The killer is...
- The curator
- Rahim Madani
- One or both of the police officers on the case
- Nick Bastion
- Tony Kowalski
- In Chapter 14, the killer is confirmed to be Tony.
Captain Thompson is a cultist
Given that she is a high ranking officer in the NYPD and that she tried to intimidate the Ginovesi Agency into dropping the investigation, it is believed she's part of the cult, which makes her NYC's Chief Kelley.- Jossed! She was Good All Along.
There will be a sequel
Since Surrender became the first VIP book to be serialized, some players believe this story will be serialized as well, and the sequel will most likely revolve around solving the murder of Cameron's father Jimmy.- As of Chapter 14, with the revelation that Trystan has been summoned back to Drakovia and Marguerite being kidnapped, another possibility is that the (potential) sequel will involve Cameron and Trystan visiting the latter's home country and investigating the death of their fiance Juliana.
- Confirmed! On 13 May 2022, Pixelberry confirmed that there will be a sequel and Chapter 17 is just the book finale.
Marguerite's fate will depend on your Detective Score
At the end of Chapter 14, Marguerite is kidnapped, despite the killer having already been arrested. The last chapter(s) will involve tracking her down and finding the kidnapper (who may even be the true Big Bad, with the Serial Killer being just a pawn). But here's where things get interesting; your Detective Score will determine the outcome of the confrontation between the kidnapper. Having a high Detective Score will allow you to choose certain choices that make the confrontation easier, while a low score will lock you out of the correct choices. Make too many wrong choices here, and Marguerite will die, the Big Bad will escape, and Cameron and Trystan will lament how badly they both failed.- At least partially confirmed. The message at the start of Chapter 15 warns us that the choices we make will directly affect Marguerite's fate. However, none of the choices seem to be locked behind a Detective Score, and she's still alive at the end of Chapter 15 regardless. The outcome of our choices (and possibly the Detective Score as well) will be realised in Chapter 16.
- Ultimately jossed, as Marguerite survives no matter what and helps to finish off the big bad.
Cameron will meet the rest of the Drakovian Royal Court
While Cameron can be familiar (and intimate) with Trystan, it's likely some of Trystan's siblings refuses to see this common street detective as worthy of their brother/sister's partnership, even going so far as to try and outright kill them.- Very likely, as the June 2023 Choices Insiders mentions meeting Trystan's family in Drakovia.
- Confirmed. They go to Drakovia and meet some of Trystan's siblings in Chapter 3.
This series will be a trilogy
The end of Book 1 heavily implies that Book 2 will revolve around investigating the death of Trystan's fiancee Juliana, so the investigation into the murder of Cameron's father will be covered in a 3rd book.- While this seems plausible, there has yet to be a Book 3 for a series that started out as VIP early access, and all books that would have had sequels releasing in 2024 and beyond will probably end at Book 2, so as not to have one sequel released to everyone and the other sequel only released to VIP players. If this is the case, then unfortunately Jimmy Rose's murder will remain an unsolved mystery, much like Perdita's disappearance in Murder at Homecoming, and just like in said book, the main character will accept that some mysteries just aren't meant to be solved and move on. Additionally, the message at the end of Chapter 2 mentions that finding all 8 clues will "unlock a special ending" (whereas in Book 1 it was just a bonus scene), suggesting that the series really will end at Book 2...
- Confirmed! There will be a 3rd book after all!
Trystan Thorne is canonically bisexual/pansexual
Trystan Thorne's background mentions that they began courting a series of nobles when they were 18 (no genders are specified) before they began their "wild single years" afterwards (prior to meeting their late fiancée, and eventually starting a romance with Cameron regardless of their gender). Being a flirty, charming person, Trystan seems like the type of person to not care about gender, and it wouldn't be the first time when a gender-customizable love interest has been revealed to be canonically bi/pan (see Kieran from The Cursed Heart). Also, Book 2 is scheduled to be released during Pride Month, which would be the perfect time to reveal this if it is true.- Nothing about Trystan's sexuality is explicitly revealed on release day, but it could still be revealed later.
