Can You Solve the Murder? news!

I am absolutely thrilled and gobsmacked to announce that Can You Solve the Murder? has been selected as a Paperback of the Year by Waterstones.

This means the book will be featured as part of the PBOY promotion in all WS stores and online between now and Christmas – which is perfect timing, because CYSTM makes a great holiday gift! Many readers have already told me they’ve bought a copy for a loved one, and at several recent live events I’ve been asked to sign copies with a ‘Merry Christmas’ message.

I really can’t thank Waterstones enough for getting behind CYSTM and supporting it, even before it was released. Speaking of which, more on that in a moment…

Yesterday I turned in the manuscript for Can You Solve the Murder? book 2, which has the working subtitle ‘The Forest of Death’.

You may be wondering, what does ‘sequel’ mean for a book like CYSTM?

Quite simply, it’s a new case. You take on the role of the main character again, the same Detective Chief Inspector from book 1. Once more you’re accompanied and assisted by Sergeant McAdam, Constable Zwale, and Dr Wash.

But the murder, setting, and suspects are all completely new.

Once again it’s up to YOU to guide the investigation and solve the murder. But you’ll be doing so in a completely different setting to the first book, with new clues, puzzles, and red herrings along the way. Even the tone of the book and mystery is a little different, to keep you on your toes.

Think of it like a new season of your favourite crime drama… except you have to find the ending for yourself 😉

Publication is pencilled in for next summer, and I’ll confirm that once I have a final date.

After the success of Can You Solve the Murder? Live earlier this year (and with the book 2 deadline now behind me!) I’m hosting more live interactive events, now with a brand new mystery for the audience to solve – so even if you took part in one of the previous events, you can come along to one of the new events and enjoy another evening of sleuthing with a brand new murder!

(Pic: A recent CYSTM Live event at Beverley library, as part of the East Riding Festival of Words)

Dates confirmed so far:

• Nov 2 – Farsley Lit Fest, as part of Crime Day – Tickets

• Nov 13 – Thoughtful Spot Bookshop, Halifax – Tickets direct from the store, details here (This one includes a 3-course dinner!)

• Nov 24 – Waterstones Piccadilly – Tickets

• Nov 25 – Waterstones Brighton – Tickets

• Dec 4 – The Bookshop, Mold – Tickets

• Dec 5 – Waterstones Worcester – Tickets

• Dec 6 – Waterstones Redditch – Tickets

And we’re working right now on booking a few more. I’ll update this post when I have new dates, so check back here – or of course you can simply follow me on social media where all such events are announced.

While you’re buying Can You Solve the Murder? at your local bookshop, don’t forget to also pick up The Dog Sitter Detective’s Christmas Tail, the latest adventure for Gwinny and her canine companions, which is on sale November 20!

It’s almost Christmas, and Gwinny Tuffel’s thoughts are on what she’ll buy for DCI Birch (retired) and whether she can adopt another furry friend. But sorting through her late father’s papers leads her into his mysterious past, pointing to an enigmatic liaison now living in a Somerset commune. Gwinny and Birch find themselves unexpectedly snowed in with a group of retired spies, along with an energetic Cocker Spaniel, and embroiled in a murder case. Will they uncover the culprit and escape in time for Christmas?

Regular readers know that each Dog Sitter Detective book features a different breed of dog (Cocker Spaniel, in this case), but you may also have noticed that each book is a different kind of mystery:

• The Dog Sitter Detective is a traditional ‘body in the library’

• The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead is a closed-circle case

• The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead is a locked-room mystery (albeit the ‘room’ is a trailer on a film set!)

The new book, The Dog Sitter Detective’s Christmas Tail, is my take on the old favourite “Help, we’re snowed-in with a killer!” scenario. And where there’s snow, there’s Christmas – at least, that’s the rule in book publishing 😉

Don’t forget that the Judge Death Mega Special is also on sale later this month, featuring my first-ever story for 2000AD – a one-off featuring the Dark Judge known as Mortis, whose mere caress rots and decays all it touches, with amazing art from Lee Carter.

It would, as they say, be a crime to miss it 💀

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