Do I need to be good at puzzles?

No. Each case starts gently, with a cryptogram and a word search, and the difficulty climbs from there. The four cases also grow harder as the book goes on, so Case One is the place to start if puzzles are new to you.

Are the answers in the book?

Yes. Every puzzle has an answer key at the back, so you are never stuck for good. Behind the answer keys wait the four sealed confessions, one for each case. No peeking until you have made your accusation.

Can two people solve it together?

Yes. It works for one armchair detective with a pencil, or for two or more people arguing over the same page. One reader solves, the other reads aloud, and both argue about the suspects.

Do I have to read the cases in order?

No. The four cases stand alone, each with its own house, victim and suspects. Reading them in order gives you a steady climb in difficulty, but you can start with whichever opening page you like best.

Is there an app or anything to download?

No. Everything you need is printed in the book. All you need is a pencil.

What kind of book is it?

A paperback of 116 pages, printed in black and white on a 7.44 × 9.68 inch page. Each copy is printed to order and posted worldwide, with standard delivery included in the price.

← Back to the cases

A murder mystery you solve yourself

A Murder in Pieces is a full murder mystery and a puzzle book at once. The story stops where the detective gets stuck, and the puzzle on the page is what they found. Solve it, and the investigation moves on.

One case, three steps

Ch. 1 · You read the scene. A body, a room, something out of place. A card in a dead hand, a drawer standing open, a missing candlestick.
Ch. 1–9 · You solve what the detective finds. Ciphers, word searches, sudoku, nonograms, a maze of the house. Each answer is a clue the next chapter depends on.
Ch. 10 · You name the killer. A logic grid takes everything you uncovered. One suspect is left standing. Then you break the seal.

Ten chapters, ten puzzles

Every case follows the same ladder. This is Case One, from the anonymous note on the first page to the deduction that names the killer.

The Anonymous Note Cryptogram · Gentle
The Household Word search · Gentle
The Safe Sudoku · Harder
The Darkroom Nonogram · Harder
The House Maze · Hardest
Second Cipher Cryptogram · Hardest
The Drawer Nonogram · Hardest
The Evidence Word search · Hardest
The Visitor Sudoku · Hardest
The Deduction Logic grid · Hardest

Six kinds of puzzle, none of them filler

Most puzzle books give you puzzles. Most mysteries give you a solution. This one makes the puzzles the investigation: the sudoku is the safe, the nonogram is the photograph, the maze is the house at night.

Cryptogram. Every letter traded for another. Messages the victims meant to outlive them.
Word search. Names, objects and evidence hidden in a grid. Something always turns up that you were not looking for.
Sudoku. Combinations, dates and room numbers. Fill the grid and a lock opens.
Nonogram. Shade the squares by the numbers and a picture develops, like a print in the darkroom.
Maze. The floor plan of the house. Find the route someone took in the dark without being seen.
Logic grid. The last chapter of every case. Every clue you have gathered goes in, and one name comes out.

Four houses, four killers

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

Sixteen suspects across four houses, and in every house one of them did it. Each case stands alone, and each is harder than the last.

Questions before you start

Do I need to be good at puzzles?: No. Each case starts gently, with a cryptogram and a word search, and the difficulty climbs from there. The four cases also grow harder as the book goes on, so Case One is the place to start if puzzles are new to you.
Are the answers in the book?: Yes. Every puzzle has an answer key at the back, so you are never stuck for good. Behind the answer keys wait the four sealed confessions, one for each case. No peeking until you have made your accusation.
Can two people solve it together?: Yes. It works for one armchair detective with a pencil, or for two or more people arguing over the same page. One reader solves, the other reads aloud, and both argue about the suspects.
Do I have to read the cases in order?: No. The four cases stand alone, each with its own house, victim and suspects. Reading them in order gives you a steady climb in difficulty, but you can start with whichever opening page you like best.
Is there an app or anything to download?: No. Everything you need is printed in the book. All you need is a pencil.
What kind of book is it?: A paperback of 116 pages, printed in black and white on a 7.44 × 9.68 inch page. Each copy is printed to order and posted worldwide, with standard delivery included in the price.

Get the casebook →

Want to try the method first? Solve a free murder mystery logic puzzle, or try a puzzle on the home page.