Murder at Magenta Manor

It's been a crazily busy but hugely enjoyable week. The CWA Daggers Dinner, very glitzy, was a great success, and I had a wonderful time the following evening, after zipping up from London to Yorkshire. I was hosting a Yorkshire supper at the legendary Betty's Tea Room and gave a talk about Gil North, and rural detective fiction for the Ilkley LitFest. And then, on Thursday, it was back to London again. I had a truly fantastic time, as I opened a new Classic Crime pop-up shop at the British Library.

This shop is dedicated to classic detective fiction (and yes, it sells my books too!) and it will be open until the new year. And it has a very special feature, which for all I know is unique in British retailing. The Library offers visitors the chance to participate in a murder mystery competition, with prizes. And guess who was commissioned to write the murder mystery?

When the Library first mooted the project earlier this year, I was intrigued, but slightly daunted by the challenge. The puzzle has to interest customers, but also not be too fiendish, otherwise people will not be able to escape from the shop for hours as they struggle to solve it... But after much thought and trial and error, I came up with the story of Murder at Magenta Manor, the puzzle of who killed Murdo Magenta - and how. Almost inevitably, poisoned chocolates are involved. But what was the poison?

The Library told me they loved the plot. Very encouraging. As a next step, I met the specialist designer from Spain who was tasked with turning my concept into a 3-dimensional shop design. And she and her team did a brilliant job. When, on Thursday, I walked into the shop, I was blown away. The clues are artfully hidden in the shop, and there are all manner of wonderful presents, quite apart from books, to tempt people hunting for Christmas presents. (There are bags bearing the Poisoned Chocolates Case cover artwork, and bags and coasters featuring the artwork for my new winter anthology, Crimson Snow). It really is the most unusual and extraordinary writing

project I've ever worked on.

Thursday was a Press evening, and the Library team were delighted by reaction. The excitement even attracted the interest of two real life police officers who came in for a look around and proved very entertaining visitors, happy to enter into the spirit of the mystery. No photos of them on the blog, for obvious reasons, but they made their own contribution to an unforgettable occasion.