Description

Six friends. Six motives for murder. But who will be the victim – and who will be the killer?

‘The master puppeteer of literary crime’ JANICE HALLETT

‘Today’s greatest exponent of playful detective fiction’ GUARDIAN

‘A new spin on the traditional country house murder . . . when the style is this good, it’s worth the investment’ Irish News

–
May, 1999:
Six friends gather at a country house for a birthday.
The host insists they play a game.

Each will write a story about one friend murdering another.
Points are given for plausibility.
No secret, grudge or affair is off limits.

Six stories. Six murders.
And now six unexpected motives.

Because this game is about to get murderously real . . .
–

Praise for Alex Pavesi’s sensational bestseller, Eight Detectives

‘One of the year’s most entertaining crime novels’ Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month

‘So, so clever . . . Agatha Christie would take her hat off to this one – bravo!’ Sarah Pinborough

‘A wonderfully tricksy debut and a loving tribute to the golden age of crime fiction’ Mail on Sunday

‘A box of delights . . . Pavesi’s revelations are completely unexpected, right up to the end’ New York Times

Publisher Review

A spectacularly complex, crafty puzzle with characters who come more and more to life as the stakes get higher * Mail on Sunday * Ink Ribbon Red is the epitome of the artful murder mystery and Alex Pavesi the master puppeteer of literary crime, creating a unique yet relatable cast on pages that won’t stop turning. I was utterly hooked — Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal Fun * Guardian * Ink Ribbon Red is a thriller for clever people. This dark-hearted, light-footed mystery-thriller – an inspired mash-up of And Then There Were None, Cluedo, and Lucy Foley – plays fair, fierce, and fast: like the what-could-go-wrong party game that goes very wrong indeed for its cast, it’s dangerous fun, and just the tonic for readers hungover on same-old-same-old crime fiction. — A.J. Finn There are reveals within reveals as the bamboozled reader tries to decide what’s real and what isn’t. More fun than Eight Detectives * The Times * A new spin on the traditional country house murder . . . when the style is this good, it’s worth the investment. * Irish News * Exquisitely original — Ragnar Jonasson A brilliant work of illusion: murders, real and imagined, nestled within one another! The clues are all there, if you can see them. A book you finish and then start again just to see how thoroughly you’ve been fooled! — Guy Morpuss, author of Black Lake Manor Quirky and unpredictable, Ink Ribbon Red is a Rubik’s cube of unreliable narratives — Martin Edwards Praise for Alex Pavesi’s sensational bestseller, Eight Detectives — :