In the Hall with the Knife

Orchid McKee came to Blackbrook Academy to escape.  The small private school in rural Maine is perfect for hiding away from the world.  It's also a perfect setting for disaster when a winter storm knocks out the power and makes roads impassable.  Now Orchid and the remaining handful of students and staff who didn't leave for winter break are huddling together in a former grand mansion turned girls dorm as they await rescue. 

When the headmaster is found murdered, no one is safe from suspicion.  Could it be Beth Picach, all-star tennis player and known hothead, who had an angry shouting match with the headmaster just a few days ago?  Rumor has it she threw a heavy candlestick at him before storming out.

What about Vaughn Green, the townie who attends Blackbrook on scholarship?  No one really knows him, and that's how he likes it.  There are dark secrets in his family tree, and the less said about his weapons obsessed twin brother, the better.

Then there's Scarlet Mistry, daughter of an Indian American real estate mogul.  She doesn't want to lean on her family's money, and she's obsessed with being the top student in the humanities program.  In fact, she'll go to almost any length to get what she wants.

Finn Plum, a science genius, also recently had a dissatisfaction meeting with the headmaster, and he's been keeping secrets from his best friend.

Then there's Mustard, the new kid who is a complete unknown.  He's not a science genius, or any other kind of genius, like everyone else at Blackbrook, and he's not forthcoming about why he had to leave the military academy on short notice.

There are plenty of suspects, but will the Blackbrook students discover the killer before he or she strikes again?

This is the first book in a trilogy by Diana Peterfreund based on the Clue board game.  It's a solid mystery, but not as great as I wanted it to be.  I've read a couple of her other books and loved them, and this just ok.  Mystery fans will enjoy the plethora of characters with secrets and all the hidden passageways in the old house.  Don't expect this to be like the movie with its tongue in cheek humor; this is more a straight forward mystery.