The release schedule of Book 2 will be interchangeable with Blades of Light and Shadow, Book 2, and both overarching plotlines will be covered in one book
The second book in the series is due to be released in June 2023, and the second book of Blades of Light and Shadow is due to be released three months later. Since we may not get a Book 3 because of the new VIP policy, both plotlines of Crimes of Passion would be covered in one book. As such, the first half of the book would be about the mystery of Juliana's disappearance, and the second half would be about the mystery of Jimmy Rose's murder. The first half of this book would release from June to September 2023, and it would go on hiatus just before Blades of Light and Shadow, Book 2 released. Book 2 of BoLaS would then release its first half from late September to around December, then it would go on hiatus and Crimes of Passion would return around the same time. COP's second half would release from December 2023 to around February/March 2024, and Book 2 of BoLaS would resume around the time that Crimes of Passion ended. This is because having both sequels releasing on the same day would be too detrimental to players' diamonds, and something similar happened with the first book of COP and Wake The Dead (WTD went on hiatus just after Crimes of Passion, Book 1 released, returned from hiatus on the same day that COP, Book 1 went on its hiatus, and ended shortly after COP returned from its hiatus).- After the June 2023 blogpost, this is far less likely; it's heavily implied that Book 2 will revolve entirely around Juliana's disappearance, either saving Jimmy Rose's murder for the third book or leaving it an unsolved mystery if the series ends at Book 2. The part about the mid-season hiatus could still happen, though.
- Jossed. Book 2 of both COP and BOLAS normally air on different days, the second book of COP is ending on September 29, 2023 (the same day as Chapter 5 of BOLAS, Book 2), and only the Drakovia plotline is covered in Book 2 of COP.
Juliana faked her death
Unless somebody snuck aboard Trystan's yacht when they and Juliana went out on that fateful night, if Trystan tied up the topsail rope, the only one who could have untied it was Juliana. An autopsy report mentioned that she washed up on a beach several days later, dead, and that she died before she even hit the water. Considering that the Justice Office were more concerned about blaming someone that getting justice, and the preview for Book 2 mentions that the royal family has a dark past, it's entirely possible that Juliana's death was faked. The royal family could have easily falsified the autopsy report and sent Juliana into hiding; the idea that the whole thing was a cover-up was floated about as early as Book 1, Chapter 5. Alternatively...- Jossed, the opening scene of Book 2 features a mysterious figure knocking her overboard, having snuck aboard the yacht.
Juliana's death was a genuine accident, but someone in the royal family pinned it on Trystan in order to get rid of them
Given that It Was a Dark and Stormy Night when Trystan and Juliana went out on their yacht, it's entirely possible that the topsail rope was tied up properly, but it somehow came undone and Juliana tripped on it. If this is the case, then nobody (not even her) is to blame for her death. However, given how eager the royal family were to pin the blame on Trystan (even though it could have been a genuine accident), someone in the family may be trying to get rid of Trystan for their own agenda.- Jossed, the opening scene of Book 2 features a mysterious figure knocking her overboard, having snuck aboard the yacht.
The Drakovian Royal Family will be hoisted by their own petard, with Cameron being a Spanner in the Works
Given all the information we have so far (including from the blog post), here's a likely scenario. The one behind Juliana's disappearance (presumably, the king and/or queen of Drakovia) summoned Trystan back home, and a murder (committed by one of Trystan's siblings, no less) happens shortly after their arrival. It's probably that the murderer was ordered to commit the murder by the true Big Bad, so they could pin the blame on Trystan shortly after their summoning to Drakovia. What they didn't count on was that Trystan brought their private detective partner with them, who will not only solve the murder committed at the start of Book 2, but also the mystery of Juliana's disappearance. If Cameron hadn't gone with Trystan, they would have been framed and imprisoned without much difficulty from the Drakovian Royal Family. The killer in Book 2 is...
