I absolutely love these types of mystery books especially in epistolary style! I am a huge fan of Maureen Johnson, and was excited to receive this as an arc from NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press. This is a book where you get all of the facts of a murder and you have to solve it at the end! It was fun reading all of the interviews and trying to find the murderer. I also loved the illustrations in the book as well. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery!

As a huge mystery fan, I love interactive books where the reader is tasked with solving the crime themselves, and this book was no exception. The mystery was genuinely challenging, creative, and I loved the way the evidence was presented via letters, interviews etc. The illustrations are gorgeous and the sparse use of color (usually red) really helped to highlight the mood. More of these types of books please!!!!

This was such a fun book! I'd never read anything quite like it. There isn't a single normal page of text. Everything is interview transcripts made to look like typewritten sheets of paper, letters, photos, maps, etc. It's everything that the British police in the 1930s might collect to solve a crime. And then the reader gets to take in all this evidence and solve it themselves!

Many of the teens at my library are already fans of Maureen Johnson, then add that her next book is basically a game?! I know this will be popular when it comes out.

You Are the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder is a memorable storytelling experience, with its twisty, historically reminiscent, and creative plot complemented by intricate illustrations, cleverly worded interviews, and amusement sprinkled throughout. This curious mystery was an adventure in deconstructing what is known to uncover every hidden clue therein. I praise the storytelling of author Maureen Johnson and the clever depictions of illustrator Jay Cooper for keeping my interest piqued throughout my reading of this exhilarating who-dun-it. Did I figure out who and why?

My intuitions were correct, and I unraveled the murder...but will you?

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher Ten Speed Press, for the opportunity to review this ARC and share my thoughts. Five stars from me.

Out September 16th, 2025
Seven strangers, each harboring sinister secrets, are lured to a posh townhouse by poison pen letters. When American novelist Roy Peterson is stabbed in a room full of suspects—yet no one saw a thing—the crime reeks of something not quite human. Was it a ghost? A trick? Or the work of a disembodied hand? The book invites you to become Scotland Yard’s last hope, decoding clues and unraveling twisted witness statements in a case that feels more cursed than criminal

The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the suspects—a poet, an earl, an actress, a cook, a telephone operator, and a lothario—are as theatrical as they are suspicious. Johnson’s writing is razor-sharp, and Cooper’s illustrations are hauntingly authentic, crafted from actual 1930s ephemera to give the mystery a tactile eeriness. Each page feels like a relic from a haunted archive, daring you to piece together a puzzle that seems to shift and snarl the closer you get to the truth. The murder of rising stage star Billie Snooks looms in the background, adding another layer of spectral intrigue.

But beware: this isn’t just a book—it’s a trap. The deeper you dig, the more the case seems to unravel your own sense of reality. The Creeping Hand isn’t just a clever title—it’s a warning. This interactive mystery doesn’t just ask you to solve a crime; it dares you to survive it. And if you fail? Well, let’s just say the hand might come creeping for you next.

Thank you NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for this ARC!

This was a fun concept for a book, I was intrigued by the idea of trying to solve the murder as if I was a budget Sherlock Holmes.

Did I solve it? kind of, I found it a fun read and think the illustrations of this book are stunning and enjoyed seeing them in this book, but I found the ending of the book a bit of a letdown. I was wrong in who I thought did the murder and the character that did it seems to do the "impossible task" but it was a fun read and I did help the train trip to London go faster.

I rated it a 3/5 as I feel like something was missing, but it was a pleasant experience.

Thank you to @netgalley and Clarkson Potter and Ten Spreed Press for allowing me to read the Arch for an honest review.

Suffice to say, I was unable to solve the mystery, even with the (often random-seeming) clues presented to me. That didn’t change that I enjoyed trying, and once it was resolved I wished I had tried just a little bit harder, because it really was all there in front of me. I wasn’t 100% on the art style, but I love Maureen Johnson’s writing style, and this was a fun, quick read.

#YouAretheDetectiveTheCreepingHandMurder #NetGalley

She’s the Agatha Christie for a new generation of young mystery loving readers.

Albeit this book’s format differs from the author’s prior work, it will still capture the reader’s imagination with its tangible clues (images of evidence inventoried by the detectives, pictures of the crime scenes, and interviews of suspects/witnesses). The author’s writing skillfully captures all the characters’ distinct voices and personalities.

Highly recommend this read.This ARC was provided by the publisher, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press | Ten Speed Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very fun read. I really enjoyed being the detective and trying to figure out who commited the murder. I will confess that I had to read it twice to do so, but I got there in the end. This was very much like being handed all of the evidence and interviews that the police gather during an investigation, and from all of this information figuring out who committed the crime.

You don’t really get to know the characters, that sort of is the whole point, but I must say that most of them were not very likable. They all had been involved in some things that were not exactly nice. A couple of them I dismissed pretty quickly, as the least likely to have a motive to commit the crime, but was still left with quite a few suspects. I really liked that there were portraits of each of the suspects as that made it a bit easier to keep who was who in my head.

The pictures really added to the whole process. There are a couple of clues in these pictures so pay close attention to them. They all really add a nice touch to the story and help you solve the crime. They are a little on the cartoony side, but I kind of liked that and it added to the fun. I especially liked the little newspaper articles that were included in the story, both about the people involved and the victim. They also provided the motive if you pay close attention to them.

