Thank you Libro.fm / PRH Audio for the ALC of The Gatsby Gambit in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print copy for my collection.
Publisher: Viking / Penguin Audio
Published: April 1, 2025
Summary:
A clever, transporting murder mystery, The Gatsby Gambit explores a world of class, money, glamour, and foul play—and reimagines some of America’s most beloved literary characters
Greta Gatsby has at last graduated from her stifling finishing school, is on the brink of turning twenty-one, and hopes to finally have her own legendary summer with her brother and guardian, Jay, at his West Egg mansion. Orphaned along with him some years before the war, Greta has seen her fortunes rise on the high tide of his entrepreneurship, even as she has remained in the shadows of his life—too young to join his late-night soirees or infamous summer parties and too shy to trade banter and barbs with his cadre of new friends.
Jay’s wish for her has been to shake off their new-money stain and gain a level of social acceptance he’s never quite enjoyed. She’s simply looking forward to reconnecting with him and embracing life as a modern young woman. She arrives at West Egg with a fresh and daring new bob hairdo to find Daisy and Tom Buchanan also summering at the mansion, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker. And it’s hard to be noticed when the luminous and multifaceted Daisy Buchanan is in the same room.
But when one of their guests is murdered, Greta turns sleuth as the veil is lifted on Gatsby’s household and its inhabitants, including its staff. Tightly plotted, with thrilling prose and sensuous detail, this homage to and reinvention of a world American readers have lionized for generations ultimately reveals the secrets and lies that perpetuate the romantic notion that being rich is the answer to all of life’s problems.
Like the Enola Holmes series and The Christie Affair, The Gatsby Gambit is designed to bring new readers into the world of the original, iconic novel, as well as delight fans with its clever secrets and reverence for all things Gatsby.
My thoughts:
As soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to read it. A reimagined story of The Great Gatsby, but with some Agatha Christie vibes thrown in…yes, please! This was such a fun murder mystery and it certainly has put Claire Anderson-Wheeler on my radar for all her future releases as I think she definitely nailed it with this debut!
I loved how the author took many of the familiar characters from the original story and then added some new ones, really making this her own story. Among these new characters is Greta, Jay’s younger sister. She takes center stage here and it is she who turns sleuth when one of the guests at Jay’s famed mansion turns up dead.
Being able to experience another Gatsby party was great fun, all the while following along with Greta as she works to uncover the mystery of what happened. While it obviously helps to have read The Great Gatsby prior to this one – I’ve read it numerous times as it is one of my very favorite classics – it really is not necessary. This one does stand on its own quite well and again, is not a sequel, prequel or in any way connected – it’s just a reimagining of the classic with a new twist…and one that works quite well!
Audio thoughts:
This was narrated by one of my favorites, Erin Bennett, who did such a great job bringing the story to life. Her pacing was spot on.
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