⭐️ 3.5/5
Pub Date: July 01, 2025
Interactive Crime Novel: 2nd person POV, single narrative, branching format
Linear timeline

This is a clever hybrid of locked‑room whodunit and “choose‑your‑own” puzzle game. Because of this kind of format it is highly recommend you read a physical copy and not the digital version.

Set in an English country‑manor retreat called Elysium, you, the detective and narrator, arrive to investigate the murder of a local businessman stabbed with a gardening fork and found dead on the lawn with a rose in his mouth. You’re responsible for choosing leads, questioning suspects, and piecing together clues which adds immersive replay value and an engaging challenge. Multiple paths, red herrings, and branching outcomes mean readers can revisit the book and discover new clues or dead ends each time.
The locked‑door mystery at the Elysium retreat works well, creating a cozy yet suspenseful backdrop. However, the many interview choices and cross‑referrals can feel overwhelming. Without a clear strategy it’s easy to miss key leads and stumble into dead ends. I also didn’t think that the code decipher directions were written very well as it was hard to understand exactly what we were supposed to do.

It nails the immersive detective experience but only if you’re willing to stick through the more tangled branches. Once the navigation is smooth it becomes an engaging way to play detective… just don’t expect the tightest pacing or a deep, emotional plot. If you took away the “playing detective” game and look at it as a mystery story, the plot itself isn’t very complex or deep. It’s an innovative read overall, just a bit jumbly at times.

Thank you Penguin Group Viking Penguin and Penguin Books for providing a copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was my first interactive book. It sucked me in and I couldn’t wait to see if I could solve it! Really couldn’t put this down!

This was a fun, puzzle-style mystery that reminded me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I loved as a kid. I definitely recommend reading it in print—Kindle made the jumping around frustrating. I wasn’t a great detective (I failed my first try), but keeping notes with pen and paper made it more fun. The writing is simple, but the interactive format makes up for it. If you enjoy solving clues and don’t mind some trial and error, this is worth a try.

Attempt to Keep Interest by Giving Readers a Detective Job
Antony Johnston, Can You Solve the Murder? An Interactive Crime Novel (New York: Penguin Books, July 1, 2025). Paperback: $18. 304pp, 5-1/16X7-3/4”. ISBN: 978-0-143138-88-4.
***
“One murder. Six suspects. One truth for YOU to uncover. YOU are the lead detective and it’s your job to investigate the most mysterious crime of your career. 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. You quickly realize that balcony can only be accessed through a locked door, the key is missing, and everyone in Elysium is now a suspect… Who did it and why? It’s up to you to figure it out. YOU gather the evidence and examine the clues. YOU 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? Put your sleuthing skills to the test!”
The second-voice is underutilized in in fiction. Thus, this is a curious experiment. Though an experiment is just as likely to prove its new technique faulty, as correct. There are 200 chapters in this novel: this must be part of the mystery-solving process. Part of this experiment is a clue scoring table that measures the accuracy or “bravery” of the reader’s sleuthing abilities. Another section gives the answers to the class for the puzzle of encoded text messages in the body. An introductory section, “How to Solve the Murder”, explains that readers should not read these 200 chapters linearly, but rather jumping to the sections that reflect who they believe should be interviewed, or investigated next. This gets a bit silly. An example given is to either “examine the body” by turning to section 35 next, to “to search the murder scene” (143). Obviously both tasks must be completed at the scene in succession one-after-the-other before leaving this scene to continue with the narrative. Does this mean that in one option the reader abandons either checking the body or the scene? I flipped to “35”. This is supposed to be an investigation of the corpse, but instead the lead-investigator pulls over a suspect. Section 143 starts with the investigator decides to read through emails next. It seems that these references are hypothetical, as opposed to reflecting a specific situation in the novel. This is unhelpful for those who, like me, are trying to figure out how this novel works. Most chapters end with only one option: “turn to 100, and skip to the end of that section” (at the end of 105), or “Turn to 196” (after 106). At least one section has several options. 109 ends with 5 options, such as, “If you have T5 written down, turn to 22”. This is referring to clues investigators should have written in their notebooks that tell them if they have the evidence to suspect somebody like a “tech mogul” of murder. These number clues are merely given to readers to be written down, if they reach the “correct” sections. Readers do not have to do anything to figure out these numbers other than choosing whoever seems most suspicious, or the best approach to a solution.
The first section begins by telling you that your partner’s driving is so horrid, you are terrified. This is a pretty good approach because it is relatable and should help readers enter the second-person perspective. It is also a good idea that the first chapter is a few pages long, or longer than most pop-fiction chapters. This should help to leave enough clues to whodunnit to make a choice at the end. The options are to either question the receptionist, or go to the manager’s office. This is indeed a curious approach to fiction because the reader has a motive to pay attention to what is happening in the otherwise rather mundane narrative. Only those who read most of the text will have any idea where to go next, or what choice is more likely to lead to an answer. Though there is not enough interesting content in this first section to keep a reader caring about the characters, or intrigued by a suspenseful event, or by especially detailed and engaging description to keep reading.
If what I have reported sounds interesting, you are the intended reader for this novel.
Pennsylvania Literary Journal: Spring 2025 issue: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-spring-2025

