Gamebook Friday: Can You Solve the Murder?

This week, I was excited to receive an advanced reader copy of Antony Johnston's new interactive crime novel Can You Solve the Murder?

I was fortunate enough to be a beta reader for this last year. Since then a few changes have been made to the story, including the gender of one of the main characters, so it will be interesting to give it another read now.

Here's the publisher's blurb...

There’s been a murder at Elysium, a wellness retreat set in an English country manor. You arrive to find the body of a local businessman on the lawn – with a rose placed in his mouth. It appears 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, the key is missing, and everyone in Elysium is now a suspect…

Gather the evidence and examine the clues. Choose who to interview next, and who to accuse as your prime suspect. But remember that every decision you make has consequences – and some of them will prove fatal… 

Do you have what it takes? Can YOU solve the murder?

The great thing about Can You Solve the Murder? is that while it isn't a gamebook in the style of Fighting Fantasy or ACE Gamebooks, it isn't simply a branching narrative like a Choose Your Own Adventure story, where everything is revealed at the end.

There are clues to be collected and a puzzle to be solved. At the end, in classic murder mystery style, you have to declare who you think the murderer is. But you can't just guess who it might be - you have to have the evidence to back up your suspicions.

I met Antony Johnston for the first time last year after Fighting Fantasy Fest, despite having both worked for Abaddon Books when the imprint started out, and he is a huge gamebook fan. In fact, he wrote a glowing review of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire.

Can You Solve the Murder? will be published by Penguin Books* in June 2025.

* Parent company of Puffin Books, who originally published the Fighting Fantasy series.

Tie-in Tuesday: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin

Happy Chinese New Year of the Tiger!

In other news, Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, edited by George Mann, is still available to buy. Why am I telling you this? Because it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

Here's a little background on the tale.

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

Today is International Sherlock Holmes Day

Today is International Sherlock Holmes Day, which is celebrated on 22nd May each year, because that was the date of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday.

Despite being a big influence on many things I have written, most notably the Pax Britannia series, I have only actually had one Sherlock Holmes story published*, and that was last year in the anthology Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, edited by George Mann and published by Titan Books.

If you would like to find out what happens in Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin, a story that is narrated by Sir Henry Baskerville, you can order your copy of the anthology here.

* Although I do have plans for another Sherlock Holmes-related project, which I hope to start work on in the next couple of years. 

International Sherlock Holmes Day

Today is International Sherlock Holmes Day, which is celebrated on 22nd May each year, because that was the date of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday.

Despite being a big influence on many things I have written, most notably the Pax Britannia series, I have only actually had one Sherlock Holmes story published, and that was last year in the anthology Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, edited by George Mann and published by Titan Books.

If you would like to find out what happens in Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin, a story that is narrated by Sir Henry Baskerville, you can order your copy of the anthology here.

Tie-in Tuesday: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin published today!

Huzzah! It's new book day!

George Mann's latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes' stories is published today. Entitled Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, itself entitled Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

The premise behind the anthology is that each story is told by one of Holmes' associates, in my case Sir Henry Baskerville, the poor put upon subject of the murder plot in The Hound of the Baskervilles (which is one of only four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

The following is taken from the book and explains why I chose Sir Henry to be the narrator of my tale.

The Hound of the Baskervilles has long been my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, so it was only natural that I would choose that as my jumping off point. This time last year I was in Cornwall, and crossed Bodmin Moor, which is allegedly home to its own beast.

This year I am in Cornwall again and on the way down visited Lanhydrock House, which could easily pass for Baskerville Hall - or even Trelawny Hall from Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is published today!

Huzzah! It's new book day!

George Mann's latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes' stories is out today. Entitled Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes, it contains my first published Sherlock Holmes short story, itself entitled Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

The premise behind the anthology is that each story is told by one of Holmes' associates, in my case Sir Henry Baskerville, the poor put upon subject of the murder plot in The Hound of the Baskervilles (which is one of only four Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

The following is taken from the book and explains why I chose Sir Henry to be the narrator of my tale.

The Hound of the Baskervilles has long been my favourite Sherlock Holmes story, so it was only natural that I would choose that as my jumping off point. This time last year I was in Cornwall, and crossed Bodmin Moor, which is allegedly home to its own beast.

This year I am in Cornwall again and on the way down visited Lanhydrock House, which could easily pass for Baskerville Hall - or even Trelawny Hall from Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin.

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is available from Titan Books, and via Amazon, now!

Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes

There's just over a week to go until George Mann's new short story anthology Further Associates of Sherlock Holmes is released but I've been fortunate enough to receive my contributor copy already.

You can pre-order your copy here.

Interesting, around this time last year I was in Cornwall, writing Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of Bodmin. I'm off to Cornwall again soon where I will be writing another short story for another new anthology.

Guest Author April - Michael Jecks

 Michael Jecks is a writer of historical mystery novels. Indeed he is known as the master of the medieval murder mystery.

Probably best known for his Knights Templar Mysteries, his latest book is FIELDS OF GLORY,  the first in his new Hundred Years War series, from Simon and Schuster (available in paperback and ebook format), with the second, BLOOD ON THE SAND, coming out in June as a large paperback and ebook.

Why not check out Michael's website for more information? I can also highly recommend the videos he posts weekly on YouTube. In these he not only talks about his books, but also about the nitty gritty business of being a writer, and he has some great pearls of wisdom for anybody wanting to follow in his footsteps.

The Next Big Thing - Sarah Pinborough

If there is such a thing as 'The Next Big Thing', then Sarah Pinborough is it! If you've not heard of her already, it can surely only be a matter of time before you do so.

Harridan of Horror and Mistress of Crime, she is the author of the Dog-Faced Gods trilogy and has written for television as well. And she's gorgeous.

We both had stories in Jonathan Oliver's House of Fear anthology and have since become firm friends due to a joint love of swanky awards ceremonies and dodgy discos. (There is photographic evidence of this on my Facebook page.)

Sarah is taking part in The Next Big Thing round robin blog and you can read about her forthcoming novel Mayhem here. As you will see she's also tagged me for next week.

So, see you in seven...