Cain’s Jawbone

Six murders. One hundred pages. Millions of possible combinations… but only one is correct. Can you solve Torquemada’s murder mystery?

‘If James Joyce and Agatha Christie had a literary love child, this would be it.’ The Daily Telegraph


In 1934, the Observer’s cryptic crossword compiler, Edward Powys Mathers (aka Torquemada), released a novel that was simultaneously a murder mystery and the most fiendishly difficult literary puzzle ever written.

The pages have been printed in an entirely haphazard order, but it is possible – through logic and intelligent reading – to sort the pages into the only correct order, revealing six murder victims and their respective murderers.

Only three puzzlers have ever solved the mystery of Cain’s Jawbone: do you have what it takes to join their ranks?

Please note: this puzzle is extremely difficult and not for the faint-hearted.

‘A unique hybrid of word puzzle and whodunnit.’ Literary Review

Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Imprint: HarperCollins AU
Publication date: 01/11/2023