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Murder Most Cryptic

By Alys Cummings
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Brief Description
The dead body is their first clue - and the answer is murder... but can they solve the crossword, and find a killer too? Nina is a young journalist. She's also an alcoholic. Once a week, she attends a recovery group in the local church hall.... Read More
Format: Hardback
$4000
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Releases 12th January 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Murder Most Cryptic" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The dead body is their first clue - and the answer is murder... but can they solve the crossword, and find a killer too?

Nina is a young journalist. She's also an alcoholic.

Once a week, she attends a recovery group in the local church hall. When a stranger walks in one night, the group think they might have a new member. Until he promptly drops dead.

The police believe it's nothing more than an accident. But the group soon realise there's more to this mystery than meets the eye, when they discover a cryptic crossword clue hidden in the dead man's pocket - the answer to which is Murder.

As more mysterious and threatening clues start appearing in the local paper's crossword, Nina and team must work to crack this cryptic case. Can they solve the clues, and catch a killer?

Or will the next crossword spell death for one of them...

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241810972

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 08 October 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Michael Joseph Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 37.0mm

Width: 165.0mm

Height: 242.0mm

Weight: 632g

Pages: 416

Collections

Alys Cummings Code Crackers & Mystery Puzzles Comedic Crime Coming Soon in Fiction Cosy Crime Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Penguin Books Pre-order Books Pre-Order Crime & Thriller Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Alys Cummings is a writer and journalist based on the north-east coast of England. She worked on local newspapers and for a news agency based at the Old Bailey, before joining BBC Panorama. She is an Emerging Creative Associate with New Writing North and a member of their North East Novelists group. Murder Most Cryptic is her debut novel, and won Pitch Perfect at the 2024 Bloody Scotland festival.

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