- Astrid. Given her dim-witted Valley Girl personality, the fact that she "left a trail of dead lovers in her wake", and that it wouldn't be the first time that the Big Bad turned out to be Obfuscating Stupidity, her persona could be a ruse to throw people off her trail. Additionally, it's mentioned in a premium scene in Chapter 7 that she is a master manipulator who doesn't like getting her hands dirty, and the deaths of her previous lovers couldn't be traced back to her.
- Vasili. He portrays a calm, collected front that contrasts Sebastyan's hot-headed personality and immediate dislike for Cameron. It's possible that the murder was a team effort, with Vasili providing the brains, and Bas providing the brawn.
- Confirmed!
- Patryk. He's the only Thorne who was conspicuously absent around the time of the murder, and the business that he had to attend to at the time could have been a distraction from him being there all along. When he is officially introduced, he's shown to be a Bad Influencer with a sadistic sense of humor who sees nothing wrong with poisoning his sibling's partner for laughs or livestreaming a murder.
- Sebastyan. He was likely in love with Juliana before her engagement to Trystan, but was a total Control Freak and Yandere.
- Jossed. He's killed in Chapter 12.
Sebastyan will be murdered
The summary for Chapter 13 mentions the next victim is a Drakovian prince and the prime suspect, so he fits the bill (he's the prime suspect as of Chapter 11), not to mention he's the last member of the Committee for Heir Equity who's still alive (the other two members are Juliana and Nadja).- Confirmed.
If the series really ends at Book 2...
The Grand Finale will see Trystan ascend the Drakovian throne and marry Cameron, who will rule by Trystan's side. Think about it, the cover featuring Trystan putting a crown on Cameron's head, the fake engagement in Chapter 1... these could be foreshadowing the series' ending. Alternatively...- Unlikely, since the Chapter 16 description says that "It's time for [Cameron] to return home". The series could still end at Book 2, however, and the fact that Pixelberry seem to be rushing to get the last three chapters out may imply that they want the series to be done with as quickly as possible.
- Jossed. There will be a Book 3, after all.
Trystan will decline to rule Drakovia, potentially leading to a Book 3
If there is a Book 3, it would be hard to balance Trystan's screentime if they were in Drakovia, and several pieces of dialogue suggest that they don't really want to rule the country, but they're doing it because they feel like they have to. Also, many fans suspect Queen Viktoria of being The Woman Behind the Man who ordered the killer to get rid of the people behind the Heir Equity Act, and if this is true, Trystan will likely reject the throne out of shame for being the child of a killer. As such, Book 2 may end with them going back to New York with Cameron, who, after solving the case, will be confident enough to start solving their father's murder, leading to Book 3.- According to the Chapter 16 description, Cameron will be returning home, and Trystan's parents will be passing the crown onto the rightful heir. Unless the heir is still Trystan, they will likely come with Cameron back to New York.
- Given that there is a Book 3, this seems likely.
- Confirmed, Trystan gives the crown to Lydea and returns to NYC with Cameron.
The identity of Queen Viktoria's bastard child
- Markarov: He opposes the Heir Equity Act. He's seen as a traditionalist, but killed Nadja and Sebastyan since the Act would likely only cover the ruling Monarch's (King Maksim for example) children but not their spouse's own.
- Jossed. The bastard is a daughter.
- Astrid: The summary of Chapter 14 mentions that the bastard is a daughter, and given her reputation as a Black Widow, it is likely Juliana was one of her many dead lovers.
- Jossed. Lydea is the bastard.
Will there be a Book 3, after all?
Despite Pixelberry confirming it beforehand, the finale of Book 2 has a bonus scene that doesn't include a sneak peek into the next book like Book 1 did, and the final message reads something along the lines of "Thank you for playing. We hope you enjoyed it", which is typically reserved for series finales. It's possible that Pixelberry are preparing for a potential cancellation, so they don't end the series on a cliffhanger. Alternatively, the series originally was supposed to end at Book 2, but overwhelming fan demand led to Pixelberry creating a Book 3, and since it wasn't planned beforehand, the bonus scene and final message acts as if Book 2 will be the last.