What would a publishing house do when their most famous (and reclusive) author, Arthur Fletch, dies while writing the final book of his award-winning crime series? Easy – they would get another author to finish the book and keep his death a secret until it’s published.

Six struggling ‘midlist’ authors are invited to stay in Arthur Fletch’s mansion on his private island in a competition to write the best ending. Whoever wins will receive two million dollars and the publishing deal of their dreams, including the marketing and support they never received for the books they’ve already had published. So, 72 hours on a secluded island, all contact with the outside world cut, and every author hungry for the success they think they’re owed – what could possibly go wrong?

This book is a great insight into the machinations of an international publishing house, the hostilities between genres, and the creative process. These writers all have secrets, but who is truly willing to kill for theirs? With the story told from multiple perspectives, the reader is speculating from the very start, and the twists keep coming to the very end. This is a tale for lovers of Knives Out, The Traitors franchise and Benjamin Stevenson’s closed-room mysteries.

Another twist, which some readers may already know, is that Evelyn Clarke is a combined pseudonym for screenwriter Cat Clarke and author V.E. Schwab. Drawing from their own experiences in publishing, this book is both a love and hate letter to the publishing industry!