The murder victim was either killed via drowning, or their body was disposed of, in the school swimming pool
The early cover art of the book often depicted a swimming pool, the information given in the July 2022 blogpost mentioned "keeping [our] heads above water", and the first chapter is called "Blood in the Water" (per the in-app description). The evidence of a murder (or even a body disposal) in the swimming pool is really piling up.- Confirmed, the murder victim's body is found floating in the pool at the end of Chapter 1.
The police are in on it in some way
The in-app description mentions that the police are refusing to investigate the murder (prompting the main character to do the investigation themselves). Previous Choices stories involving mysteries that the police refuse to investigate have often ended with the reveal that they are part of the mystery (such as Veil of Secrets and It Lives Beneath). There's always a chance that the same thing could apply here; maybe the murderer is the son or daughter of a police officer who is covering for them.- The first two chapters of the story show that the Police Are Useless, and that the victim's murder was ruled out by the police as an accidental drowning, as well as one of the officers acting hostile towards Blake and warning them to not snoop around. The extent to which the police are in on it remains to be seen, however.
- Ultimately jossed, as the police simply didn't think it could be a murder.
Is Mr Lewis the killer?
He's a popular teacher who gets along very well with his students, and characters like these often turn out to be antagonists, not to mention in Chapter 7, it is revealed he (probably) had an affair with Gabbie, compounded by the letter seen in Chapter 8.- With Chapter 10, this one appears to be jossed. The love letter wasn’t for Mr. Lewis, it was for Joanna, a gay student with homophobic parentsnote . Mr. Lewis acted as Gabbie and Joanna’s middleman to keep Joanna’s parents from knowing about her homosexuality, buying the necklace for Gabbie, and letting Joanna pay him back with inconspicuous purchases, such as school supplies.
Did Joanna's parents kill Gabbie?
Think about it, we know they're very homophobic, and that would be a great motive for murder, not to mention her father chaperoned the Homecoming dance. Besides, the drug used on Gabbie is used to treat nervous disorders, and Dr Morgan is a neurologist at Beachwood Hospital, which would give him access to the drug.- JOSSED! Sure, the doctor may be a homophobic jerkass who kicked his daughter out of home for being gay, but he wouldn't go so far as to kill someone.
The book will be a standalone
Much like Immortal Desires and Wake the Dead, the book has multiple love interests (and only single love interest VIP books have received sequels so far). Additionally, the titular "Murder at Homecoming" will most likely be solved by the end of the book.- Unsurprisingly confirmed. Considering the fact that most Choices mystery stories are standalones, it's very unlikely this would be an exception anyway (even though Crimes of Passion got serialized).
On the off chance there is a Book 2...
- Gabbie's killer will be murdered by an unknown assailant, and the plot will be a Who Murdered the Asshole-type situation. Alternatively, Brett (whether he's the killer or not) will meet his end at the hands of one of the many people he's hurt over the course of the story.
- Blake's sister will turn up alive, albeit with amnesia after being missing for four years, and the plot will be about solving the mystery of what happened.
- Jossed, the book is a standalone.
