'In the running for the best mystery of 2026' Stephen King

Evelyn Clarke is the pseudonym for Number OneSunday Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab, and screenwriter and YA author Cat Clarke.

SELECTED FOR 2026 ONES TO WATCH:

Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Radio Times, BBC News Online, Stylist, Scotland on Sunday, The Herald Scotland, My Weekly, The Scotsman, Muddy Stilettos Berkshire

'A cracking read'Val McDermid

'Smart, original and completely addictive'Karin Slaughter

'And Then There Were Nonemeets Yellowface'Kate Mosse

'The most fun I've had with a book in a very, very long time' A. J. Finn, Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

* * * *

It's the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending.

Six authors.

One private island.

Seventy-two hours to write the ending.

* * * *

World-famous author Arthur Fletch is dead. His final novel, the most anticipated book in history, remains unfinished. But the ending won't write itself.

When six struggling authors are invited to Fletch's private Scottish island and presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, the plot thickens: whoever writes a worthy ending will receive a game-changing book deal and two million dollars.

Why have they been chosen to attend? Who is behind the invitation? And just how far would they go to secure a place on the bestseller list?

They have just seventy-two hours, a typewriter and a blank page. All they have to do is write...

Starting is often the hardest part. But getting to the end could be murder.

* * * *

'Hugely entertaining and thrilling' B A Paris

'Full of twists and turns ... A must-read for any mystery fan!' G.T. Karber

'Fiendishly clever and compulsively readable... An absolute must read' Ellery Lloyd

'Funny, razor sharp and scarily relatable' Sarah Crossan

'A wonderfully twisty mystery that plays with all the tropes we know so well. An absolute delight to read!' Phoenicia Rogerson