what's a little murder among friends?

It’s Anatol’s golden birthday, so he’s invited all his friends to his country house to celebrate. It’s his 30th birthday, which was on May 30, so it was a special day. Plus, it was just five weeks after the death of his father Gus, so despite what was going on in their lives, Anatol’s friends wanted to be there for him. He doesn’t want cake or presents for his birthday. He wants to play a game. He wants to play Motive Method Death again.

His friends balk. They’re not a big fan of the game that Anatol created, but it’s his birthday so they reluctantly agree. Maya, the artist; Dean, the engineer; Phoebe, the sister of Dean’s wife Yulie; and Janika, who just came back from Australia. Marcin had to work late—his finance job often meant he had to work late—so he would be there the next day. But they can start the game.

In the game, everyone chooses two names from a bowl. The first name, written in red, is the killer. The second name, written in green, is the victim. Once you have the names, you write a story in which the killer murders the victim. But you can’t tell anyone what names you have chosen. The only way you can trade in a name for another is if both of the names you have match. Anatol asks that they all type up their stories with a couple of typewriters he has out for the job, and that they use the red ink ribbon instead of the black.

As the friends talk and drink and work on their stories, they all have secrets that could come out over the weekend and cause someone else pain. And someone knows about those secrets and is writing notes to the friends that sound a little threatening. I know, in block letters. I have pictures. But who is behind the notes? And what do they want? Is it a threat of danger or a prelude to blackmail?

Ink Ribbon Red is a fascinating thriller. It jumps around in time, and weaves together the stories that the friends write about each other’s deaths with real time, where there are vague threats and so many secrets. It does take a good chunk of the book to understand what is really happening and what is from the stories in the game, and the secrets leak out little by little from both the reality and the fiction. I felt like I really had to be on my toes to stay with this story, but it was fascinating.

I listened to Ink Ribbon Red on audio, narrated beautifully by Dino Fetscher. He did an exceptional job of helping me keep all the characters straight and (maybe more importantly) keeping all the stories straight. This novel is a wild ride, with layers of lies, and putting it all together as a whole takes some work. But it was so worth it. This is a gift that keeps on giving, and while some of the stories are a bit gory and may infect my dreams, I’m still so happy I took the time to play the game.

Egalleys for Ink Ribbon Red were provided by Henry Holt & Company, and a copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.