Anthony E. Zuiker to Publish Companion Book to ABC's New Series Whodunnit?

One of the new series we're definitely looking forward to this summer is Whodunnit? on ABC.

Created by CSI's Anthony E. Zuiker, each week players will use a variety of crime scene investigation techniques to meticulously uncover evidence that will ultimately reveal who among them is the killer.

"I've built a career telling crime stories, and if there's one thing that I've learned, it's that the audience loves to solve the mystery," said Zuiker. "Whodunnit? allows everyday fans to be in the show themselves and get the chance every week to do what they love best, which is ultimately solve the case."

And it gets better. We've learned that Zuiker will publish (through Hyperion) a companion ebook for the series. Titled Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manor, it features — like all good manor house mysteries should — a grand estate, ten unsuspecting guests, and a diabolical game of life and death.

There's a synopsis up on Amazon, but not (yet) a cover:

Ten excited guests arrive at the Westlake Estate, expecting a lavish retreat. They are the winners of a sweepstakes to "Live Like a Billionaire for a Week". But what was supposed to be a promising escape soon turns into a horrific nightmare.

Within hours of arrival, the guests sit down for an extravagant dinner. When they pull their party poppers as instructed, a loud chorus of bangs resounds, followed by earsplitting screams as the guest seated at the head of the table bursts into flames and slumps to the floor. The others are told they must solve the crime or be the next victim.

The killer, their diabolical host, is hiding among the frightened guests. Is the murderer the well-toned trophy wife, the retired deputy sheriff, the stoned college dropout, or perhaps the sweet, homely grandmother? The killer toys with them, inviting the guests to explore the lavish estate, from the stables to the hedge maze, in an effort to uncover the gory details of how the murderer pulled off such a gruesome murder.

Alliances are forged carefully and information is shared warily, since none of the remaining guests knows whom to trust. The next to die a hideous death will be the one with the least accurate solution to the latest murder. In the end, only three guests will remain: the winner, the loser, and the killer.

The book is published on June 18th, a few days before Whodunnit? the television series premieres on June 23rd at 9 PM ET/PT.