Rachel Jackson, Escape from Marigold Manor (Solve it Your Way #2), Riveted Press, April 2025, 240 pp., RRP. $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781763526068
Escape from Marigold Manor is the second book in the interactive series Solve it Your Way, which combines the appeal of a “choose your own plot” adventure with the game elements of “escape room” style puzzles, riddles and clues.
In this second book, famous Detective Christie finds herself locked in the opulent Marigold Manor. She receives furtive messages that to earn her release from the manor she must solve a mystery.
Will the reader make choices and solve puzzles that lead to a brilliant solution to a mystery or a shameful failure for Detective Christie?
With six different mysteries to solve and 32 possible story paths, the plots unfold as puzzle solutions and reader decisions lead to specified pages. Author Jackson, has expertly woven multiple suspenseful short detective stories into a single book, placing Detective Christie in perilous situations where she must rely on her daring courage and her wits to decipher cryptic clues and assess her interviews of suspects.
A classic English mystery atmosphere is created with drawings of Victorian-era clothing and vivid descriptions of a grand sprawling mansion which is occupied by Captain Marigold, Miss Marigold, various formally named guests and several servants.
It took me a while to work out the purpose of the “Case Files” on the last few pages. But once I did, I found them to be a handy guide to the starting pages of each of the six mysteries, while also helping track which plot paths I had already explored.
My kids loved the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series that was popular during the 1990s and I have happy memories of sharing the fun of discovering alternate plot paths with them. Escape from Marigold Manor has the additional appeal of incorporating game elements that mimic escape room or computer game challenges, making it especially relevant to the current generation.
I recommend Escape from Marigold Manor for 8–12-year-olds who love mystery stories and computer games or escape room challenges.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
