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.