Description

The problem with telling tales is that you might get caught out by the twist: read the most original literary thriller of 2024, from the author of the sensational Eight Detectives

‘A spectacularly crafty puzzle with characters who come more and more to life as the stakes get higher’ Mail on Sunday

‘More fun than Eight Detectives’ The Times

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

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Six friends gather at a country house for a birthday weekend. They decide to play a game.

All six names go in a hat. Choose two, and imagine one murdering the other.

Write it down. Type it up. Read it out.

Points are given for making the murders sound convincing.

Of course, when given such a task, it’s only natural to use what you know.

Secrets. Grudges. Affairs.

But once you’ve put it in a story, that secret is out.

So with each fictional murder, someone gets a motive for a real one.

Which leads to the most important question:

When a real murder comes, will you be able to spot it in time?

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‘The master puppeteer of literary crime’ Janice Hallett

Praise for the 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

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 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 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 — : 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 *