Enter the Forest of Death! 🌲🗡🔍

Can You Solve the Murder? Book 2: The Forest of Death is now on sale!

In this gripping interactive crime novel, YOU are the detective. At the end of every chapter, YOU decide what to do next…

A village of secrets.
You arrive at the heart of a remote forest to investigate the murder of a young woman, found dead inside an ancient stone circle. She’s a rock singer, who was filming a music video. Now her bandmates are suspects, along with the eccentric locals.

No one is telling the truth.
There’s just one problem: they all have water-tight alibis, and many villagers believe the singer was actually killed by the ‘Stone Warden’ – a figure from local folklore who haunts the forest.

Only YOU can solve the mystery.
Decide who to interview, decode the strange symbols written on the stone circle, and uncover what the villagers are hiding behind closed doors. Will your choices catch the killer – or will they be your downfall?

As you’d expect, this book follows the same format as the first, and features the same police characters returning from book 1. But the tone and mystery are quite different this time around, with a little more of a ‘folk horror’ slant to proceedings, not to mention a bit more action. You and Sergeant McAdam may well find yourself running for your lives through Grenholme Forest, pursued by a knife-wielding killer…

The Forest of Death is out now* in paperback and ebook from all good bookstores, and probably some dodgy ones too. I hope you all enjoy it – and do let me know if you solve the murder!

^{*NB this is a UK release. Overseas readers, check release dates with your local bookseller.}

CYSTM Live on tour

I’m not actually at my desk today. Through the magic of technology (and flaky wifi) this newsletter is being sent while I’m on a train to Nottingham, to host tonight’s Can You Solve the Murder? Live event. Aren’t computers grand?

Tonight’s is the first of four Waterstones events over the next couple of weeks, to close out my appearances in July:

Tickets are available from the venues, or from these links:

• July 9: Waterstones Nottingham

• July 10: Waterstones Birmingham

• July 14: Waterstones Edinburgh

• July 15: Waterstones Newcastle

Remember, THIS EVENT DOES NOT SPOIL THE BOOKS in any way, and IT’S A BRAND NEW MYSTERY, so if you came to a CYSTM Live event last year you can come again and face a completely different case to solve.

I hope to see you there! And there’ll be more events later in the year, of course. I’ll post details about those closer to the time.

• If you want me to host Can You Solve the Murder? Live at your bookstore or festival, contact Emma Fairey at Transworld.

I Will Do What I Can Do

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/