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Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for e-arc of Murder Kingdom.

3.25 stars

Oh this was fun, a very refreshing mystery/slasher taking place in a very Disney-like theme park.

Tanith is a seventeen year old girl who dreams about designing and creating escape rooms. She finds her work at Storybook Kingdom very promising for her future career, as she enjoys the designs of it all, the way workers never break character and the audience is captivated in this fairy tale land.
One day, an ex friend crashes out in front of the audience and she's fired. Tanith is quickly hired as the replacement of this role and she's soon filling in for the show of princess Briar-Rose. However, a short time after, Tanith finds the previous princess dead in a very gruesome scene inside the park. This is the first in a series of murders that mimic the demise of the characters in the original Grimm's fairy tales.

This started off really good. The art style is simple but very fun and colorful. The setting has a charm, the gowns and costumes are pretty, the fact that we get to learn how these themes park work behind the scenes was super interesting. The clear complaints and digs to Disney were funny too.
I'd say I was really having fun the first two issues. When the murder spree started and Tanith was running around the park trying to solve the mystery of the killer was a bit underwhelming. It's in the nature of the story, not much time to develop characters gives way to a very rushed storyline that ends in an underwhelming reveal and final confrontation.

Still, I think it's a fun adventure that feels fresh. I liked the main character, she was brave and smart, knowing how to put the clues together as someone who loves escape rooms and puzzles. I liked the violent tone that clash with our childhood fairy tales. It had gruesome killings that made it feel like Tanith was really in danger. The little comments against corporate shenanigans were good too, interesting. But at the end, the pacing was a bit of a mess and it felt like the execution just needed more time to refine elements of the story. I d be interested in reading more from this author though.