So, a cosy murder mystery novel, eh?
[Settles into comfy chair, falls asleep]
Excellent, I can just relax and enjoy a ni… Wait, what? Murder You Wrote is an interactive novel? I have to make choices? I have to choose to either read chapter-by-chapter (like a normal book), or ignore the red herrings, follow my hunches, skip ahead to the chapters where I think I’ll pick up the trail of the killer faster, and work this fecking murder out for myself? I have to think? Damn it – I’m sick of thinking! I hate thinking! It’s the authors’ job to think! Besides, it’s obviously not Paige; clearly it’s the wife who…wait, no – maybe not but… Let’s jump to the second interview… Okay, it’s probably not the literary rival – way too obvious… On the other hand…
Damn it! I’m thinking!
And so this novel, written by twenty different writers – a ridiculous idea that somehow works, sucked me in. [shakes fist at clouds] Damn you, Editor LJM Owen who came up with this whole interactive Detective Poirot-esque thing!
Okay, you got me. Fine. I found myself trying to outwit Owen and a bunch of writers who collaborated to outwit us, the readers. Well, you all just go ahead and try. I’m putting my money on…wait, no – he’s exactly who you’re leading me to think did it! The ol’ least-likely-murderer-turns-out-to-be-the-murderer trick? Ha! Think again!
The premise of this novelistic game is simple. One corpse, four novelists, one weary ex-detective; all trapped by floodwaters in a mansion in the Huon Valley. The ex-detective is you, the reader, and you need to think hard if you’re to read the fewest number of chapters to guess who dunnit – which can be confirmed by skipping, if you dare risking the big spoiler, to the finale.
Apparently the mystery can be surmised in ten chapters. While I did a bit of jumping back and forth, in the end my forensic talents, staggering IQ and razor-sharp logic skills saw me obliged to read the whole thing plus several chapters, twice.
So it turns out I’m not that bright. Still, the competitive angle saw me become engaged in a way I normally wouldn’t, as I paused to remember obvious or subtle clues alike.
Some clues are broadcast loudly, some are red and smell like fish, some are buried in character.
Written in plain language, part of this literary experiment was to encourage and mentor emerging writers to hone skills. Another part was to encourage emerging readers to whom more literary works might pose too great a challenge. With the literacy levels in Tasmania at a national low, editor LJM Owen recognised the need for novels that weren’t dumbed down but were a fun and engaging read to hone literacy skills.
Two birds, one novel. Nice.
For me, I didn’t notice the prose was written at ‘a Flesch-Kincaid level of around 80 out of 100, or Grade 5’ – I was too busy taking in character and clues, plus competing against LJM Owen and her team of twenty writers. Am I bitter that they out-thunk me and, instead of leaping through only half the novel to solve the crime, I had to wait till the denouement for the ‘ahhhh…’ moment? A little, but, hey, we had fun along the way, so I’m good.
So well done to Arts Tasmania for the grant supporting this work, and congratulations to author, editor, librarian, archeologist, historian and Director of the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival, Dr LJM Owen, and her team of established and emerging writers who contributed to this work. You got me. You won. I could’ve sworn it was…[spoiler removed]…who set up the…[spoiler removed]…and put…[spoiler removed]…in the frame for the murder. But I was wrong. Completely wrong. [grinds teeth] Next time, you won’t be so lucky…
Murder You Wrote – An Interactive Mystery, edited by LJM Owen, Clandestine Press, 2023, 244pp, ISBN: 978-1-922904-54-6, $32.95
B.P. Marshall is a scriptwriter and author.
