Book Summary and Reviews of The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson Wheeler

The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson Wheeler

The Gatsby Gambit

A Novel

by Claire Anderson Wheeler

  • Critics' Consensus (7):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2025, 368 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

America's most beloved literary characters. 
A page-turning mystery. 
The gilded opulence of the Roaring Twenties.
And a clever young woman of unusual persistence.

Be ready to re-think the world of Gatsby.

Freshly twenty-one and sporting a daring new bob, Greta Gatsby--younger sister to the infamous Jay—is finally free of her dull finishing school, and looking forward to an idyllic summer at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. From its breathtaking views to its eccentric denizens, Greta is eager to inhale it all--even to the predictable disapproval of Mrs Dantry, Jay's exacting housekeeper. Indeed, nothing could disrupt the blissful time Greta has planned… except finding out that Jay's cadre of dubious friends—Daisy and Tom Buchanan, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker—will be summering there, too.

It's hard to be noticed when the luminous Daisy Buchanan is in the room, and Jordan keeps rather too close tabs on handsome Nick Carraway for Greta's liking. But by far the worst is Daisy's boorish husband, Tom, whose explosive temper seems always balanced on a knife-edge. But soon, bad blood is the least of their problems, as a shocking event sets the Gatsby household reeling.

Death has come to West Egg, and with it, a web of scandal, betrayal, and secrets. Turning sleuth isn't how Greta meant to spend her summer—but what choice does she have, when everyone else seems intent on living in a world of make-believe?

Deftly subverting romantic notions about money, power, and freedom that still stand today, The Gatsby Gambit is a sparkling homage to, and reinvention of, a world American readers have lionized for generations.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Anderson-Wheeler debuts with a tepid murder mystery featuring characters from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby...Anderson-Wheeler is too deep in thrall to her famous characters to cast them in a new light, and the mystery takes too long to heat up. This disappoints." —Publishers Weekly

"This novel pays homage to the classic with a fresh point of view that will please Gatsby fans and mystery readers. Both Gigi and the novel are clever and breathe new life into one of the definitive novels of the 20th century." —Library Journal

"Featuring much of the glamour and sparkle of Fitzgerald's original, this reprise of Gatsby's cautionary tale also revisits the distressing realities behind the glitz. A mystery with a message (and some great jewelry)." —Kirkus Reviews

"With an ambitious premise for a debut novel, Wheeler revises Fitzgerald's classic with reassuring authenticity and refreshing zest to deliver a thoroughly satisfying, coy murder mystery. F. Scott would approve." —Booklist

"Lively, smart, and fun, The Gatsby Gambit is both a clever murder mystery and a complex reckoning with a literary legacy. As charming as Daisy Buchanan herself, and as full of pathos." —Flynn Berry, author of New York Times bestseller Northern Spy

"With a fiercely defiant female lead and secrets as sharp as the prose, The Gatsby Gambit oozes glamour and intrigue. I loved this bold take on a beloved classic." —Trisha Sakhlecha, author of Can You See Me Now? and The Inheritance.

This information about The Gatsby Gambit was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Trisha

A fun twist on characters we already know
A murder mystery, a house of friends, a bumbling police force and Greta in the middle of it all. Greta is home and finally gets to take part in the fun parties her brother, Jay Gatsby, has. Daisy, Nick, Tom Buchanan - the whole crew is back. The murder mystery was a fun part of the story and I liked how Greta played within the rules of society but also pushed to know more. There were so many parts that I shook my head at Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy, but it was so true to who we knew him to be that you can't really get mad at him.

It was a fun twist on the Gatsby story with an interesting murder mystery and fun twists and turns.

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More Information

Claire Anderson-Wheeler grew up in Dublin, Geneva, and Brussels. She studied Law at Trinity College, Dublin, and holds a Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She works in Publishing and this is her debut novel. Claire first read The Great Gatsby on holiday when she was fourteen, and has revisited it often since. She currently lives in Boston with her partner.

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