Local residents are being invited to polish their magnifying glasses and solve a festive fictional mystery online as part of a campaign to celebrate the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World.

Local crime writer, Rachel Ward, has written a murder mystery plot commissioned by B&NES Council’s libraries team that is set in Midsomer Norton, Bath and Keynsham.

The story is called ‘12 Days of Murder – A Festive Fatality’, and one clue will be released online each day on the library’s social media channels and blog.

Residents over the age of sixteen can join in virtually to work out ‘whodunnit’ and there will be a prize for the winner.

The clues for the story will begin to be unveiled on December 7th and the ‘murderer’ will be revealed on December 24th.

Rachel Ward is a writer from Bath who currently writes crime novels, the Ant and Bea Mysteries, set in and around the fictional town of Kingsleigh, which bears a close resemblance to Keynsham. She said: “It’s been a joy to write this special murder mystery. There are quiz questions and a murder plot to unravel, and I hope that residents will enjoy this bit of festive fun with a bookish twist.”