The Name of the Game Was Murder [LARGE PRINT] (Hardcover)

by Joan Lowery Nixon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Agatha Christie fans will be quick to recognize the set-up of this surprisingly creaky offering from veteran Nixon ( The Dark and Deadly Pool ; A Candidate for Murder ). Augustus Trevor, a mean-spirited bestselling author, is throwing a weekend party at his mansion on a remote part of Santa Catalina Island. When his high-profile guests (a senator, a former football star, a fashion designer, a movie star and a romance novelist) assemble, Trevor announces his nasty (and rather far-fetched) weekend plans: all will participate in a treasure hunt to locate the unpublished manuscript of the crabby wordsmith's latest book, which reveals the various ugly secrets lurking in his guests' pasts. Predictably enough, the obnoxious author is found murdered just hours after outlining his agenda, leaving his glitzy victims frantic to find the missing manuscript. The celebrities are inexplicably dim, but fortunately Trevor's great-niece Samantha--a plucky aspiring writer and amateur cryptologist--is on hand to help them unravel what turns out to be a fairly obvious mystery. Shallow and disappointing. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
When she visits her great-uncle, a successful and self-centered author, at his fortress-like home on Catalina Island, fifteen-year-old Samantha becomes involved in his manipulative game that leads to murder.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560547758
• ISBN-13: 978-1560547754
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,196,514 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unbelieveable Book!...., June 26, 2002

By	T (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Name of the Game Was Murder (Paperback)

Joan Lowery Nixon gave me a great first impression with "The Name of the Game Was Murder!" The story is extremely fast-paced, and was my first book that I had finished in a few hours. Nixon gives a well-descriptive storyline, which makes you feel as though you're in the actual story!

The book takes place on a remote island in a creepy mansion. Samantha goes to visit her Aunt Thea for the first time. Sam is an aspiring writer and her aunt's husband, Augustus Trevor, is a famous novelist. Not only does Sam visit to see her Aunt Thea, but she hopes to get writing advice from Augustus.
When she arrives, she soon realizes that Augustus is a rude, hot-tempered man who warns Sam to stay out of his way during the weekend while he has guests over for a party. Also, after Sam has already settled in the Red Room, Augustus moves her to a tiny room, far away from the rest of the house called the Tower Room....
Later that day, Augustus' guests arrive, and Sam finds that they are famous people! But, things start to get fishy when a movie star named Laura says that she received a threatening letter stating that if she didn't come, she'd regret it.
That night during dinner, Augustus announces that the guests will be taking part in a game. He explains that he has written a story that includes a devestating secret about their past, and whoever can use Augustus' typed clues to get to the manuscript, will have their secret removed from it. He hands out the clues, which make no sense to the guests, including his own wife Thea. Sam demands a clue for herself, and when given one, quickly deciphers it, due to the fact that is was just an "alphabet note." (Example 1 stands for A, 2 stands for B, etc). Because Sam is quick in figuring out hers, everyone thinks that she can decipher thier's, which is just another problem for Sam!
The next morning Augustus is found dead in his office; murdered!
Can Samantha figure out the clues? If she finds the manuscript will it reveal the murderer? Find out in "Name of the Game Was Murder!"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely excellent, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Name of the Game Was Murder (Paperback)

You can't put it down.It was my first Nixon book and it got me hooked to her other many books.A suspensful book that will keep you at the edge of your seat. It's not a"look-behind-you-every-5-minutes"book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very suspenseful and hard to put down !!, August 3, 1999

By A Customer

I thought this book was very interesting and I reccomend it to any one who loves mysteries and likes to get a little scared. Samantha goes to visit her aunt Thea and Thea's husband who is a poet that samantha admires.Samantha is expecting a fun trip but Augustus is less than likeable and when the guests arrive to the weekend party and Augustus tells them that he has written a book that describes each of their mistakes from the past everyone gets anxious to find the manuscript so they will have their past stories removed from that horrible book! Will Samantha be able to find the manuscript to help her to find out who killed Augustus? This book was a real page turner and kept me on the edge of my seat.