Murder mystery puzzle collection crowned book of the year
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A collection of murder mystery puzzles has been crowned book of the year at the British Book Awards, beating the Duke of Sussex’s memoir.
Murdle, described as a mix of Cluedo, Sudoku and Wordle, has been a publishing phenomenon, selling more than 300,000 copies in 2023 and topping the bestseller lists.
Its creator, GT Karber, was working as a computer programmer and running murder-mystery events at his local Himalayan restaurant in Los Angeles when he came up with the idea.
He drew his first puzzle for a friend, sketching it on a napkin at a coffee shop. When the friend pointed out that there was a mistake in it, Karber used his IT skills to devise a code that would generate the puzzles automatically.
A fan of Agatha Christie, Karber created characters for his puzzles led by a detective named Deductive Logico, inspired by Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
After noting the success of Wordle, Karber had the idea to call his creation Murdle. He put them online, where they became a word-of-mouth hit, and within months was approached by a literary agent.
Karber’s editor at Souvenir Press, Cindy Chan, said: “I heard about Murdle on a trip to New York and knew I was on to something. When I heard the title, I realised it was a stroke of genius and I had to have it - and before anyone else had heard about it.
“That night I solved by first Murdle. I immediately wanted more. I was certain others would share my addiction.”
Murdle has since become a series, with a children’s version planned for later in the year. While the puzzles are popular in the US, their real success has been in Britain, which has delighted Karber. “Murdle is a love letter to British mysteries, so its success there is like hearing your crush likes you back,” he said.
Past winners at the ceremony, known as the Nibbies, include Normal People by Sally Rooney, Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
While the prize has previously been awarded to non-fiction - last year’s winner was Davina McCall for her guide to the menopause, and the 2022 winner was a children’s book from Marcus Rashford - this is the first time that a puzzle collection has been named Book of the Year.
The judges, who this year included Lorraine Kelly and Adrian Chiles, praised Murdle as a “genius” concept and publishing success story.
The Duke of Sussex’s memoir, Spare, had been nominated in a nonfiction category. However, it lost out to Politics on the Edge, Rory Stewart’s insider account of life in Parliament. Stewart also beat Britney Spears’ memoir The Woman In Me.
Katherine Rundell was named author of the year and won the children’s fiction category for her fantasy adventure Impossible Creatures. Jamie Smart won illustrator of the year and the children’s illustrated book category for his latest Bunny vs Monkey comic book.
The fiction award went to Rebecca F Kuang for Yellowface, a satire on the publishing industry, while the debut fiction award went to Alice Winn for In Memoriam, the tale of a forbidden romance during the First World War.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges, said: “Readers were spoilt for choice in 2023: our winning authors, illustrators, and the teams behind their books showcase an industry at the height of its game and at the absolute centre of the creative sector.
“At a time when words and their meaning matter more than ever before, to see the world of books in such excellent health is surely something to celebrate.”
Previous book of the year winners
Menopausing: Davina McCall (2023)
The TV presenter is credited with putting the menopause on the map with this self-help guide and accompanying TV series
You Are A Champion: Marcus Rashford (2022)
The Manchester United star published this motivational book for children, featuring stories from his own life along with advice from a performance psychologist on how to “be the best that you can be”
Shuggie Bain: Douglas Stuart (2021)
Stuart’s semi-autobiographical story of a boy growing up with an alcoholic mother in Glasgow also won the 2020 Booker Prize
Queenie: Candice Carty-Williams (2020)
Carty-Williams’ story of a black British woman navigating life in her 20s, inspired by the lives of the author and her friends, is soon to be a Channel 4 series
Normal People: Sally Rooney (2019)
The book that launched Rooney as a young literary sensation, following the romantic relationship between Irish teenagers Connell and Marianne
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: Gail Honeyman (2018)
Honeyman made her debut with this tale of loneliness and social exclusion. The novel was picked up after Honeyman submitted three chapters to a competition for unpublished writers
The Essex Serpent: Sarah Perry (2017)
Perry’s heroine in this Gothic period drama is a woman who moves to a small Essex village and becomes intrigued by the local legend of a sea serpent haunting the marshes
The Miniaturist: Jessie Burton (2014)
The focus of a publishers’ bidding war, The Miniaturist was Burton’s debut novel. It is set in Amsterdam in the 17th century and Burton found inspiration for the story in a dolls’ house on display at the Rijksmuseum
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: Neil Gaiman (2013)
The novel’s narrator returns to the Sussex village where he spent his childhood in what Gaiman has described as a book “about memory and the imagination and standing up to the dark”
Fifty Shades of Grey: EL James (2012)
The erotic romance about a bondage-loving billionaire became a trilogy that sold over 150 million copies, and was later adapted as a Hollywood film.
