Can You Solve the Murder?

The reader plays the lead detective on the most baffling case of a career. At Elysium, a wellness retreat housed in an English country manor, a local businessman lies dead on the lawn with a rose placed in his mouth.

The evidence points to a gardening fork as the weapon, and a fall from the balcony above as the cause of death. That balcony can be reached only through a locked door, and the key is missing. Everyone staying at or working in the manor is now a suspect, and the field narrows to six.

This is an interactive murder mystery, so the reader is the investigator rather than a bystander. The detective gathers evidence, examines clues and decides which suspect to question next. The choices also include whom to accuse as the prime suspect.

The book is a puzzle with a closed-circle setup: one body, one manor, a limited cast and a single truth to find. Decisions carry consequences, and some of them prove fatal, so a wrong turn costs something. It suits readers who like to work out a whodunit themselves rather than wait for a reveal.