It’s Christmas Eve!

So here’s wishing everyone a happy Christmas and all the best for the holidays. And, of course, a good book to curl up with when the weather outside gets dreadful == whether we’re talking northern blizzards, southern heatwaves, or equatorial monsoons. Stay happy, stay healthy, and keep reading.

- Christopher Huang

The 100th anniversary of anything happens only once, ever, and never again; and today was the 100th anniversary of Armistice, the end of the First World War. Here in Montreal, the event was marked by a ceremony at Place du Canada.

The haze you see is drifting smoke from the artillery guns, fired periodically as punctuation to the ceremony.

To all the veterans out there: Thank you for your service.

Dear readers,

For all of you in Canada, let me wish you a happy Thanksgiving. May your families all be more functional than the Linwoods of "Cat’s Paw" turn out to be. (Roger Linwood, as the story begins, would tell you that his family is very functional indeed -- he doesn’t know yet that it’s all built on a lie.)

I’ve described "Cat’s Paw" as being "Agatha Christie’s ’Ordeal By Innocence’ meets H. G. Wells’s ’The Island of Doctor Moreau’". The first part is easy enough, knowing that Roger Linwood and his siblings are adopted. But, knowing that I’m steering well clear of science fiction and fantasy, can you guess how "The Island of Doctor Moreau" fits in?

Family obligations over the past week mean I haven’t been able to devote as much time as I would have liked to working on "Cat’s Paw", and I’m sorry to say that we appear to have slipped down to third place in the Mystery & Thriller Contest rankings. I sincerely hope each of you might be able to introduce this book to a friend; and if you’re still on the fence, that you might consider adding your backing to it as well. We can still do this.

And for all of you who’ve done anything at all -- by promoting it elsewhere or especially by backing it yourselves -- I offer my heartfelt thanks. It’s Canadian Thanksgiving, after all.

- Christopher Huang

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?

Dear friends and followers,

I have recently heard rumours of orders being made but not going through. So, here’s an important announcement: I ALWAYS THANK EACH AND EVERY READER FOR THEIR ORDERS WHEN I SEE THOSE ORDERS COME IN. I usually do this through e-mail within twenty-four hours; if I’m in conversation with you at the time, I’ll thank you there and specifically say that I saw the order come in--especially if I’ve previously thanked you for expressing an intent to order.

IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A THANK YOU FROM ME, THAT MEANS SOMETHING IS DREADFULLY WRONG.

Or it might mean that I’m out of town and have no access to the internet, but that’s a vanishingly rare occurrence. I’ll acknowledge your order and thank you for it as soon as I possibly can.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s look at the book again. I’ve got another character to introduce: Inspector Horatio Parker, the policeman assigned to the case.

Until next time, have fun, and keep reading.