Gifts for mystery and puzzle lovers
Nine ideas for the person who always guesses the killer before the last chapter, or who cannot leave a half-finished puzzle alone. The first one is ours; the other eight we would happily give ourselves.
1. A murder mystery puzzle book: A Murder in Pieces
A mystery you solve rather than read. Four country-house murders, each told across ten chapters, and every chapter ends at a real puzzle on the page: cryptogram, word search, sudoku, nonogram, maze, logic grid. Solve the puzzle and you have found what the detective found. Solve all ten and a logic grid names the killer. The sealed confessions wait at the back of the book.
- Case One · The Greywater Silence — Greywater House
- Case Two · The House That Pretended to Sleep — the Ellingham Estate
- Case Three · What the Dead Left Written — Thornfield Court
- Case Four · The Locked Hour — Ravenwood Hall
It works for one reader with a pencil, or for two people sharing a sofa: one solves, one reads aloud, and both argue about the suspects. By Iris Enigma, 116 pages, paperback.
Every copy is printed to order, so give it time to arrive before a birthday or Christmas. The order page shows the expected delivery dates before you pay.
Not sure it is their kind of thing? Try the first puzzle on the home page.
2. A shelf of golden-age whodunits
Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, John Dickson Carr. The country-house mystery started here, and a matched set of three or four looks lovely wrapped. If they have read all the Christies, Carr's locked rooms are the next step.
The reader who wants the classic whodunit.
3. A book of logic grid puzzles
The puzzle every fictional detective is secretly solving: who sat where, who owned what, who lied. A collection of grid puzzles gives hours of pure deduction without a story attached.
The puzzler who likes to show their working.
4. A murder mystery dinner party kit
Character booklets, clues and a host's script for an evening where everyone at the table is a suspect. Best for a group of six to eight who don't mind a costume.
The friend who loves hosting.
5. A case-file box game
Boxed games that hand you a police file, witness statements and photographs, and ask you to close the case. Played over an evening, alone or with others, and usually once.
The player who wants the evidence on the table.
6. A cryptic crossword collection
Every clue is a small misdirection, which is exactly what a good mystery is. A newspaper's collected cryptics make a gift that lasts until next Christmas.
The person who does the crossword in pen.
7. An escape room voucher
An hour locked in a room with codes, padlocks and a ticking clock. Most cities have one, and most sell gift vouchers.
The detective who would rather do than read.
8. A detective's notebook and a good pencil
A small gift that goes with any of the others: a pocket notebook for suspects and alibis, and a pencil that is a pleasure to hold. Every armchair detective needs somewhere to write the name down before the reveal.
A stocking filler, or a companion to a bigger present.
9. A jigsaw of a crime scene
Mystery jigsaws come with a short story; the picture on the box is not the picture in the box, and the finished puzzle holds the clue. A good one for a winter afternoon.
The family that puzzles together.
How to choose
Ask one question: do they love the story, or the solving? Story people are happiest with a stack of classic whodunits. Solvers want a logic grid or a cryptic crossword. If they love both, give them a book where the puzzles are the story.
Still not sure? Give them a free murder mystery logic puzzle to try first. If they solve it in one sitting, you have your answer.