I was very glad that I requested a hard copy of this book, it would be very hard to flip back and forth between the interviews and the pictures in an electronic form. Being able to read certain sections multiple times certainly made it easier to solve the murder. The final solution was quite complex and a bit twisty which was great.

If you enjoy mysteries mostly because you like to try and solve them yourself, this is a book that I recommend you give a go. It is a very quick read, but it is not an easy one to solve. Both adult and young adult amateur sleuths will enjoy this one.

"Seven people receive mysterious letters. Someone knows their terrible secrets. They are summoned to a posh townhouse where one is stabbed right in front of the others, but somehow no one saw a thing. Can you help Scotland Yard solve the mystery?"

As a Gen X-er raised on Choose-your-own-adventure books, I LOVE stories like this. I had a few mixed-media books when I was young, encouraging you to use the "clues" (a bag of plastic medicine, scraps of newspaper, etc) to solve the mystery presented, and this book is similar to those I loved as a kid.

You're presented with maps, testimony and interviews with witnesses/suspects, evidence, and notes about the mystery and the investigation, giving the reader the ability to solve the mystery.

Maybe it's the nostalgia, but I really enjoyed being a part of a story again!

I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This was a fun read! Mixed media whodunnit where you can piece together the evidence and solve the crime. I read it more simply as a straightforward book, and I do think that I was in the wrong mood for what was, in fact, a very fun idea. Lots of people will like this, though I would guess it should be marketed more to teenagers than adults.

The concept of this solve-it-yourself mystery (think Ellery Queen or Encyclopedia Brown) could not be more brilliant. The reader has access to witness statements, primary documents, illustrations, maps, photographs — everything you’d think you need to solve the crime.

Unfortunately, the ending is so convoluted that few could possibly guess the answer. Five stars for the concept and the many pieces of evidence; another five for Jay Cooper, the wondrous illustrator, but only one star for the execution of the ending. Let’s just call it three stars.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press in exchange for an honest review.

"You Are the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder" by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper is an intriguing interactive mystery that kept me engaged from start to finish. The premise is unique, allowing readers to become actual detectives in solving the case, which adds an exciting twist to the traditional reading experience.

The storyline is cleverly constructed, with lots of red herrings and unexpected turns that kept me guessing. The vibrant illustrations by Jay Cooper beautifully complement the text and enhance the overall atmosphere of the narrative. I particularly enjoyed the quirky characters and their distinct personalities, which added depth to the story.

One area where I think the book could improve is the pacing; at times, it felt a bit slow as I was trying to piece together clues. However, the engaging writing and the thrill of solving the mystery outweighed any pacing issues.

Overall, it's a fun and immersive read for fans of mystery and detective stories. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interactive experience, and I look forward to seeing what the authors come up with next! Four stars!

This was a visually impressive book, and a fun read. Fast paced and honestly reminded me of the old Encyclopedia Brown books. Highly recommend.

At a normal party in a posh London neighborhood, a man is found dead. But how? He arrived to the party, took a seat and no one went near him. The witness interviews, news clippings, and much more are assembled into a file for the reader detective to solve. Thankfully for me at least, the solution is included, but maybe some detectives won't need it. I certainly did, but although I couldn't solve the crime, I still greatly enjoyed playing along. Fans of the duo's previous book will be ecstatic over this offering.

With unique characters and a mysterious atmosphere, Maureen Johnson presents us with a detective book in which we are the investigators! This is my first book of this form and I think I'm in love with it. The multiform media and the enigma itself make the story even more engaging. I didn't find out who the murderer was, but that didn't take the fun out of it. In fact, it made the final revelation even more exciting.

I've been a fan of the author for many years, since my first (of countless) reads of Truly Devious, so it was a real honor to receive an ARC of one of her books, huge thanks to Netgalley and Ten Speed Press!!!

Really good book. Trying to solve the murder by yourself by reading all the clues feels so new and quite intriguing

After binging the entire Truly Devious series in a week and absolutely loving it, of course I jumped on the chance to read this "you are the detective" book by Maureen. I was not disappointed.

You the reader are given evidence (wonderfully illustrated by Jay Cooper) and testimony and it is up to you to figure out who did it.

Did I figure it out pretty quickly/easily? Yes. But I still had a good time reading through it. This would have made me feel like Nancy Drew if I had read it when I was 12ish.

I can't help but wish that I had received a physical copy. I think the tactile experience of being able to hold and flip through the evidence would have made this that much better.

Reading this as an ebook was a bit difficult because it’s hard to go back and forth to try to re-read pages or take another look at the drawings. I really like Maureen Johnson and I also like to solve murder mysteries, but this one was not my favorite.

Mostly, I didn’t like the ending. It felt like it was too easy. I won’t say much, though, as to not spoil anything. However, I think the self-solving concept is really fun. Having to decipher all the clues and read through the interviews and evidence is what kept me going. I also really enjoyed the drawings and found many parts to be humorous.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this in exchange for an honest review. (Review will not be published until week on release)

This was such a cool premise for a book. I really liked that you are given all of the evidence and then asked to solve the mystery. The art that was included along side was really well done. I will admit that I didn't really guess who had done it, but I was happy when I read over the solution. It was definitely well written and creative.