You Are Invited To a Murder

By Shantnu Tiwari

Royce wakes up to find an invitation.

An invitation to a murder.

Someone is going to be murdered live on stage. And murderer knows Royce can do nothing to stop him…

A detective thriller story with the hint of the supernatural.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shantnu Tiwari
• Release date: Nov 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533773449

Book preview

Many years ago, when Detective Royce was travelling in India, he found himself in the unfortunate position of being dead. Murdered, to be precise.

But he made a contract with the Goddess of Death, which allowed him to return. This contract is what drives him now.

Because he supposedly fails every single case he takes on, he’s known as the Defeated Detective.

Chapter 1

There are many ways to wake up.

Being woken by the sound of a bomb blast is my least favourite.

I don’t know about you, but I hate using even alarm clocks. My philosophy is wake up when you want to. Why choose your sleeping or waking hours based on some mechanical contraption with moving hands? But then, I’m a rarely employed detective, so perhaps my advice is not the best you could get.

So there I was, dreaming happy dreams of unicorns and busty angels when my window was smashed open. Now, even a sound sleeper like me is forced to wake up when my window is broken like that. Very rudely I must say.

But I had no time to be outraged. Valky burst in and grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out of the room. She gave me no explanation. For those of you who don’t know her, Valky is an eleven-year-old girl, but she dresses and acts like a boy. And today, she pulled me like one.

Something worse is about to happen, she said.

I didn’t argue with her. She knows her stuff.

And she was right. A crude homemade bomb was thrown through the smashed window. A yellow explosion hit me, its sound causing my ears to ring. The explosion was followed by noxious black smoke that smelled like burnt tar, the sort they make roads with. I coughed violently and my skin felt all tingly. Valky dragged me towards the door, which was open. A few neighbours were out, wondering what the fuss was about. Though in the neighbourhood I live in, bombs and gunfire are common. Shootouts are not met with fear, but with exasperation. Damn kids, starting their gang war again. Why can’t they fight their gang wars someplace else?

Still, I liked the place. The rent was low, the neighbours didn’t ask too many questions. There was a pizza place around the corner. What more could a man ask for?

I could already hear the sirens of the fire brigade as we burst out of the door. Good service, I had to commend them.

There was something on my door. An envelope, pinned to the door with a six-inch Rambo-style knife. I had to guess it was from the same gentlemen who had bombed my house.

I opened the letter.

You are cordially invited to a murder.

Inside were tickets to a brand-new theatre in town.

What is it? asked Valky.

We have been invited to a murder.

Chapter 2

The new theatre had been built just outside London, at the