Can You Solve the Murder? on sale soon
Can You Solve the Murder?, my choose-your-own-story interactive crime novel, is on sale June 5 at bookstores everywhere* in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
If this is the first you’re hearing about it, allow me to explain:
ARE YOU READY TO BE A DETECTIVE?
In this choose-your-own-story murder mystery, at the end of every chapter, YOU choose what to do next...
You arrive at Elysium, a wellness retreat in an English country manor, to investigate a murder. You find the body of a local businessman on the lawn – with a rose placed in his mouth. What will you do next?
You examine the body and learn he was stabbed with a gardening fork and fell to his death from the balcony above. But that balcony can only be accessed through a locked door - and the key is missing.
Everyone in Elysium is now a suspect, but who will you interview first? Will you examine the balcony, or interview the suspects? Every decision you make has consequences - and and some of them will prove fatal…
Do you have what it takes? Can YOU solve the murder?
Experience a gripping new type of story, unlike anything you’ve read before, from Antony Johnston, award-winning crime author and veteran games writer.
Can You Solve the Murder? combines my experience of writing both crime fiction and games into a single book. Advance buzz so far is amazing:
“An interactive crime novel where YOU sleuth-for-the-truth! A must-read for any and all crime fans” – JANICE HALLETT (The Appeal)
”A wonderfully intriguing mystery that tests your powers of investigation” – GT KARBER (Murdle)
”Johnston’s pedigree in both crime novel and game writing coalesces into a captivating murder mystery with some genuinely tough choices and puzzles” – RHIANNA PRATCHETT (Tomb Raider)
”I had the best time trying to beat the book and solve the murder. It's the perfect read for any armchair detective.” – KATY WATSON (The Three Dahlias)
”Great fun, deviously clever, with a plot and characters that make you want to explore every avenue and possibility to discover the truth” – SARAH DUNNAKEY (The 12 Murders of Christmas)
“Put together with such precision that it's hard to believe anyone could pull off the feat of writing it” – ALICE BELL (Grave Expectations)
”Move over Murdle, there's a new game afoot!” – MARTIN EDWARDS (Howdunit)
Everyone likes to think that they could solve a crime faster than the fictional detective they’re reading or watching. Well, now’s your chance to put that to the test! 😉
*US and Canadian readers can get it July 1, with these covers:
Several of the book’s translated editions will also be on sale around the same time, while others will publish later. Check with your local bookseller.
CYSTM Live! – an interactive book tour
To promote the book I’m going on tour throughout June and July, hosting Can You Solve the Murder? Live – a fun and unique interactive event where the audience competes to solve a “mini-murder mystery”, specially written by me for bookstores and festivals, based on characters and locations from the book.
Of course, I’ll also talk about writing CYSTM? itself and sign copies. Here’s the current itinerary:
June 11: Waterstones Leeds, 7pm – Tickets
June 12: Waterstones Nottingham, 6.30pm – Tickets
June 29: Bradford Literature Festival – Check website for programme
July 1: Waterstones Chelmsford, 6.30pm – Tickets
July 2: Waterstones Fareham Whiteley, 6pm – Tickets
July 7: Waterstones Edinburgh West End, 7pm – Tickets
July 8: Waterstones Newcastle, 7pm – Tickets
July 25: Criminally Good Books, York – No ticket link for this event yet, but keep an eye on CGB’s social media for announcements. If you’re a regular at the shop, you can also of course get a ticket there.
On that note, follow me on social media for news of any more dates we might add near you. And if you’re a bookseller or festival organiser who would like me to host CYSTM? Live, contact Emma Fairey at Transworld.
What is this Sorcery?
I’ll be livestreaming on YouTube at Jordan Sorcery, one of my favourite gaming-focused channels, on June 22 @ 6.30pm BST.
We’re going to talk about Can You Solve the Murder?, writing gamebooks, and my work in games. We’ll also read through some of the book’s opening, with the live audience voting to make decisions about where to go and what to do next!
I’ve been a viewer of Jordan’s for some time (his interviews with many classic Games Workshop designers aren’t to be missed) and we ran into one another at last year’s Fighting Fantasy Fest in London:
This should be a lot of fun, and I’m very much looking forward to it. Bookmark Jordan’s channel and tune in on June 22:
• https://www.youtube.com/@jordansorcery
Harrogate-bound
In July I’ll be talking Can You Solve the Murder? and other books with unusual structures at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
This is my first year appearing as a panelist at the festival, and what a panel it’s going to be – alongside me will be Janice Hallett, Cara Hunter, and John Finnemore, and it’s chaired by the Rev Richard Coles. Now that’s a line-up!
“It’s the Way You Tell ’Em” is on Sunday 20 July at 10.30am. Details and tickets:
(The panel blurb singles out The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead for some reason, but rest assured it’s Can You Solve the Murder? I’ll be mostly talking about)
Barking Through the Snow
Speaking of The Dog Sitter Detective, I recently handed in the manuscript for the fourth book, with the cheeky working title of The Dog Sitter Detective Who Came in from the Cold. I doubt that title will survive the editorial process 😅 but it gives you a hint at the direction of the story…
(Oh, and the dog Gwinny is looking after this time around is a working Cocker Spaniel, named Spiggy 🐶)
Location, Location, Location
In April I took a long-overdue holiday, travelling across northern Europe by train to a number of places – including the Estonian capital Tallinn, where much of the Brigitte Sharp thriller The Tempus Project is set.
I’d never actually been to Tallinn when I wrote that book 😅 but I had the help of some people who do know the city, so it all worked out, and last month I finally visited many of the locations I wrote about. It really is a beautiful city:
You can see more photos from the trip on my social media.
(I also visited some of the filming locations from Tarkovsky’s seminal SF film Stalker. The truth is that after all this time there’s almost nothing left to see, but it was still a thrill to know I was standing in the same spot where the Stalker smuggled his charges into the Zone.)
But The Only Listening Eyes Are Mine
In addition to this newsletter, you can follow me on most social media platforms – either search for my username @antonyjohnston, or check the Contact & Follow page of my site for links: https://antonyjohnston.com/contact/