Murder Mystery Puzzle Books

A murder mystery puzzle book turns the solver into the detective. Instead of a loose pile of unrelated puzzles, each one you finish hands you a piece of evidence: a name, a time, an object, a place. Put enough of them together and the case solves itself, which is a far more satisfying payoff than turning to the answer key.

Our mysteries are cozy rather than gory, and each one uses a different kind of puzzle to carry the story. The Tern Harbor advent calendar gives you one day of a Christmas whodunit and one puzzle at a time, in large print, from December 1 to Christmas Eve. Crime Scene Nonograms hides the evidence in picture logic grids. The shading mystery reveals its clues as pictures you uncover with a pencil. For young readers, The Great North Pole Heist is a code-cracking, suspect-eliminating case written for ages 8 to 12.

Every puzzle is checked by computer to have exactly one solution, and every case is built so the clues are fair: everything you need to name the culprit is on the page. If you want to make an event of it, our guide to hosting a murder mystery advent at home has ideas for solving together as a family.