Cain's Jawbone

Six murders. One hundred pages. Millions of possible combinations… but only one is correct. Can you solve Torquemada’s murder mystery? 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.Illustrated by Tom Gauld, acclaimed cartoonist and author of Goliath. A famously difficult puzzle novel from the Observer’s legendary crossword composer. The prize of £1,000 for the first reader to solve the puzzle within a year of publication was awarded to the actor and comedy writer John Finnemore. Finnemore's win was covered by the Guardian, the Telegraph and the London Review of Books among others. The project was supported by Neil Gaiman and re-issued with help from the Laurence Sterne Trust. For fans of Alex Bellos, the Guardian's puzzles, the Today programme's Puzzle for Today.