Fair Play is a twist on the modern "group of friends at a remote location, one of them dies, everyone is hiding something and one of them is the killer"-trope, which in itself is already beginning to feel like a classic, by transmitting the story into a golden age-style classic whodunit. The eminent detective Bell appears to assemble the clues and find the culprit. 

Fair Play not so much breaches the fourth wall as it tears it down. The characters are aware of being characters in a book and keep referencing classic mystery tropes and no-gos, delivering a running commentary into both the ongoing investigation as well as the construction of the novel itself. In the end, who did it is less important than the structure of the novel that set out to find out. 

I am the perfect target audience for this book, because I LOVE golden age mysteries and have read most of the big names as well as some of the small. For the aficionado, the book offers a treasure hunt delicious treasure hunt of Easter eggs and references, some easier to spit, others less so. 
Unfortunately, I couldn't help feeling that the transition between modern set-up and abrupt switch to golden age mystery was a little jarring and ultimately quite confusing, and I never quite felt like my feet touched ground with this book. 
Nonetheless, the reading experience was eminently enjoyable and I would recommend Fair Play to anyone who enjoys the classic detective stories. 
I want to thank PanMacmillan and NetGalley for receiving a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.