Can you solve the case of Absolute Murder?

Eight bodies. Five suspects. One detective YOU.

Can you crack the case that has the country's finest police officers scratching their heads?

Joy Swift MBE, the inventor of the Murder Weekends interactive theatre concept, has set you a fiendish puzzle as part of her new biography, "The Joy Of Murder".

The first in a series of solvable whodunnits, Absolute Murder invites you to don your detective's hat and examine more than 60 pages of clues, piecing together the evidence to reveal the identity of the killer.

Absolute Murder is highly addictive - it will have you gripped until you solve the puzzle. One sleuth even heralded it the next Sudoku'.

Celebrating 25 years as the creator of Original Murder Weekends, Joy Swift has become one of the country's most prolific writers of murder mysteries, with more than 92 plots to her name.

Through "The Joy Of Murder", Merseyside's answer to Agatha Christie tells all about her life and a career that began in a hotel in Southport and has taken her all over the world, from New York to the Nile.

In her light-hearted biography, Joy recalls some of funniest and most memorable incidents from the past 25 years, including stories from guests and unforgettable behind-the-scenes mishaps.

"There are so many hilarious stories," says Joy, "but one of the most memorable was when I found myself spreadeagled face down on Stafford train station with an armed and burly member of the anti-terrorist squad sitting astride my back. Another fine mess my invention had got me into!"

In 1980, while working in sales and marketing at a hotel in Southport, Joy heard a radio news report about a murder in a New York hotel. The guests were detained and interviewed by police, and became unexpectedly caught up in a real life investigation.

"It gave me an idea to create an Agatha Christie-style plot in my hotel, where guests became the sleuths and actors became the victims, suspects and detectives," explains Joy. "Guests would be able to follow the action, interrogate the suspects and view the evidence in a police incident room. I only planned one event, thinking it would be a 'bit of a laugh', but the weekend drew worldwide media attention and Original Murder Weekends were born."

Over the last quarter-century, Joy has brought her unique brand of highly realistic drama and light-hearted games to every sleepy corner of the United Kingdom. She has also ventured across the Atlantic, launching the Original Murder Weekends format in New York, where Time Off magazine raved: "No-one wanted to leave. Friends had been made and a spell cast. Who would dare break it?"

Murder Weekends are truly a global phenomenon. Guests regularly fly from the United States Of America, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Scandinavia to pit their wits against the cunning plots.

The Joy of Murder is out now, priced £8.99.