Whodunnit?: Murder in Mystery Manor

By: Anthony Zuiker

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A grand estate. Ten unsuspecting guests. A diabolical game of life and death.

A companion to the upcoming show Whodunnit? on ABC.

Ten excited guests arrive at the Westlake Estate, expecting a lavish retreat. They are the winners of a sweepstakes to "Live Like a Billionaire for a Week." But what was supposed to be a promising escape soon turns into a horrific nightmare. Within hours of arrival, the guests sit down for an extravagant dinner. When they pull their party poppers as instructed, a loud chorus of bangs resounds, followed by earsplitting screams as the guest seated at the head of the table bursts into flames and slumps to the floor. The others are told they must solve the crime or be the next victim. The killer, their diabolical host, is hiding among the frightened guests. Is the murderer the well-toned trophy wife, the retired deputy sheriff, the stoned college dropout, or perhaps the sweet, homely grandmother? The killer toys with them, inviting the guests to explore the lavish estate, from the stables to the hedge maze, in an effort to uncover the gory details of how the murderer pulled off such a gruesome murder. Alliances are forged carefully and information is shared warily, since none of the remaining guests knows whom to trust. The next to die a hideous death will be the one with the least accurate solution to the latest murder. In the end, only three guests will remain: the winner, the loser, and the killer.

Full of tricky plot twists and over-the-top schemes, Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manner is riveting required listening for mystery fans. Listeners are treated to an edge-of-their-seat thriller as they participate in solving the crime. It's Clue meets Ten Little Indians.

Anthony E. Zuiker is the creator and executive producer of the CSI franchise, which includes CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY. His mystery reality show, Whodunnit?, is his first foray into unscripted television. He lives in Los Angeles with his three children and his wife, Michelle.

Whodunnit is performed by the show's host/butler, accomplished narrator Gildart Jackson.

©2013 Anthony Zuiker (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Lighthearted Mystery--Easy Listening

This Whodunnit starts out very promising. A Butler, Giles, is offered a job he can't refuse at a huge estate for a salary he could only dream of. He never meets his employer until the end, as all communication is done in writing. He is to greet 10 guests at the Westlake Manor and be their butler as well as their guide through the rules of the murder games.

Don't expect any great character development, as the guests backgrounds and personalities are brushed over quickly--the focus is to get to those murders as fast as we can. We are rushed through each murder at breakneck speed, and then the guests must solve each one--or be the next head on the chopping block. The riddles, clues, and challenges each guest must decipher are fun, and it's challenging to figure it out with them. Some are a pretty far fetched, but if you stretch your imagination just a little- - - -

I was listening non-stop as I wanted to race to the end to see who the murderer was--so the time went by quickly. Even though this is not a not notch mystery/thriller, it is well worth the price --which is FREE. Hard to complain about that--but I was slightly disappointed in the very end after the murderer is revealed---unless this little add-on is setting up more murder mysteries to come.

This book is by Anthony E. Zuiker, who is also the producer of the made for TV show of the same name. Similar layout, but the murders are not the same, and the people are different. The book does give you an idea about what to expect from the TV production, but only in a general way.

beyond awesome

This book kept me guessing the entire time! The narrator was great. I so had the wrong person as the killer. Im going to listen agsin to see if I missed any clues. I am not normally a mystery reader but this is a great one to start out on.

Not All Too Suspenseful for Me

Would you try another book from Anthony Zuiker and/or Gildart Jackson?

I'm not sure I'd give Anthony Zuiker another shot. I thought the writing was ok but the book did not really draw me in as many other writers in this genre. For me, there are many more options out there that I'd spend a credit on first. I've listened to 3 or 4 narrations by Gildart Jackson and I can say that I would enjoy to hear him more. I think he handles fictional stories with a variety of characters very well.

What was most disappointing about Anthony Zuiker’s story?

I thought the characters were not believable. For me, I get drawn into a suspenseful story when I can buy into how the characters react in their circumstance. The characters here did not have much substance to them and I found myself not really caring about any of them.

What about Gildart Jackson’s performance did you like?

I enjoy Gildart Jackson's narrations. He did a good job varying his voice for the different characters to the point that I could tell who was who without their name having to be spoken.

Was Free: Whodunnit? worth the listening time?

For a free book I'd say it was worth it. The story is not too bad and it goes by quickly although I did let myself get distracted which usually means I got bored at times and stepped away from listening for a bit.

Any additional comments?

It's free so give it a shot!

Sucked in!

So easily sucked in! Enjoyed trying to figure it all out along with the characters. Definitely should write more! And free so pretty sweet!

Good back story for the show

Would you try another book from Anthony Zuiker and/or Gildart Jackson?

I enjoyed Zuiker's other books, the Level 26 series, and Gildart Jackson is a top notch voice for this book, so I'd probably check him out again

Was Whodunnit?: Murder in Mystery Manor worth the listening time?

It was a good setup for the TV Show, but soooo much more could be done with this to make it more interesting. I wouldn't say it wasn't worth the time, but I really wanted more.

Any additional comments?

Good for a light read despite the content. The characters and the backstory could have been fleshed out a bit, but Gildart Jackson was impeccable in his delivery and performance and really held the whole thing together for me.

Here's Hoping For A Third Book!/Fuck The Naysayers

I watched the first season of "Whodunnit?" on TV and loved it, so once I found out that there were "Whodunnit" books, I had to have them! I've listened to both books numerous times, and they've far exceeded my expectations! Plus, I don't think that Mr. Zuiker could have picked a better narrator than Gildart Jackson if he had tried! Here's hoping for a third "Whodunnit?" book and maybe even a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh & eighth if we're lucky! I've seen some of the negative reviews that this first book got, and they truly sicken me to my stomach. I was lucky enough to get both of these books for free in 2013 when Mr. Zuiker was giving them away, and I have to say that anyone who got these books for free and had the audacity to complain about them is obviously a fucktard who wouldn't know a good book if it sailed across the room and smacked them in the face. Imbeciles.

Good story, disappointing ending

The story was great! Kept me interested and was wondering who the killer was the entire time. I was disappointed with the ending. I wanted more explanation. The reading was great as well. Overall, a good read.

I liked it

Would you listen to Free: Whodunnit? again? Why?

No, I rarely listed or read books twice.

Would you recommend Free: Whodunnit? to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would. For a freebie I thought it was pretty good.

What about Gildart Jackson’s performance did you like?

I thought he was a good narrator. He kept my attention.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

A cheesy mystery with little character development but still a decent listen for a freebie.

Interesting Book

I enjoyed the Narrator, I enjoy a WhoDunnit, but it left me confused by the ending so I am still wondering about the book. I enjoyed the Characters and the development of them and their descriptions made them very easy to visualize as well as what was taking place. I did enjoy the many twist to the plot/story but as I said I am left a little puzzled with a part of the ending. I loved the Butler, and could just visualize him as one of the old school butlers who is all prim and proper with the manners his has to follow per protocol.

Wow

This thriller was dark, graphic, but so well done I could not stop listening to it. Addicting!