I really enjoy the "make your own choices" murder mystery solver books. However, the only reason this book isn't higher in rating is because it was difficult to follow what page I need to turn to. I'm not saying the book didn't warn you, but it probably will be easier to follow alone & not get lost in the physical print of the book. I will wait until the physical print is out and retry it to see if I missed anything or if it's easier to complete.

Can You Solve the Murder? is a nostalgic and fun novel reminding us all of the Choose Your Own Adventure books from childhood. As a lifelong fan of those classics, I was excited to dive into this grown-up version—though I quickly learned that solving a murder is much trickier.

The premise is simple: you are the detective, tasked with collecting clues, interviewing suspects, avoiding red herrings, and piecing together the evidence. Don’t expect a linear narrative—this book demands active participation. You’ll need a notebook and a pen (trust me!) because tracking clues and revisiting sections is essential, and trying to navigate this one on a Kindle almost broke my brain.

The writing is straightforward which feels right for the format. While the story itself isn't the deepest or most emotionally gripping, that’s not really the point. Can You Solve the Murder? is less of a traditional novel and more of a bookish puzzle, perfect for fans of Murdle or anyone looking for a cozy, interactive challenge.

All in all, it was a refreshing and entertaining experience that made me feel like a kid again—except this time, with slightly better detective instincts!

#CanYouSolveTheMurder #AntonyJohnston #PenguinRandomHouse #InteractiveMystery #ChooseYourOwnAdventureForAdults

Who doesn't love a choose your own adventure? While this deviates from that premise slightly as you are the detective in a murder mystery and your choices decide which direction the case takes. Nothing about the case is straight forward with many twists about the different suspects and connections. I enjoyed the backtracking even if you chose to do something different. Be advised that pen and paper is required as you have to reference past clues and interviews as your progress.

This book was awesome! I was taking notes and writing information down the whole time and so I truly felt like I was sleuthing it out with the characters. My only problem is that by the time I figured out who it was and who I wanted to accuse, I didn't have enough clues to accuse them correctly! I did restart and get to the right clues, but it didn't feel as fun since I already had a bunch of knowledge from my first read. Otherwise, this was a super fun book!

Thank you Antony Johnston, Penguin, and NetGalley for the ARC

Can you Solve the Murder? is a less of a novel and more of an bookish workbook activity that triggered memories of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series of my youth. It's a great choice for someone who loves Murdle!

The process is significantly different from reading a traditional murder mystery. Chapters are very brief, note taking is required, and dead-ends abound. I enjoyed the process and found it an engaging cozy mystery activity as a palette cleanser from other books.

Other things to be mindful are that it can be easily to accidentally lose your place because you have to change sections (i.e. chapters) frequently. If this happens, it can be essentially impossible to find your place again in the electronic version. I tried to leave strategic bookmarks so getting off page didn't result in me going back to the beginning. Additionally, if you solve the murder incorrectly or make another book-ending mistake, you're supposed to go back to page 1 and start all over again. I didn't particularly find this an effective use of my time, so I'd simply go back to the decision that resulted in demise/end and pick again. The story itself wasn't engaging enough to start reading over and over again, which I admit is not the intent of the book. Strongly recommend reading this in print rather than electronically, if possible.

All in all, it was a fun bookish activity, and I enjoyed the process. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of Can You Solve a Murder? for an ARC. All opinions expressed as exclusively my own and no compensation was provided.

1 star.

I tried to enjoy this interactive murder mystery which sounded like great fun in a “Choose Your Own Adventure” format. However. Though it promised to allow progress through the book by merely touching the page numbers that did not work in the ARC. Instead I had a fairly miserable time of trying to guess where my selected chapter might be, going to that page, the guessing again, or turning pages until I finally found it. It was the opposite of fun.

In addition, the largest clue in the book is the decoding of some riddles. This was also not much fun. Then it turns out that though the book keeps insisting there is a number in each of the three parts, that is actually not true.

I really hate that I spent so much time with this book.