It was always my intention to follow up "A Gentleman’s Murder" with a sequel featuring Eric Peterkin on another sleuthing mission. That is still my intention; however, what was supposed to have been a short story to warm myself up seems to have turned into a full-blown novel, so it appears my next book will be a stand-alone novel instead.

Well, Agatha Christie’s second novel wasn’t a Poirot story, was it? Think of it as a palate-cleanser.

The working title for this next book is Cat’s Paw, and it’s a tale of Gothic suspense rather than a straight-up whodunnit ... something somewhat darker in tone than anything Eric Peterkin would get up to. I encourage everyone to go follow the project now. It appears that Inkshares is planning to kick off a mystery contest this coming Friday, and I intend for Cat’s Paw to be a part of it. Pre-orders will open then.

1921: Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead, and his three adopted children -- Alan, Roger, and Caroline -- have returned to the remote village of Linwood Hollow for the funeral. What begins as a bittersweet reunion turns sinister when the visiting chief inspector assures the family that Sir Lawrence was murdered -- and that the evidence points to their own mother, a woman so frail and emotionally devastated that any idea of guilt seems unthinkable.

Is Lady Linwood really stricken by grief? Or is it fear? If she didn’t do it, then it can only be one of the three Linwood siblings. Whichever of them identifies their father’s killer will be named the sole heir to his estate, but how badly does each of them want that prize?