KIRKWOOD

'A stunning debut, this is the perfect summer read' SANTA MONTEFIORE

'A pacey page-turner' THE TIMES

'Full of twists and turns. We loved it!' HEAT

'Fizzing with excitement and high stakes' JO THOMAS

'Absolutely fantastic' CHRIS EVANS

'A brilliant read' BELLA

'A high-stakes novel set in the world she knows best' The i

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published July 3, 2025

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See also Judy L. Murray and Judy Murray.

Judy Murray is a Scottish tennis coach and former tennis player. She was the first coach of her sons, professional tennis players Jamie Murray and Andy Murray.

Reviews

[Dogeared]

4.5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by this - I thought it would be a cosy mystery with 4 women trying to solve a murder, and what I read was a twisty turny mystery where I began to suspect each of the 4 women as actually having done it… while I did find the character of Jeremy became almost a little too pantomime villain over time, I found I liked all the women and with the story developing over time, I kept changing my mind on whodunnit (I did guess correctly before the end though!). Tennis features of course, but not exhaustively so and wouldn’t be off putting to anyone who doesn’t want to read a shot-by-shot description of matches.

In short - good mystery, characters you’ll care about, would recommend!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and publishers Orion, in return for an unbiased review.

[Sophie E Oldham]

Really enjoyed reading this one. Each chapter from a different characters perspective but at the same time. Each character had there own story's and it lead to a good ending!

[Kat]

‘Game, Set & Murder’ by Judy Murray is a murder mystery set at the prestigious Royal Oaks tennis club that combines ‘Big Little Lies’ vibes with intriguing police procedural elements.

Each of the four main characters - friends and teammates Kristin, Vee, Bibi and Hailey - appear shocked when their coach Jeremy drops dead at a victory celebration. However, we see via a series of flashbacks that charming Jeremy collected enemies even more avidly than Royal Oaks’s Ladies Singles Team collected wins across the summer club tournament!

While this was interesting and emotional at times, I didn’t quite enjoy the writing as much as I did ‘The Wild Card’ by the same author, possibly because this time there was less actual tennis content in the story, which felt like it could have happened at any private members’ club. Worth a read for cosy mystery addicts, this gets three stars from me.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Orion Publishing Group via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Chels 🦋]

Was actually pretty good but the ending was just boring.

- Hailey… fell short, she was a bit bland empathised with her and her story with Justin but that’s it

- Bibi… I felt bad for her with the Jeremy situation but like she’s the worst friend and the fact that she got no backlash is crazy, first of all what do you mean we all plan to organise and prep together but she always shows up late and doesn’t apologize and on top of that the whole flirting with Jeremy is disgusting, like are you ok you’re flirting with your’re firneds husband to make your husband react or whatever and it’s way after she feels guilty about it when she sees so,e sort of backlash

- Kristin… dumbass you’re husband is THE worst everyone sees it, your friends see it, your mother in law sees it, even your son sees it but for some reason she always finds a way to defend him.

- Vanessa… the most tolerable one honestly

[Wendy]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Game Set and Murder by Judy Murray in return for my honest review.
I was really excited to read this book having enjoyed Judy Murrays’ first book The Wild Card.
Game Set and Murder is what I’d call a cosy Mystery making it a perfect holiday read. I really enjoyed the interesting mix of characters and the fact it had a tennis theme but not overwhelmingly so that it distracts from the story.
This is a really enjoyable easy read which I definitely recommend reading.

[Sarahlovesbooks76]

Kristin, Bibi, Vee and Hailey are a successful women's tennis team. When their coach Jeremy dies, they become embroiled in a murder case. Who decided Jeremy needed to die, and why?

A fun twisting and turning story, with revelations throughout. Packed with characters that you care about, along with those you really dislike, I enjoyed the writing style, with little bits of information drip fed as the narrative changed from character to character. I definitely preferred this to Judy Murray's first novel, so I hope she sticks to this style in future!

[Claire]

Set in an exclusive tennis club, four women are celebrating their team victory, when their coach Jeremy collapses and dies after eating the sponge cake
As the investigation unfolds , each woman is hiding secrets and motives as to why they might have wanted Jeremy dead
A cosy crime with a sporting backdrop
Loved the themes of female friendship in sport and the issues of powder in sport and the toxic behaviour it leads to
Thanks @judymurray, @orionbooks & @netgalley for the quick entertaining read

[Jess]

Pleasantly surprised by this. Charity shop bargain and didn't know what to expect. Started off thinking this is too girly for my tastes but turned into a clever whodunit. I only guessed towards the end the outcome and by this stage you're congratulating the culprit(s) for the demise of a horrible manipulating man. You can tell throughout Judy is drawing from her experience of Wimbledon and the tennis world but its included in a way that makes it interesting not boring; and the descriptions make you feel the heat of the summer. Interested to read more of her work.

[J. E.]

I was so pleased to see that Judy Murray had written another book as I enjoyed her biography and her previous novel. This one is less about tennis but didn't disappoint as it is based in a tennis community. The murder reaches it's conclusion after a series of flashbacks where we get to know the main characters. Some might find this distracting but I enjoyed the way it builds some suspense. It's not a challenging read but nice to read by the light of the Christmas tree.

[Gail Souter]

Never kill the dog,especially not a puppy!

Big mistake the dog going missing and NOT mentioned again! Any author who does this is cruel! I will never read another book by her! Main character was a complete pathetic doormat. The way she kowtowed to her horrible husband, darling this and darling that was sickening! How she couldn't see what he was up to was beyond belief. Very unlikable and weak woman.

[CJ Eve]

Judy Murray is best known as the mother in Andy Murray so to see her have recognition in her own right for her own accomplishments is fab.

There are a host of complex characters in this one all with there own challenges who are intertwined together, this was an easy read for me a cosy mystery type.

[Sue]

Personally I didn't enjoy the constant jumping back and forth in time and would have preferred the story told in chronological order. The jumping back and forth felt like you were at side of court watching the tennis!

[Susan Milne]

Enjoyed this book overall but found the jumping about from ‘time set’ a little too frequent for my liking. It was nonetheless an enjoyable holiday read with interesting characters all woven into the story line.

[Lauren Price]

The perfect holiday read - based in a prestigious tennis club set in the early to late summer you can picture yourself there alongside the characters. Great storytelling, plot and characterisations. Highly recommend for a summer holiday by the pool.

[Shakira Windmill]

It gives off 'The thursday murder club' vibes but it's very good in its own right. I couldn't put it down and loved the short chapters. The murder mystery definitely had it's own twist and you figure it out at the end!

[Annette Hewlett]

An easy read, no complicated plot, just what I wanted

[Karine]

A murder happened at the club. But if everyone has a motive how do you find out who did it? Does it matter?

[Leanne Crouch]

3.5

[Daisy McAdam]

So bad it’s good?! Fun story but the ending was rather silly… but nice cosy mystery book!

[Kath]

Sorry, not for me. I found it shallow and predictable with time jumping tropes.

[Megan Abbott]

A classic who dun it book by Judy Murray. So easy to read and kept me intrigued to who actually done it!

[Barry Hesford]

Excellent plot, really well written. Great detailed and relevant descriptions

[Mikki Young]

Just OK. I guessed the ending (apart from a non entity listening) from the beginning. None of the characters were very likeable.